Yes, Even More Election Code Revisions
| Jurisdiction | Colorado,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 24 No. 8 Pg. 1803 |
| Pages | 1803 |
| Publication year | 1995 |
1995, August, Pg. 1803. Yes, Even More Election Code Revisions
In the constant striving for perfection that marks Colorado election law, the General Assembly has passed another in the continuing series of revisions to the Uniform Election Code of 1992 ("Code"). House Bill ("H.B.") 95-1241 contains many technical amendments intended to make the election process run more smoothly, but gaps remain that will undoubtedly be filled by a 1996 elections bill.
Effective January 1, 1993, the Code revised election procedures for many Colorado elections.(fn1) Since its adoption, the Code has been affected or revised by the TABOR Amendment,(fn2) H.B. 93-1255, HR-2,(fn3) 1993 election rules,(fn4) H.B. 94-1286, H.B. 94-1294 and 1994 election rules.(fn5) The continuing need to improve the Code led to H.B. 95-1241 and a handful of other 1995 election bills.
The Code contains dozens of references to the timing of election events. Unfortunately, the Code uses inconsistent terminology. Some tasks are completed "before" a certain date, while others occur "not later than" or "prior to" a date.
"Prior to" basically means through the day before the day mentioned. For example, if an event is to occur "prior to" ninety days before the election date, the day before the election date is counted as number one,(fn6) then the days are counted backward until the number ninety, with the last available date to perform the task being the day before the day numbered ninety. So, if the ninetieth numbered day is a Friday, the last date available to do the task is the immediately preceding Thursday. However, if day number ninety falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the date is moved to the prior Friday.(fn7) "Prior to," "before" and "not less than" mean the same thing.(fn8)
Several timing changes in the Code were made to move the date of an event off of a weekend, generally to Friday or Monday. These changes include the deadlines for a request for a change in polling place location for a person with a disability(fn9) and the last date to post polling place signs,(fn10) both of which now occur twelve days, instead of ten days, prior to the election.
The Code now defines "nonpartisan election" and "partisan election."(fn11) The definition of "property owners list" is now consistent throughout the Code.(fn12)
A number of provisions, mostly of technical interest to county and municipal clerks, make voter registration easier.(fn13) Voters may register to vote up to twenty-nine days before an election.(fn14) County clerks may use the statewide voter registration computer system or may maintain their own systems.(fn15)
While H.B. 95-1241 awaited the Governor's signature, a scandal broke in the press that demonstrated that a person could register to vote several times or could register a dog to vote. This problem prompted a committee of the General Assembly to pull the bill back for revisions. On discovering that HR-2 limits the state's ability to prevent voter registration fraud, H.B. 95-1241 was returned to the Governor with increased penalties for such fraud.(fn16) An ounce of preemption is worth a pound of cure.
Designated election officials are not to place a candidate on the ballot if the candidate will not swear or affirm to his or her qualifications or provide proof of qualifications.(fn17) Thus, the Code implies that election...
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