Voting Advocacy - Colorado

Voter Registration

Michael Coffman, Colorado's Secretary of State, adopted a policy to reject voter registration forms that are complete but for the voter's failure to place a checkmark in an unnecessary box. This decision has the potential to disenfranchise ten thousand Colorado voters. The Brennan Center for Justice took action by sending a letter to Secretary Coffman, urging him to change course and accept the completed forms rather than classifying them as "incomplete."

In Detail – Colorado's voter registration form has a box where an eligible citizen should provide a Colorado driver's license number. If they do not have a state driver's license, they may provide their Social Security number instead. Although, if an eligible citizen decides to use their Social Security number, the form has a box that, according to Sec. Coffman, must be checked; it's meant to declare that the person filling out the form does not have a driver's license. If unchecked, the Secretary believes election officials should reject the form as "incomplete."

The Brennan Center believes the check box is unnecessary, and rejecting voters for leaving it unchecked unfairly penalizes thousands. Click here to view the entire form. Click on the image to the right to view it larger.

Selected Documents
Brennan Center's Letter to Secretary Michael Coffman (10/13/2008)
Informal Opinion of the Attorney General (10/24/2008)
Secretary of State's Press Release Regarding AG's Opinion (10/27/2008)