Reader: Mitt Romney volunteer may have broken law, but it's hard to tell

Yesterday, we shared a video of a controversial Mitt Romney volunteer registration video, featuring a young woman claiming to be from the El Paso County clerk's office -- which she wasn't. But did she do anything illegal? One of our readers decided to explore the issue and come up with...

By Michael Roberts

September 25, 2012

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Yesterday, we shared a video of a controversial Mitt Romney volunteer registration video, featuring a young woman claiming to be from the El Paso County clerk's office -- which she wasn't. But did she do anything illegal? One of our readers decided to explore the issue and come up with no definitive answer.

Robert Chase writes:

Colorado elections law is a mess. There are specific prohibitions against Deputy county clerks and "high school deputy registrars" influencing party affiliation (C.R.S. 1-13-208-209) and against anyone interfering with or impeding registration (C.R.S. 1-13-201), but no specific stricture against the partisan conduct of voter registration drives. Even though Colorado has motor-votor and self-registration, Republicans did what they could to encumber those who want to conduct voter registration drives, but nowhere in either the C.R.S. or in the Secretary of State's Rule 44 is there any explicit requirement of impartiality. Wearing partisan regalia or making the statements the woman did while conducting a voter registration drive would tend to impede the registration of electors, and so should be a misdemeanor under C.R.S. 1-13-201 -- perhaps Dan May can look into that after he has pursued false criminal charges against every medical cannabis caregiver in El Paso County to defeat in front of juries.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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