Hosting two GOP county clerks, KFKA's Oliver omitted Coffman's role in voting machine decertification and flip-flop on paper ballots

Summary: On March 18, Amy Oliver of 1310 KFKA discussed a bill requiring primarily paper balloting in the state's 2008 elections, stating that it had put Colorado "in a bit of a quagmire" because "the legislature's gotten involved." But she and her guests, two Republican county clerks, failed to mention that Secretary of State Mike Coffman (R) had decertified most electronic voting machines and that he previously had endorsed paper ballots.

Discussing state legislation requiring that Colorado's 2008 elections be conducted "primarily by paper ballot," Independence Institute Director of Operations Amy Oliver claimed on her March 18 1310 KFKA broadcast that "county clerks have no idea how they're actually going to hold" the 2008 elections because "the legislature's gotten involved." However, Oliver omitted that the legislation she claimed had put Colorado "in a bit of an election quagmire" was introduced after Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman decertified most of the state's electronic voting machines and that shortly thereafter, Coffman had advocated paper-only ballots for 2008.

Oliver discussed Senate Bill 189 with Republican county clerks Scott Doyle of Larimer County and Steve Moreno of Weld County. According to Oliver, "[T]he campaigns are marching along. Yet in Colorado we find ourselves in a bit of an election quagmire. While the campaigns are marching along, the county clerks have no idea how they're actually going to hold those elections. Why? Because the legislature's gotten involved." Oliver and Moreno continued later in the broadcast:

OLIVER: And the county clerks association -- Colorado County Clerks Association -- is opposed to Senate Bill 189.

MORENO: That's a good point. But not only the clerk and recorders, but also the CCI [Colorado Counties Inc.] -- the county commissioners -- have got behind this, and also the secretary of state. So, the three opposing this bill here are folks that are responsible for those taxpayer dollars instead of the special-interest groups that are driving the litigation proposals threatening this.

In discussing the December 17, 2007, decertification of most of Colorado's voting machines and the opposition of "the secretary of state" to SB 189, neither Oliver nor her guests noted that it was Coffman who decertified the machines and then recertified them in stages concluding March 4. Moreover, as the Rocky Mountain News reported in a March 12 article about Coffman having adopted the clerks' position against the bill, "Coffman's position about paper voting has shifted in recent months."

According to the News, "On Dec. 26, shortly after he decertified thousands of electronic voting and tallying machines because of security and accuracy problems, Coffman announced that paper ballot voting was the most trustworthy method." The News further reported, "When questioned in an e-mail interview, Coffman would not say why he changed his stance," adding that Coffman "instead referred to a Jan. 17 memo he wrote to clerks" that "said he wanted to see voters cast paper ballots with only enough electronic voting machines to comply with federal law."

The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction similarly reported on March 13 (an online version appeared March 12) that "Secretary of State Mike Coffman has abandoned his effort to push an all-paper-ballot election this year and instead wants to allow local elections officials to conduct the 2008 primary and general elections as they see fit." The article further reported:

Coffman's comments mark yet another sharp change in policy for his office, which questioned the security of electronic voting machines in December, endorsed a paper ballot election in January and recertified electronic voting machines in February.

"He might actually be right for a change," said Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction.

Local lawmakers and elections officials said they are relieved to hear Coffman finally has taken their side after a long and, at times, frustrating policy debate on how best to run this year's elections.

On March 19, legislative leaders announced they were dropping their support for SB 189 in light of Coffman's recertification of voting machines and because of county clerks' concerns that they would not be able to implement the paper balloting plan in time. As The Denver Post reported in an online article:

House Majority Leader Alice Madden, House Minority Leader Mike May and Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany withdrew their support, saying the bill was unnecessary in light of the recent recertification of voting machines and because of concern that clerks couldn't implement an election using primarily paper ballots.

The $11 million promised to pay for the bill has also fallen through, putting the plan in serious jeopardy when it comes up for a vote Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, the Denver Democrat who is sponsoring the bill, said today that the $11 million that had been pledged for the bill is no longer available.

From the March 18 broadcast of 1310 KFKA's The Amy Oliver Show:

OLIVER: Well, Barack Obama was on giving a speech earlier today, discussing his relationship with Reverend -- is it Reverend Wright? So the campaigns are marching along. Yet in Colorado we find ourselves in a bit of an election quagmire. While the campaigns are marching along, the county clerks have no idea how they're actually going to hold those elections. Why? Because [laughs] the legislature's gotten involved. They've gotten involved. Forget the fact that every county has an elected official -- well, not everyone, I should say. I think Denver's a little different, which explains a lot. But counties have elected officials that are elected specifically to hold the elections, to administer the elections. And in Larimer and Weld counties, they have managed to do that beautifully. Now, you would think, if you listened to the legislature, that this is truly rocket science. So in Larimer and Weld Counties we have to have two of the smartest guys on the planet, because we seem to be the only ones -- that's not entirely true -- but we seem to be able to run elections pretty smoothly. Doesn't mean they're perfect; just means they work properly. We have confidence in our elected officials. But that isn't enough for the state legislature. So I'm pleased to be joined by Scott Doyle, Larimer County clerk and recorder; Steve Moreno, Weld County clerk and recorder. Scott, thanks for being on the show.

DOYLE: Well, Amy, thanks for having me.

OLIVER: And let me ask you quick. What -- explain the situation and what Senate Bill 189 actually is, and why we're even here having this conversation 148 days from the election. By the way, that statistic is courtesy of Steve Moreno, who just told me. I didn't know that off the top of my head.

DOYLE: Well, I think we can attribute Senate Bill 189 to equipment being decertified December 17. But let's not forget that that equipment has been recertified, and we're told we can use it with some conditions applied to it. So, why do --

OLIVER: Yeah, Senate Bill 189, though, essentially says you have to have paper ballots.

DOYLE: So, that's exactly right.

[...]

OLIVER: And the county clerks association -- Colorado County Clerks Association -- is opposed to Senate Bill 189.

MORENO: That's a good point. But not only the clerk and recorders, but also the CCI [Colorado Counties Inc.] -- the county commissioners -- have got behind this, and also the secretary of state. So, the three opposing this bill here are folks that are responsible for those taxpayer dollars instead of the special-interest groups that are driving the litigation proposals threatening this.

—E.B. & J.F.B.