Voting turmoil brewing
Fraud, provisionals, Electoral College creating storm in city, state

By KEVIN DUGGAN and JON SARCHE
Fort Collins Coloradoan  The Associated Press   15 October 2004

Some problems surrounding state's election

FELONS: The secretary of state has acknowledged there are about 6,000 felons registered to vote in Colorado. She is updating information from corrections officials to distribute lists to county clerks, who will have to purge their rolls of convicted felons still serving their sentences or out on parole.

REGISTRATION FRAUD: Registration drives, some of which paid workers for each voter they registered, have resulted in thousands of questionable forms flowing into clerks' offices. A number of them, possibly up to 1,000, could prompt fraud cases. Examples of fraud can include incorrect Social Security numbers, birth dates or driver's license numbers, changed party affiliations or names, or signatures that do not match those on file.

PROVISIONAL BALLOTS: A judge could rule this week on a lawsuit affecting how provisional ballots are handled. Colorado Common Cause contends it is unconstitutional to require all voters to present identification at polling places, to prohibit provisional ballots for people who requested absentee ballots, and to not count any votes other than those for president/vice president on provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct. The precinct rule would not apply in Larimer County, because it uses vote centers that any voter may visit.

OVERSEAS RESIDENTS: A lawsuit over Ralph Nader's appearance on the ballot delayed mailing absentee ballots to military personnel and other residents living overseas. These ballots will be counted as long as they arrive at county clerks' offices by Nov. 12. 

 
Four years after the Florida debacle, Colorado is making a strong case to become ground zero for a postelection nightmare.

In the past week alone, the secretary of state has confirmed that 6,000 felons are registered to vote on Nov. 2 and accused the attorney general of leaving her "out of the loop" when it comes to investigating voter fraud.

So many questions have been raised about voter registration drives that an early October deadline won't apply in some cases, even as 64 county clerks await a court ruling on how to enforce voting rules.

Then there is the ballot measure already being challenged in court that would split the state's nine Electoral College votes.

All of this comes amid a tight presidential race and a hotly contested campaign in Colorado that could change the balance of power in the Senate.

"There is a lot going on," said Larimer County Clerk Scott Doyle. "It's a very unusual election year."

Democratic and Republican party officials already are assembling teams of lawyers to keep watch at the polls and, if necessary, challenge the results if the battle between President Bush and Democrat John Kerry hinges again on a handful of votes.

"Unless we get a handle on some of these things, Colorado could be even worse than Florida," said Democrat Mike Feeley, whose race for Congress two years ago went undecided for several weeks while the parties fought in court over how to count provisional ballots. He lost by 121 votes to Republican Bob Beauprez.

"I think it's probably inevitable," Feeley said of legal battles. "I hope that's not the case, but everybody's breathing down the secretary of state's neck; everybody's lawyering up; and the conditions are right for a number of challenges."

The situation in Colorado started getting confusing when a surge in voter registrations swamped county clerks. No one is sure how many new voters signed up, but the figure could be well more than 100,000.

Larimer County has had about 20,000 new voter registrations, Doyle said, bringing the county's total registration to 203,201, an all-time high. The county has 160,892 "active" voters who either participated in the last election or made recent changes to their registrations, such as an address.

Of the new registrations, as many as 1,000 could be duplications that will be tossed out by the time the county's election rolls are set for the Nov. 2 election, Doyle said.

Given the number of new registrations, it's not unusual to have so many duplications, Doyle said. People sometimes forget whether they're registered, he said, or might register more than once "to make sure it really got done."

The Clerk's Office has forwarded two questionable registrations to the District Attorney's Office as being potentially fraudulent, Doyle said. If fraud can be proved, those responsible would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, he said.

Secretary of State Donetta Davidson stunned the clerks by effectively scrapping the Oct. 4 registration deadline after people complained their registration forms had not been turned in by various get-out-the-vote campaigns.

People who don't show up on voter rolls will be asked to swear they are eligible to vote to get a provisional ballot. The problem? If they aren't on the rolls, election judges can't confirm whether they are telling the truth.

Provisional ballots cannot be counted until 12 days after the election, but even that deadline is in question because a lawsuit that kept Ralph Nader on the ballot also delayed the mailing of absentee ballots overseas.

Because of the delay, those ballots will still be counted even if they come in 10 days after Election Day.

Larimer County absentee ballots are in the mail, and some have been delivered, Doyle said, with the remainder expected to reach local voters within the next couple of days.

"If people don't get them by Saturday, we want to hear from them," Doyle said.

At the same time, a Denver judge is considering a lawsuit filed by Colorado Common Cause that could change the way election officials handle provisional ballots. The group contends identification should not be required and is challenging both rules on absentee ballots and one that will toss out every vote but the one for president from those who cast ballots in the wrong precinct.

Davidson has yet to provide official guidance for 16,000 poll workers, citing the pending ruling that is expected to be appealed. Some counties aren't waiting, but discrepancies among their instructions could provide fodder for lawsuits.

Davidson is downplaying the concerns, saying Colorado is under unprecedented scrutiny because of its close races and the tight presidential race.

Bruce Altschuler, a professor and chairman of the political science department at the State University of New York at Oswego, said similar problems are cropping up in every battleground state.

"The fear or hope, as the case may be, by both parties is this election could turn out to be as close as last time," Altschuler said. "Both sides are leaving no stone unturned in the search for potential voters and the potential for hanky-panky and lawsuits."