Voting forms ruled incomplete for lack of check mark

By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Election watchers are accusing Secretary of State Mike Coffman of improperly labeling thousands of voter registrations incomplete because applicants failed to check a small box on their forms.

Several organizations - including the ACLU of Colorado, Colorado Common Cause, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund - sent a letter Monday to Coffman urging him to change his policy.

The groups are concerned about a policy Coffman's office implemented last year to verify an applicant's identity.

The registration form was changed to include a box that voters must check if they do not have a driver's license or state ID number. Instead, they are instructed to provide at least part of their Social Security number.

More than 6,400 applicants statewide supplied their Social Security numbers but didn't check the box. Coffman's office told county clerks to contact these applicants and ask them to resubmit a corrected form.

If applicants don't return a completed form, they can cast only a provisional ballot Nov. 4. Provisional ballots are counted after Election Day and require additional ID to be accepted.

Coffman said his office added the box to comply with a 2006 state law and the federal Help America Vote Act. The Colorado law says voter applicants "shall answer" that they don't have a driver's license or state ID number and supply a Social Security number instead.

Coffman said "state law is clear" about this issue.

"We cannot and will not ignore the law," he said. "Our office and the clerks are reaching out to affected voters to ensure they complete their registrations prior to Election Day."

The groups argue that a provision in another federal election law trumps laws cited by Coffman. The Voting Rights Act says officials can't reject a voter application for an "immaterial omission," said Jonah Goldman, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who specializes in election law.

He said the Colorado registration form is "incredibly confusing" and "it seems pretty clear that the checking of the box is immaterial."

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, sponsored the 2006 law Coffman is citing. "The law was intended to try to make it easier for eligible citizens to vote and should be interpreted liberally for that purpose," said Gordon, who lost to Coffman in the 2006 secretary of state race.

Mail ballots by the numbers

* 1,325,982 mail ballots sent to voters

* 39,652 ballots filled out and sent back

* 34,825 ballots received Saturday and Monday

Registration by the numbers

* 22,161 incomplete voter registration forms statewide as of Monday.

* 6,462 forms set aside because certain applicants failed to check boxes on their forms.

* Check your voter status at: govotecolorado.com or 303-894-2200.

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