August 26, 2013 05:53 PM UTC

Much Ado About...Disenfranchising Voters (Recall Updates)

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• by: kwtree

RECALL UPDATES:

To no one's surprise, Richard N. Anglund did not gather sufficient signatures to make it onto the recall ballot in Pueblo.

In the Springs, Libertarian candidate Gordon Butt had already dropped out to pursue his business interests.

However, he had been replaced by Jan Brooks. The Libertarian party has announced  that they have turned in more than enough (more than 575) signatures to the Secretary of State's office, which will determine the validity of the signatures. If the signatures are deemed valid, then January Brooks will be on the recall ballot.

I, and others, think that the intent of the lawsuit was not about adhering to the Colorado Constitution, nor about enabling third party candidates. The court's decision on the lawsuit, in effect, has disenfranchised voters who needed mail-in ballots to vote. So in Pueblo, we'll waste $80,000, and 100,000 recall ballots, in order to disenfranchise and suppress the votes of poor and working people, seniors and disabled folks (likely Democrats). I still think that the recall will fail, but it will be all about turnout.

And, to make things even more bizarre, the Atlantic's Joshua Spivak, and those who predicted yet another legal challenge to the recall proceedings, were correct. Lawyers will be asking the Colorado Supreme Court for guidance about whether the Colorado Constitution may conflict with the First Amendment – because if one does not vote for or against the recall, one's vote for successor candidates will not count.

Stay tuned for further updates from Recall Bizarro World.

And here are those updates!

• Richard Anglund still plans to run as a write-in candidate in Pueblo..
• If her signatures pass inspection, Jan Brooks, the Libertarian candidate, would be an openly gay candidate on the recall ballot. Ms Brooks is married to her wife, Amanda, on "About Your Family" on the  "Q&A with Jan Brooks" section.
• My take:  If Brooks' signatures pass muster, it could be interesting to see how this plays out with the Springs' large and politically diverse gay and lesbian community.  El Paso County liberals will still vote against the recall, as Bernie "Personhood" Herpin would likely be their Senator if the recall succeeds. Senator Morse has done an outstanding job,  and should not be recalled. However,  Brooks' candidacy is an evident attempt to cater to female and socially liberal voters.
• Neither Brooks, nor the Libertarian party, seems to have any position on abortion, personhood, choice, or those other pesky issues. The Libertarian stand on "privacy" is a stand for online privacy. The stand on "healthcare" is (wait for it) a demand for an end to government intervention.  If Brooks' signatures pass the S o S inspection to allow her to get onto the ballot, it will definitely be time to try to draw out her positions on choice and access to abortion.