A Win For Democracy

by: KathrynCWallace

Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 08:17:23 AM MST

Short history: In the 2010 election, there were two races that were extremely close, including the Clerk's race.  There was also a tax measure that was decided by one single vote.  All of this is exactly the sort of circumstance that cries for recounts and re-examination.  Indeed, the "public" believes that we WILL have recounts and examinations in such close cases, it is part of why anyone has any faith in our democratic process.  But in this case, not even the canvass board was willing to certify the election.  In short there was no validation of this election by any citizen review.  We had the word of the clerk alone that these results were accurate.  As Carroll says:

Too many clerks seem to believe that they should be both the first and last line of defense of election integrity. No one must look over their shoulder or second-guess procedures - or at least no one outside the official club. Hence the clerks' repeated attempts to keep voted ballots under wraps and their strained explanations for why voter identity could be breached if they do not.

There, that wasn't so terrible, was it? Democracy didn't sputter out when citizen volunteers were allowed to inspect - and yes, handle - ballots cast by residents of Saguache County in a recent recount of last fall's contested results.  Unwashed barbarians did not desecrate the sanctuary of our election priesthood, as Colorado's county clerks all but predicted earlier this year when they were denouncing the proposal. "We believe ballots are sacred," the president of the Colorado County Clerks Association declared in commentary published in The Post, adding that "the integrity of our elections is worth fighting for."

Yes, the integrity of our elections is worth fighting for. And that's why the precedent in Saguache County is so important.

And he is so right.  The sanctity of the ballots is that they are available to prove the outcome of the election.  If the process has somehow broken down such that those ballots can not be reviewed, the Clerks have failed in their primary duty.  Judge Martin's ruling and the recount that followed were a win for democracy.  A very big thank you to all of the people who pushed this issue, including CFVI, the only citizens group in Colorado focused solely on maintaining integrity in voting and elections.  Full disclosure, I sit on their board.  But I didn't do much on this issue so they deserve the nod.