Rich Coolidge

Scott Gessler pushes new bill that would allow him to remove non-citizen voters from the rolls

This week in print, we take an in-depth look at Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who has faced ongoing accusations of suppressing voters. We published the story the same day that Republican lawmakers at the start of the new legislative session put forth a bill they crafted with Gessler that would ... More >>

Scott Gessler investigation: Secretary of State wants "legal defense fund" to help pay attorneys

Secretary of State Scott Gessler is the subject of this week's cover story in part because he's facing criminal and ethics investigations for his alleged misuse of funds. On Monday, the state's Independent Ethics Commission voted unanimously to continue its investigation despite his requests for dis ... More >>

Scott Gessler: Officials probably didn't catch all fraudulent voters before election

After generating months of headlines and backlash from voter rights' groups, Secretary of State Gessler's anti-fraud initiative resulted in 44 individuals being removed from the voter rolls in the state. But Gessler, in an election day interview, told us he wishes he could've done more and that it ... More >>

Scott Gessler, Colorado's chief election officer, facing criminal and ethics investigations

Election day is finally here -- and with it comes the news that Secretary of State Scott Gessler, Colorado's chief election officer, is facing both criminal and ethics investigations. Last month, a watchdog group accused Gessler of misusing state funds for his personal travels, and now it appears th ... More >>

Scott Gessler: Database used to find illegal voters can have "lag time," feds say

Since August, Secretary of State Scott Gessler has been working with the federal government to try and identify voters illegally registered in Colorado in an effort to prevent voter fraud on election day. As of last Friday, 44 voters have been removed. His critics argue that the data he's using is n ... More >>

Scott Gessler voter checks: 44 removed from rolls, four of them Republicans

Last week, Secretary of State Scott Gessler said his office had identified 300 more non-citizens illegally registered to vote who would be committing fraud if they did so. Gessler admitted that the timing of results from this second round of checks wasn't ideal. But county clerks were able to act be ... More >>

Romney votes in Colorado might count for Obama? RNC, officials on computer glitch

The Republican National Committee has sent a letter to six states, including Colorado, warning of "voting machine errors" that could cause a vote intended for Mitt Romney to go to Barack Obama. But according to several Colorado election officials, there's no reason to be concerned -- and they don't ... More >>

Michael Hancock: Scott Gessler's actions similar to nationwide voter-suppression efforts

Even though Mayor Michael Hancock says he likes to give people the benefit of the doubt, he believes Secretary of State Scott Gessler's actions echo a concerted nationwide effort to suppress votes. The mayor weighed in on this topic last week, and while he declined to directly slam Gessler, he still ... More >>

Photos: Colorado Democrats push early vote (for Obama) on heels of high registration numbers

Today is the first day that voters can cast their ballots in person as part of early voting in Colorado -- and the state's top Democratic officials set an example by voting in front of a bunch of cameras in Denver. The photo op underscores how important the ground game is for Obama in key swing stat ... More >>

Scott Gessler should be investigated for misuse of public funds, says Colorado Ethics Watch

Scott Gessler is not only making it harder for people to vote, he's using public funds to help support the Republican Party. At least that's the charge of Colorado Ethics Watch, an advocacy group that is accusing the Secretary of State of spending public dollars to fund trips to political events. Wi ... More >>

Scott Gessler's office shares evidence of voter fraud in Colorado

Secretary of State Scott Gessler has gotten a lot of attention for his effort to weed out illegal voters and frequent clashes with voter rights advocacy groups that complain he is devoting too much time to a wild goose chase. Here, we take you behind the scenes at Gessler's office, where his staff ... More >>

Out of fourteen illegal voters banned after Scott Gessler's campaign, how many voted? Zero

Update: Yesterday, we reported that a total of fourteen people were removed from Colorado voting rolls following an extensive effort by Secretary of State Scott Gessler to potentially illegal voters; see our original post in its entirety below. Since sharing these results, we checked with Gessler's ... More >>

Scott Gessler's office running checks on thousands of more potential non-citizens

