Spring 2013
Colorado
Speak Out
U.S. REPRESENTATIVES
1st — Rep. Diana DeGette
(303) 844-4988
600 Grant Street Suite 202
Denver, CO 80203
2nd — Rep. Jared Polis
(303) 484-9596
4770 Baseline Rd, #220
Boulder, CO 80303
3rd — Rep. Scott Tipton
(970) 241-2499
225 North 5th St., Suite 702
Grand Junction, CO 81501
4th — Rep. Cory Gardner
(970) 351-6007
2425 35th Ave., Suite 202
Greeley, CO 80634
5th — Rep. Doug Lamborn
(719) 520-0055
1271 Kelly Johnson Blvd.
Suite 110
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
6th — Rep. Mike Coffman
(720) 748-7514
3300 S Parker Rd, Suite 305
Aurora, CO 80014
7th — Rep. Ed Perlmutter
(303)274-7944
12600 West Colfax Avenue,
Suite B-400
Lakewood, CO 80215
U.S. SENATORS
Sen. Mark Udall
(303) 650-7820
999 18th Street
Suite 1525, North Tower
Denver, CO 80202
Sen. Michael Bennet
(303) 455-7600
1127 Sherman Street
Suite 150
Denver, CO 80203
The Voters Stood Up
And it couldn’t have come at a more important time.
Coloradans passed Amendment 65 in November calling on
our elected officials to pass a constitutional amendment
that would counter the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens
United and allow states to limit campaign contributions and
spending. According to a report from the Public Interest
Research Group (U.S. PIRG) and Demos, the donations of
just 32 people, on average $9.9 million each, donated the equivalent of all Obama and Romney’s small
donors ($200 or less) combined -- $313 million.
Amendment 65 passed with 74% of the vote, approved by voters in every county in the state. Red,
blue, or purple, the counties of Colorado agreed on one thing: we need a level playing field in our
elections so all voices can be heard.
The voters have spoken. Now it is up to our elected leaders to act. Working with CoPIRG, we have
begun contacting our congressional delegation to learn how they plan to follow the instructions of the
people. Unfortunately, as of February 18th, no members of the Colorado delegation have sponsored
or co-sponsored an amendment addressing Citizens United in this session of Congress, although nine
amendments have been introduced by others. After Amendment 65’s passage, Congressman Ed Perlmutter
co-sponsored two amendments. Senator Michael Bennet co-sponsored an amendment in 2011. Some
members have voiced support for the idea in concept, but not in action; others members of our delegation have said that they understand the frustrations of the people, but have not committed to action.
This is unacceptable.
Voter instructions to elected officials, like Amendment 65, are part of American history. They were widely
used in America’s early days and key to passage of the 17th Amendment for the direct election of
U.S. Senators. Amendment 65 instructs legislators as to how their constituents wish to be represented.
Nobody doubts what the voters want. The only question is whether elected representatives will represent
those who have elected them. If we insist upon it, they will.
Please contact your members of Congress and ask them what they are doing to follow your instructions
in Amendment 65.
www.CommonCause.org/CO | Facebook.com/ColoradoCommonCause | @CommonCauseCO | [email protected]
1536 Wynkoop Street #302 | Denver, CO 80202 | 303-292-2163
Election Victories, Challenges & Next Steps
Tracking True the Vote
What an election last fall! We were successful in our
efforts to ensure Coloradans could exercise their right
to vote, but we also identified problems that need to
be fixed so that every eligible voter can participate
without barriers. Colorado Common Cause led the largest
non-partisan election protection effort in Colorado history. The Just Vote! Colorado Election Protection program
placed over 400 poll monitors at voting locations in 13
counties around the state and staffed a bilingual call
center with more than 80 legal volunteers on Election
Day. Thousands of Colorado voters were assisted. The Just
Vote! website served 72,000 unique visitors. Thank you
to all our members and volunteers who worked with us as Voting Heroes to protect the vote in Colorado!
True the Vote (TTV), an organization that promised
to make one million challenges to voters across the
country, caused concerns about voter suppression activities at the polls. Colorado Common Cause tracked
their activities leading up to Election Day and found
significant inaccuracies in their training materials that
if not addressed, would have resulted in Colorado voters being challenged without any legal basis. Common
Cause sent a letter to the Secretary of State and the
Colorado Attorney General demanding that they enforce applicable Colorado laws. The Secretary of State’s
office did just that, instructing local election officials
to not allow TTV poll workers or monitors to suppress
Despite our success, we did identify problems. While voting by mail is increasingly popular, Colorado’s changing the vote in Colorado. As a result, TTV was kept at bay
elections are also confusing, leading some voters to not receive mail ballots when expecting them. We also saw in Colorado in 2012.
a significant number of registration problems, some resulting from the poor performance of the Secretary of
State’s website, others simply as a result of the arbitrary registration deadline. There were also the usual array
of election administration problems, including poor planning, inadequately trained election judges, inadequate
signs and polling place accessibility problems.
Through a bequest, you can create a permanent
Planned Giving
Now is the time to address these and other barriers to voting head on. Our first victory came with a
favorable court ruling on the Inactive-Failed to Vote (IFTV) registration status. A Denver District Court judge
decided in January that counties do have the authority to mail ballots to voters marked IFTV, people who
have missed just one general election, and that the Secretary of State’s efforts to limit such mailings was
improper. The next step is to get rid of the IFTV status altogether during this legislative session. We are
also working toward a reform in the General Assembly that ensures no one is prevented from voting because
they miss an arbitrary voter registration deadline or move without updating their address. Also on our list
is action to require better election planning and election judge training.
