Over 97,000 Jefferson County voters have been sent a ballot with no choices on it in the lead-up to election day, according to a press release from Clerk and Recorder Pam Anderson. Although that may sound like an egregious electoral oversight — we’re on to you, Scott Gessler — it’s not, in fact, the shady result of some sort of election manipulation.
Instead, as Anderson stresses in a press release, state law has left her with no other choice.
(Golden) – The Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder’s Office has received several phone calls, emails and notes from voters asking why they were sent a Primary Election ballot with no choices on it. While there are five contested races within Jefferson County for the Primary Election, many of the county’s ballots have only one candidate from each major political party running for each office, leaving them uncontested in the Primary. Some voters have voiced their opinion that sending ballots with no contested races is a waste of taxpayer money.
“State statute requires the county to mail Primary Election ballots if any major party has even one contested race,” said Pam Anderson, Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder. “I actually agree with these voters that there should be a more efficient and less costly way to certify uncontested candidates to the General Election without sending out ballots for uncontested races,” she added.
Specifically, Colorado Revised Statute 1-4-104.5(2) states: “If a major political party has more than one candidate nominated for any office on the primary election ballot, the primary election shall be conducted…”
Current election law does not allow the County Clerk to cancel part of a Primary Election for uncontested races and only distribute ballots that have more than one candidate from the same party running for the same office. Only if there are no contested races for any political party can the Primary Election be canceled and the winners declared nominated to the General Election ballot. This is something Anderson is hopeful the Legislature will consider changing in the future.
“I will continue to advocate for a change in the statute to save taxpayer dollars,” said Anderson. “In our county alone, we’ve sent out over 97,000 ballots with no choices for the voter. That’s over $100,000 of taxpayer money that could be put to better use,” she said.
Anderson makes a very good point: sending a ballot to voters who have absolutely no use for one is an exorbitant waste of taxpayer funds, one that could very easily be remedied through the legislature. Voters, too, would clearly be in favor of what is fundamentally a rational belt-tightening measure — as evidenced by the fact that enough people complained to warrant a press release from Anderson’s office.
Still, there’s a good chance that proponents of changing the state’s current ballot distribution regime would run into a brick wall — namely, political parties. There’s no cost to Republicans or Democrats for counties to send out ballots for uncontested races, and the parties receive invaluable voter metrics as a result.
Those who send their primary ballots back even with nothing to vote for, after all, can be counted on to vote the straight-ticket in the general election. Political parties, then, won’t need to spend money ensuring that these voters turn out. As an added bonus, those same dependable voters can be more easily recruited as volunteers.
In short, because only the most hardcore Republicans and Democrats will fill out ballots for uncontested races, their respective party organizations are able to gauge base loyalty and enthusiasm heading into competitive general elections. With the law on the books as it is now, that data is collected on the taxpayer’s dime.
So while it makes perfect, good-government sense to alter existing statutes to save counties money, there’s simply no incentive for partisan lawmakers to make the change.
Doing so could make their re-election even marginally more difficult.
