Laura Flanders: Colorado Scores a Win for Voting Rights (The Nation)

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BLOG | Posted 05/21/2007 @ 12:33pm
Colorado Scores a Win for Voting Rights

Laura Flanders

Before they come to Denver for their convention in 2008, Democrats would be smart to bone up on some local Blue Grit victories. Looking for a platform on voting rights for example? Coloradans working for the reform of their voting system are fuelled by one, simple, radical notion that's proved a remarkable success. As Joe Richey, board member of the Democracy for Colorado put it, the point is "making it easier for people to vote not more difficult."

Now there's a concept.

During the 2006 mid-term elections, Denver replaced 400 neighborhood polling precincts, with 55 centrally vote centers. The new voting venues were ill-equipped, understaffed, and the Sequoia Systems electronic polling machines repeatedly crashed. In some parts of the city, voters waited long into the night to cast their ballots.

To almost no national media attention, a broad based coalition of grassroots activists and citizen groups in Colorado has tried to put things to rights. Groups including Democracy for Colorado, Coloradoans for Ballot Integrity, Colorado Common Causeand Be the Change introduced a slew of election protection measures in an omnibus reform bill that passed the assembly in the last days of the Colorado legislative session this month. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=197666