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Ritter: Voters can fix forms up to Nov. 4

Coffman decries governor's political 'grandstanding'

By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 10, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Gov. Bill Ritter and state Democrats amped up a politically charged election season Thursday, demanding that Secretary of State Mike Coffman clear up confusion over voting rules or risk leaving people without a ballot.

The Democratic governor asked Coffman, a Republican, to move quickly to rectify an error that left some 4,000 voters believing they were out of time to correct incomplete voter registration forms. He said his office has recently been contacted by "scores of constituents" who fear the mistake will lead to voter disenfranchisement.

According to Ritter, Coffman's office told the voters they had until last Monday to fix problems. In fact, Ritter said, they have until Election Day, Nov. 4.

"It is critical that public officials charged with carrying out the law provide the public with accurate information," Ritter said in the letter to Coffman released Thursday. "I urge you, as the chief election official in the state, to direct all county election officials to make personal contact by telephone with each potential voter, who may have been misled or confused by the earlier communications."

Other Democrats piled on.

"The secretary of state's job is to facilitate voting for as many legitimate Colorado voters as possible, and not stand in the way as people vote for the change our country needs," said state Democratic Party chief Pat Waak.

William Browning, who oversees the Colorado voter registration database known as SCORE, said he was responsible for the mistake on the deadline for rectifying faulty registrations. He said his office quickly notified county clerks of his error, updated the state's Web site, and has letters going out to all affected voters starting today.

"We want to make sure they know they have until Election Day" to clear up problems with registration documents, Browning said.

Coffman was unhappy with Ritter's letter and accused the governor of political "grandstanding" instead of coming to him for an update on the matter.

"I'm very disappointed he didn't have the courtesy to express his concern to me" before releasing the letter, Coffman said.

"He should have asked me for an update first on where these issues are. We've been meeting with the representatives of the Obama campaign, of the McCain campaign, with the Democratic Party, with the Republican Party," Coffman said.

Ritter, he said, "could have been in the loop just by giving me a phone call."

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048