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Vote protocols to be on table

By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 1, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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Colorado lawmakers will tangle with the complex problem of electronic voting machine approval for the second year in a row.

They also will consider several proposals related to mail voting, voter ID requirements and ways to reduce election costs.

But, in light of a relatively smooth presidential election, the coming legislative session is not expected to produce the controversy and scramble for legislation that occurred last year.

"I imagine it'll be quieter this year," said Rep. Paul Weissmann, a Louisville Democrat and incoming House Majority Leader.

Weissmann said the General Assembly's work will depend largely on priorities set by the new Secretary of State, Grand Junction Democrat Bernie Buescher, and the new state Election Reform Commission.

The most pressing issue will be what to do with a new law that permitted approval of the state's electronic voting and counting machines for use this year.

Before the start of the last legislative session, Secretary of State Mike Coffman banned thousands of e-voting and counting machines because of security and accuracy concerns, throwing county clerk offices into turmoil. In February, lawmakers hastily passed HB 1155, which gave Coffman more flexibility to allow clerks to use the machines for the presidential election.

But HB 1155 will expire in July, putting election officials in the same predicament again.

The 11-member state Election Reform Commission has been meeting since November and is expected to submit recommendations before March.

Meanwhile, some lawmakers will propose changes in how votes are cast.

Two Democratic state representatives, Ed Casso of Commerce City and Nancy Todd of Aurora, want to allow county clerks to conduct all-mail elections.

Some bills will be repeats from previous sessions.

State Rep. Ken Summers, R-Lakewood, said he will reintroduce a bill that would require people to show photo ID to register and to cast a ballot. State law now allows other forms of ID at the polls, including a utility bill.

Summers said he hopes his bill will gain more traction this time around because of a Supreme Court ruling last April that upheld Indiana's photo ID rules.

Access to the voting booth has sparked a partisan battle here and across the country, with Republicans pushing for stricter voter registration rules and Democrats supporting ways to make it easier to vote.