Chieftain article attributed bipartisan voting machine bill only to GOP House co-sponsor

Summary: In reporting January 17 on a bill designed to ease recertification of the state's election machines, The Pueblo Chieftain stated that "Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, finally got his measure to help the appeal process for the state's voting machines introduced Wednesday." In contrast to other news accounts, the Chieftain failed to mention that the bill's co-sponsor was Democratic Senate President Ken Gordon (Denver), who announced the measure with Balmer, or that the bill had lead sponsors from both parties in each chamber.

In a January 17 article about House Bill 1155 -- legislation to facilitate recertification of Colorado electronic voting machines following their controversial decertification by Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman -- The Pueblo Chieftain reported that "Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, finally got his measure to help the appeal process for the state's voting machines introduced Wednesday." In contrast with The Denver Post's January 17 article, a January 17 Associated Press article about the bill, and a January 16 news release from the state Democratic legislative leadership, the Chieftain article neglected to indicate that the bill is a bipartisan effort co-sponsored and jointly announced by the Democratic president of the Colorado senate, Ken Gordon (Denver).

The Chieftain also omitted that the bill's Democratic co-sponsor in the House is Rep. Rosemary Marshall (Denver) and that the Republican co-sponsor in the Senate is Sen. Steve Johnson (Fort Collins).

From the January 17 article in The Pueblo Chieftain, "Voting machine bill":

DENVER -- Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, finally got his measure to help the appeal process for the state's voting machines introduced Wednesday, and as promised, the measure will be heard in a House committee today.

[...]

The bill is designed to give Secretary of State Mike Coffman flexibility in recertifying thousands of voting machines and ballot counters that he declared unusable last month because of various problems.

In contrast with the Chieftain, the Post identified the bill as "bipartisan" and noted Gordon's co-sponsorship and participation in the bill's announcement:

The tumult surrounding Colorado's election system continued Wednesday as lawmakers introduced the first bill of the session dealing with problematic voting machines and Gov. Bill Ritter weighed in with his support for paper ballots.

Meanwhile, dozens of county clerks and several voting-machine makers filed appeals to the secretary of state's office protesting the decertification of their voting equipment.

The bipartisan House Bill 1155 would allow Secretary of State Mike Coffman to more quickly recertify the election machines he had deemed subpar. It had been expected to be introduced earlier but was held up as lawmakers offered suggestions.

[...]

In announcing the bill, Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, and Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, co-sponsors, voiced their support for the use of paper ballots this year instead of widespread use of electronic voting terminals. [emphases added]

The January 17 AP article also made the bipartisan nature of HB 1155 explicit:

Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday allowing Secretary of State Mike Coffman to retest and possibly recertify the electronic voting machines he disqualified last month.

The measure (House Bill 1155) allows Coffman to test the equipment after they have undergone software upgrades or other changes. However, it specifies that he can't relax the standards and must explain any decision to recertify a machine.

[...]

In a written statement, state Reps. David Balmer, R-Centennial, and Rosemary Marshall, D-Denver, and Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon said they were working with their colleagues, county clerks, Coffman, the governor and citizens to develop "a reliable, paper-based voting system."

"We'll need a certain amount of electronic voting machines to comply with federal law. But we believe that the votes cast in 2008 should be recorded on paper," they said.

They introduced the bill along with Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins. [emphases added]

Similarly, the news release announcing the legislation noted its bipartisan sponsorship:

Today, a bipartisan team of lawmakers introduced a bill to take the first step in fashioning a plan to conduct Colorado's elections in manner that is fair, accurate, accessible and transparent. Representatives David Balmer (R-Arapahoe) and Rosemary Marshall (D-Denver) and Senators Ken Gordon (D-Denver) and Steve Johnson (R-Larimer) introduced legislation clarifying the Secretary of State's authority to recertify voting machines. [emphasis in original]

Further, before noting that the bill was "still undergoing some tweaking," a January 16 Chieftain article similarly reported, "Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, and Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, were expected to introduce a measure earlier this week designed to help Secretary of State Mike Coffman better deal with appeals to his recent decision to decertify thousands of electronic voting machines and ballot scanners used in most of the state." The article further reported:

The measure, which Balmer and Gordon were to fast-track through the Legislature, is to be designed to give Coffman more flexibility in handling appeals to his December decision to decertify several voting machines and ballot readers, including most of those used in Pueblo and the rest of Southern Colorado.

—E.B.