Back in November, Denver voters got quite the slap in the face on Election Day. Lines were up to three hours long, election judges weren't properly trained, software malfunctioned, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. As a result, in January, we held a special election to eliminate the Denver Election Commission and replace them with one elected Clerk and Recorder who can be held accountable to the public. Voters were obviously telling the Commission they weren't doing a good job.
So, as we head into a May 1st Municipal election in Denver, voters are being slapped in the face...
again. The Election Commission has deactivated 117,038 Denver voters because they didn't vote in November and January. These voters were sent a postcard telling them they are inactive and asking them if they would like to reactivate themselves. Of the 117,000 cards sent out, only 11,000 people have responded. Unless these people request a ballot, they will not receive one in the mail.
City Councilman Doug Linkhart was right to take issue with the commission's decision to not mail ballots to inactive voters. The decision is in keeping with state law that says a voter who fails to vote in a general election is deemed inactive. Active status is restored when a voter updates registration information or returns the confirmation card.
In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt for election officials to make an extra effort to alert voters of the upcoming election. It is important to emphasize that if voters miss Monday's registration deadline, they have until May 1 at 5 p.m. to register and fill out their ballots in person.
To read the full editorial in the Denver Post, click
here.
We will continue to pressure the DEC to contact these "inactive" voters again, and to launch an aggressive campaign to inform Denverites that there is an election coming up.
Last day to register to vote is Monday, April 2nd.
