September 29, 2011 08:44 PM UTC

Gessler Gets One Right?

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• by: Phoenix Rising

Today the Colorado Court of Appeals issued its ruling in a case filed by Aspen 2009 Mayoral hopeful and election activist Marilyn Marks.  Marks sued under Colorado’s open records act to gain access to the electronic images of ballots from the 2009 election which she lost.

Although the suit was filed against Gessler in his role as Secretary of State, Gessler has stated in the past that he believes making voted ballots part of the public record would increase transparency and voter confidence – and IMHO, he’s right.

Today’s Court ruling affirms that view.  Voted ballots (and/or electronic images) should be made available to the public provided the voter’s identity cannot be matched to their ballot.

The County Clerks opposed this suit, probably because it could impose a significant burden on their offices.  However, even as someone critical about the lax security we now place around our voting systems, I cannot see any other downside to the ruling.