BY TOM FITTON
Too many jurisdictions are lax and sloppy with their voter rolls – and in violation of federal law. This week we’ve filed suit in Colorado.
We sued on behalf of Judicial Watch and three residents of Colorado against Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State, and the State of Colorado for failing to clean the state’s voter rolls as required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) (Judicial Watch et al. v. Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State and State of Colorado (No. 1:20-cv-02992)).
In the suit we argue:
- A 2019 study showed that 40 of Colorado’s 64 counties had voter registration rates exceeding 100% of the eligible citizen voting-age population. The share of Colorado counties with registration rates exceeding 100% was the highest in the nation.
- A study from last month confirmed that as many as 39 Colorado counties had registration rates exceeding 100% at any one time during the relevant reporting period.
- Data Colorado itself provided to the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) showed that Colorado was lagging in the processing and removal of certain classes of ineligible registrations belonging to those who had moved out of state.
- In eight Colorado counties, more than one in six registrations belonged to an inactive voter.
We note that registration rates over 100%, poor processing of out-of-date registrations, and high levels of inactive registrations “indicate an ongoing, systemic problem with Colorado’s voter list maintenance efforts.” Colorado’s “failure to comply with their … voter list maintenance obligations” injures lawfully registered voters by “undermining their confidence in the integrity of the electoral process, discouraging their participation in the democratic process, and instilling in them the fear that their legitimate votes will be nullified or diluted.”
We have asked the court to declare that Colorado and its Secretary of State are violating the NVRA and to order them to “develop and implement a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove the registrations of ineligible registrants from the voter rolls in Colorado …”
It is a direct threat to free and fair elections that with record numbers of mail-in ballots this cycle, over half of Colorado counties have more people registered to vote than are eligible to register. With its inaction, Colorado has failed its citizens and opened itself up to potentially be the victim of massive voter fraud.
Earlier this year, we sued Pennsylvania and North Carolina for failing to make reasonable efforts to remove ineligible voters from their rolls as required by federal law. The lawsuits allege that the two states have nearly 2 million extra names on voter registration rolls.
In 2018, the Supreme Court upheld a voter-roll cleanup program that resulted from a Judicial Watch settlement of a federal lawsuit with Ohio. California settled a NVRA lawsuit with Judicial Watch and last year began the process of removing up to 1.6 million inactive names from Los Angeles County’s voter rolls. Kentucky also began a cleanup of hundreds of thousands of old registrations last year after it entered into a consent decree to end another Judicial Watch lawsuit.
In September 2020, we sue Illinois for refusing to disclose voter roll data in violation of Federal law.
Our 2019 study found 378 counties nationwide that had more voter registrations than citizens old enough to vote, i.e., counties where registration rates exceed 100%. These 378 counties combined had about 2.5 million registrations over the 100%-registered mark.
Colorado has always had a post card follow-up, after elections, to determine voter wishes, and future. And prior SOS have tried to audit voter registration, but was sued by Democrats every time, to prevent that action. This became more necessary after 1959-60, when Civil Service Employees, at all levels, not only belonging to individual unions of their specialties, also gained Political Power by become a “defacto” Federal Union, with powers similar to Corporations, and Companies, decreed by Supreme Court, as individuals to effect elections in USA. New York City Mayor, and Chicago Mayors (Daley Machine) was first to recognized their civil service unions, as being political units.
—- And this spread across country. Just as a Disciple to Jesus, accepted 30 pieces of silver to betray him, big money folks moved into this on political levels, and formed PACs, Super PACs, where they could pour vast sums into campaigns, without naming donors, and they expected to collect back, much more than they expended.
——-Now throw in Senator Harry Reid, who held up House Bills, not allowing voting or appropriate Senate action, to control spending, budgets, and a new factor was introduced. Also, he (with Senate control) decreed that Filibusters were out, in naming Supreme Court Justices, only needing majority vote (50 plus one) to name Justices. And the Democrats now, are whining, crying, and threatening to publicly block Senate vote, by not allowing any Democrats to vote for Justice, as named by President. Have publicly told her today (3rd day) they will NOT BE VOTING TO SEAT HER (Judge Barrett).
——President Donald Trump paid for his own campaign in 2016, when Colorado Senior Aged did not have vote for President, in Primary Election. Voting officials KNEW WE WANTED TED CRUZ so decreed in August 2015, that Primary Ballot in Arapahoe County would not have Candidate listed. When Ted withdrew his campaign for President few months before, Arapahoe County did not have support at State Conventions. They did allow us to vote in the General election, but lot of vote harvesting happened. (had relatives in nursing homes, that wife and I helped, making some hired nurses very unhappy, since they were volunteering and were “harvesting the votes”.
——-I attended my first, ever caucus, in 1977-78, when GOP ADDED ABORTION TO GOP PLANK. I was only Male attending, with 12 Females, who all wanted Abortion on the GOP plank, and since we had family problem in 1953, told by doctors never to have another child due to wife’s lack of immune system (Almost died during 7 weeks In hospital, with 108 degree temperatures), so had opinion of Medical needs. I was made NOT WELCOME by those women. There are times when Medical Abortion is needed, and family should have the only choice, with their doctor, and religion.