Controversy over voters who were purged from the rolls continues, as the Denver Post reports Secretary of State Mike Coffman eliminated more than 44,000 voters in recent months, more than past estimates.
According to the Post, several hundred voters had to cast provisional ballots when they showed up on Election Day.
Crying foul, several voter advocacy groups sued Coffman for eliminating voters from the rolls too close to the election. On Oct. 31, U.S. District Court Judge John Kane ordered Coffman, whom he called “obdurate,” to stop purging voters from the rolls. At the time, the estimated number of people who had been purged — for everything from having duplicate registrations to having moved to being deceased — was 30,000. Voters who showed up on Election Day were allowed to cast provisional ballots, which are not counted until after the election.
In the election, Coffman won a congressional seat to replace retiring Rep. Tom Tancredo. Gov. Bill Ritter will select his replacement.
Here are the latest numbers, from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office:
14,748: Moved out of county or state
13,999: Duplicate registration
10,366: Deceased
2,660: Verification postcard bounced back
1,392: Convicted felon
563: Canceled for inactivity
358: Withdrawn
23: Not a citizen
10: Voter fraud
8: Other
