Union reps and other special interests from outside the city can go door to door in Denver helping residents mark their mail-in ballots and collecting ballots from voters. Denver has no specific prohibition on third parties rounding up ballots. Several Denver City Council members are fighting to keep it that way.
State-level guidelines in Colorado say that citizens are allowed to collect and give to the county clerk no more than five ballots from their own household.
Denver City Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz is proposing changes to Denver election rules that would apply these state limits to city elections. Because of its home rule status, Denver can make its own election rules and need not follow state law.
In a committee hearing last week, Faatz explained that mail-in ballots provide convenience for voters, who can drop a ballot in the mail or go to one of several drop-off locations. The postal service is federally mandated to deliver ballots to the clerk. Other parties, such as get-out-the-vote groups, are not regulated and not sworn to handle ballots appropriately.
Councilman Chris Nevitt called the proposal "a completely unnecessary impediment to the free exercise of franchise." He pointed out that mail ballots are already risky from a security standpoint, so the additional risk of mail ballots being misappropriated or mishandled is acceptable if it allows more people to vote. An astonishing statement to be sure, so I YouTubed it below.
This is the first time I've heard an elected official say that Colorado's limit on third-party ballot collection is an "impediment to the free exercise of franchise." If voters are being disenfranchised by the rule, it's interesting that Nevitt is the first to express concern. But it's not surprising; Nevitt is all about pushing a union agenda.
Union officials want to increase their ranks -- and their coffers -- by unionizing 7,000 city employees who currently are not allowed to unionize. To accomplish this, the union needs to change the city charter, which would require a vote of the people.
Unions have invested considerable money and shoe leather to get Nevitt and union organizer Paul Lopez elected to city council. Blocking their burgeoning machine from collecting ballots might make it more difficult for unions to get the result they want on election day.
With an assist from Councilwoman Carol Boigon, chair of the General Government Committee -- who also happens to be indebted to union interests -- Faatz's common-sense proposal to help safeguard election integrity will be killed in committee, probably.
I have much more to say about this. It's a case study in how a special interest can institutionalize an electoral advantage for itself at city hall.
For now, watch the exchange between Faatz and Nevitt:
Related articles:
Union gravy train can coast through Denver election rules
Unions influence Denver elections bigtime
Comments
Mr. Nevitt
If the voters do not need qualified elected or certified or sworn in officials to collect our ballots, maybe then the private sector does not have to hire qualified unionized labor for their labor needs.
Imagine if the city workers become unionized the all the mayor has to do is contract with the surrounding cities to do work in Denver. Imagine Denver trash being picked up by trucks with the City of Lakewood's logo.
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