Colorado county clerks baffled by Gessler ‘non-citizen voter registration’ claims
“I really have no idea what he is talking about,” Republican Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Sheila Reiner told the Colorado Independent.
“I really have no idea what he is talking about,” Republican Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Sheila Reiner told the Colorado Independent.
DENVER– Colorado Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette and representatives of the state’s top civil rights organizations this weekend railed against efforts by Republican lawmakers and officials around the country to recast voter rules. Flooded with pale mountain sun on the west steps of the capitol, the speakers took turns detailing ways new registration and voting requirements and restrictions will make it more difficult for millions of Americans to cast ballots in presidential election year 2012.
In filing suit yesterday against Denver County over its 2011 election plan, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has raised the specter for the second time since he took office in January that he is using his position as head of elections not to expand but to suppress voting in the state.
A Senate committee axed three Republican immigration bills Monday. The committee, on a party-line vote, turned down legislation that targeted voting accessibility and immigration concerns. Also killed was a bill ridiculed by some as a “birther bill.” That legislation would have required elected officials to present proof of citizenship upon taking office.
A bill that would have allowed Walmart and other big-box grocery stores to carry full-strength beer died in the House Thursday. On the House floor legislators said the doubling of stores selling beer would compromise the promise liquor store owners were given by the state when they decided to invest in the industry.
Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, told the Colorado Independent Thursday that she was calling Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s bluff to purge individuals who may or may not be improperly on Colorado’s voting rolls.
The bipartisan hug issued around the Legislature after a compromise on the state budget Tuesday was broken Wednesday as House Republicans passed a bill exempting businesses from business personal property taxes.
The Republican Study Committee of Colorado lost another member today — state Rep. Kathleen Conti, who joined 10 House legislators who quit the ultra conservative club earlier this week. The exodus followed a House Republican Caucus meeting on Monday night when legislators rebelled against the RSCC for having characterized House Speaker Frank McNulty, Majority Leader Amy Stephens and other GOP lawmakers as RINOs (Republicans in name only).
A bill designed by Secretary of State Scott Gessler and sponsored by Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, to ensure the integrity of the Colorado voting system is being called a means to reduce voter participation by voters’ rights advocates.
House Democrats argued for over an hour against a bill that would allow Coloradans who can legally carry a handgun to also conceal that weapon. Democrats predicted a more dangerous world if the bill were to become law.