Alton Dillard

With a lengthy state ballot and expected lines at the polls, Denver officials say they are working to make sure that on Election Day every voting precinct in the city has at least one bilingual poll worker to assist those who may not speak English. There is a specific emphasis on Spanish speakers.

Denver’s Election Director, Mike Scarpello, says he is concerned about the possibility that thousands of people will come to the polls on Nov. 4 and find that they are not registered to vote. And he’s looking for a way to fix the problem.

Voting rights experts upbraided Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman today for shirking federal law by rejecting as many as 10,000 new voter applications.

In a letter to Coffman, representatives of eight organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, Colorado Common Cause and the Fair Elections Legal Network in Washington, D.C., demanded that the Secretary of State’s office direct county clerks to accept applications with minor omissions or technical mistakes.

Colorado’s confusing voter registration form has prompted county clerks to reject at least 4,800 new voter applications. And while election officials say there’s still time for the applicants to get onto voter rolls, watchdog groups warn of unintended disenfranchisement.