4
Ways to Plug In
E-Activism: Sign up at CommonCause.org/CauseNet
Facebook: Facebook.com/ColoradoCommonCause
Twitter:
Twitter.com/CommonCauseCO
Blog:
CommonBlog.com/in-the-states/Colorado
legacy supporting open, honest, and accountable government. You can make a gift to Colorado Common
Cause by simply including the following language in
your will: “I devise to Colorado Common Cause [insert
amount of
bequest or estate distribution percentage] to be used
for the furtherance of its mission.” For more information, please contact Elena Nunez at 303-292-2163.
Contact Us
Elena Nunez, Executive Director
[email protected]
Katie Fleming, Associate Director
[email protected]
Elizabeth Steele, Just Vote Manager
[email protected]
Caitlin Schneider, Organizer
[email protected]
(303) 292-2163
1536 Wynkoop Street
Suite 302
Denver, CO 80202
Legislative Update
We’re only a month and half into the 2013 legislative session, but we’ve already seen several bills introduced—some proposals that would make our democracy stronger; some contrary to the public interest.
Here are a few we’re working on. To see the full list, visit www.CommonCause.org/CO/2013Session.
Elections
HB13-1050 Secretary of State Authority to Create Citizenship Tribunals. CCC led a coalition of more than a
dozen civic engagement organizations to oppose this bill. The bill would have authorized the Secretary
of State to use unreliable databases to identify voters as noncitizens. It was effectively a proof of citizenship requirement for non-US born citizens, creating an intimidating hearing process without access to legal
representation.
Position: OPPOSE
Status: Killed in committee.
SB13-065 Approval Voting. This bill would have allowed communities to use approval voting. With approval
voting, voters can vote for as many candidates as they choose for a race, resulting in a system that produces results closer to the actual wishes of the people. Approval voting could increase voter participation,
prevent minor-party candidates from being spoilers, and reduce negative campaigning.
Position: SUPPORT
Status: Killed in committee.
Transparency in Government
HB13-1041 Transmission of Public Records. Obtaining access to government records is one of the most
important tools we have to keep an eye on what our government is doing. Under current law, government
officials can require that someone pick up records in person instead of sending them by mail, email or fax.
Although most custodians waive this requirement when they can, there are some who are using the law
as a barrier to public access. This bill would update the law, allowing people to obtain documents without
appearing in person. This common sense policy will help increase access to public documents, lowering the
barriers between the people and our governments.
Position: SUPPORT
Status: Passed House. Scheduled for Senate Judiciary committee hearing.
Remembering Rosalie Schiff
A longtime friend of Colorado Common Cause passed away early this
year. Rosalie Schiff was the CCC executive director from 1975-1987.
During her time on staff, Common Cause worked on a number of
important victories including the state’s first sunshine laws, sunset
laws, motor voter (voter registration at the DMV), and the GAVEL
amendment (requiring a public hearing for every legislative bill). She
also served on both the CCC board of directors and the National
Governing Board for Common Cause.
Increasing the Youth Vote
Young people make up a significant portion of the
eligible electorate. Although 18-29 year olds make up
21% of the voting age population, in 2012, only 49%
of them voted. Since as early as the 1970’s, young
people who do not go to college have been about
30% less likely to vote than young people who do.
Our democracy works best when we all vote. The
voice of young adults needs to be amplified. Their
voice could have an even larger impact on our election outcomes if we can work to increase their civic
participation.
One way to increase that participation is by preregistering 16 and 17 year olds to vote. On their
18th birthday, their registration is activated thereby
increasing their likelihood of voting. 13 other states
allow pre-registration and the results have been an
increased likelihood of first time voting as well as
increases in long-term civic engagement.
HB13-1135 is working its way through the Colorado
General Assembly right now and if it passes, we will
see pre-registration implemented in Colorado. Common Cause is working with our friends at New Era
Colorado to make sure this bill passes.
1536 Wynkoop Street
#302
Denver, CO 80202
303-292-2163
Nonprofit Organization
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U.S. Postage Paid
Denver, CO
COLORADO COMMON CAUSE
GOVERNING BOARD
Andrea Bloom
Gary Fornander
Alli Gerkman
Bill Goldberg
Ken Gordon
Barbara Green
Barbara Griswold
Gina Hardin
Jeff Hart
Melissa Hart
Jennifer Hunt
David Janik
Aaron Leff
Michael McCune
Nan Morehead
Bill Parsons
Judith Singleton
Don Smith
Lily Smith
Michael Snow
T.A. Taylor-Hunt
Martha Tierney
Roy Wardell
Media, Money
and Politics
With
Former Federal Communications Commissioner
Michael Copps
&
President of Free Press
Craig Aaron
6 p.m.
Thursday, March 7th
LoRaine Good Room, Tivoli Union
900 Auraria Parkway, Denver, CO
Join us for unique discussion about the emerging
debate about how issues related to media
consolidation combined with out of control spending on
elections is creating a toxic environment for democracy.
Screening & Discussion
THE UNITED STATES
OF ALEC
is a documentary, narrated by B i l l M o y e r s
reports on the most influential corporate-funded
political force most of
us have never heard of
– ALEC, the American
Legislative Exchange
Council. A national consortium of state politicians
and powerful corporations, ALEC presents
itself as a “nonpartisan
public-private partnership”. But behind that
mantra lies a vast network
of corporate lobbying and
political action aimed to
increase corporate profits
at public expense without
public knowledge.
Tuesday, March 26th
6 p.m.
State Capitol Building
Old Supreme Court
Chambers
200 E Colfax Ave
Denver, CO 80203