There is a diary on the rec list right now talking about voter purges going on in several states around the country. Without talking about the legality of what is and isn't going on, there are some things we know.
We know that Republicans have messed with elections in the past (see 2000 and 2004) and are likely to do so again. We also know that this is OUR year. We have the better candidate, the better party, the better ideas and we are even on fund raising. We have greater party identification and enthusiasm. We have an electorate tired of the Republican corruption of the last 8 years.
We also know that the media is interested in keeping the election a horse race. The MSM could make the election appear close enough for a Republican theft to go undetected. With that in mind, starting with Colorado, I am going to do a series of diaries on the voter registration rules for at risk states so that we have the information me need to ensure that all Democratic votes are counted. Follow after the jump for information on Colorado.
The most important way to combat voter suppression is by getting information to the voters. The most common way people are removed from the voter rolls is when they fail to respond to requests for information at the address they have listed on their voter registration. If people are not aware their registration is outdated they can be forced to fill out provisional ballots at the polls.
With that in mind the easiest thing for Colorado Voters to do is use this page on the Secretary of State's website to verify if they are registered to vote. A targeted campaign not only for registering voters but also for getting voters to check their registration would be useful.
Voters can only be removed from the rolls for certain reasons. In Colorado,
If an individual is to be removed from the computerized list, such individual shall be removed in accordance with the provisions of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.), including subsections (a)(4), (c)(2), (d), and (e) of section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6).
registrants who have not responded to a notice and who have not voted in 2 consecutive general elections for Federal office shall be removed from the official list of eligible voters, except that no registrant may be removed solely by reason of a failure to vote.
The bottom line is anyone who has not voted in the last two general elections (including new registrations) is at risk for being removed.
The counties we want to focus are attention on are counties with overwhelming democratic registration, and counties that have a large group of voters who have been disenfranchised in the past. In Colorado a prime example of this is Denver County, with urban centers that are traditionally Democratic. There are 127,000 registered Democrats to just 45,000 registered republicans, out of a total of 387,225 total registered voters. The Secretary of State publishes the registration totals monthly on his website. The good news is that registration is up in almost all of the counties in the state. These numbers can be watched for any dips in either democratic or overall registration.
Colorado Registered Voter Totals
There are very strict rules for voter registration drives in Colorado. Anyone wishing to run a registration drive has to register their drive with the Secretary of State. The people running the drive are required to take a free class on how to properly register voters. All of the information you need to run a VRD in Colorado is here.
Barack Obama also has a list of links to the election/registration laws for all 50 states. Link.
If you are planning on registering homeless people or inmates here are the rules:
Homeless people are required to provide an address at which they can be contacted by mail. This can be any location but for practical reasons the best bet is to put a public place like a park for the address, and then provide a PO BOX where the person is willing to receive mail as a mailing address.
Prisoners convicted of felonies, or anyone on parole are not eligible to vote. Prisoners convicted of misdemeanors are eligible as well as detainees awaiting trial.
Another important way to ensure fairness is to have good Democrats working the polls on election night. Go here
to learn how to become a Colorado Election Judge.
Other useful links:
Elections home on Colorado Secretary of State Website
http://www.elections.colorado.gov/...
County clerk and recorder websites
http://www.elections.colorado.gov/...
I have emailed the Colorado Secretary of State to see if it would be possible to obtain a list of then names that were recently purged from the voter rolls, as they would be prime targets for registration.
Thanks for reading as always.