In August, Secretary of State Scott Gessler ran the names of 1,416 individuals through a federal database in hopes of weeding out illegal immigrant voters. Months later, a total of fourteens voters have been removed from voting rolls in Colorado. But the story doesn't end there. As it turns out, Ges ... More >>

Photos: Scott Gessler votes "yes" on Filipino food, "no" on criticism of his office

Politicians -- they're just like the rest of us! But sometimes, when they eat food, it has a bit more significance than just, you know, lunch. Such was the case with Secretary of State Scott Gessler's noon stop yesterday at the 16th Street Mall's Taste of the Philippines food truck -- whose owner ju ... More >>

Taste of the Philippines owner Kathy Gietl gets visit from Secretary of State Scott Gessler

The Taste of the Philippines got a taste of politics yesterday when Secretary of State Scott Gessler stopped by the food truck on the 16th Street Mall during the lunch rush for some chicken adobo, manok sa gata and lumpia. Though Gessler says he doesn't think he'd ever had Filipino food before, a ... More >>

Strategic Allied Consulting: Voter-registration firm ex-employee being investigated in Colorado

Just days before Colorado's voter registration deadline passes, news has leaked that a former employee of a controversial firm hired by the GOP to do voter registration is under investigation by the 18th Judicial District DA's office. The firm, Strategic Allied Consulting, is the same one that hired ... More >>

Scott Gessler to share conservative voter-fraud panel with controversial True the Vote group

Secretary of State Scott Gessler likes to say that it should be easy to vote and tough to cheat, but his critics argue that he is a lot more focused on the latter -- especially when it comes to voters who aren't Republican. While Gessler has tried to disprove those accusations, his appearance this ... More >>

Scott Gessler's effort to weed out illegal voters finds four in Denver County

In the months leading up to the November election, Secretary of State Scott Gessler has devoted some of his resources to targeting immigrant voters who may be incorrectly registered -- an effort aimed at cleaning up voter rolls. And the results in the state's largest city are likely to fuel critic ... More >>

Scott Gessler v. Denver clerk Debra Johnson in latest lawsuit to target Secretary of State

After responding to some negative headlines surrounding a botched voter registration mailing, Secretary of State Scott Gessler is fielding more criticism this week -- this time from a lawsuit that first reached his office via reporters' inquiries. The suit comes from Denver Clerk and Recorder Debra ... More >>

Scott Gessler registration drive errors cause confusion, more voter suppression claims

This is not quite how Scott Gessler's plan was supposed to go. When Colorado's Secretary of State announced an unprecedented voter registration initiative last month, he told reporters that the effort wasn't a direct response to criticisms of voter suppression, though he said it would hopefully di ... More >>

Personhood amendment not approved for ballot, falls less than 4,000 signatures short

Earlier this month, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow spoke about Colorado's Personhood Amendment as if it had already been approved for the ballot. We suggested this assumption might be premature given the number of signatures proponents submitted -- and indeed, the Secretary of State's office has just announc ... More >>

Scott Gessler adopts emergency rule to prevent ballots from being traced to voters

After a voter advocacy group offered proof that county clerks and other election officials could identify how specific people voted -- which would violate a citizen's basic right to a secret ballot -- Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced an "emergency rule" effective immediately that ... More >>

Scott Gessler asks thousands of registered voters to prove they are citizens

Nearly 4,000 registered voters in Colorado received a letter this week from Secretary of State Scott Gessler asking that they prove their citizenship or otherwise remove themselves from voter rolls. Gessler, who says he is preventing fraud, identified these residents through the Division of Motor Ve ... More >>

Scott Gessler is rewriting rules, weakening disclosure laws, says Colorado Ethics Watch

Political groups in Colorado have more freedom to pour money into campaigns without disclosing their finances thanks to Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who has overstepped his bounds and rewritten election rules. At least that's the charge of Colorado Ethics Watch and Colorado Common Cause, which ... More >>

American Constitution, Libertarian and Green Parties criticize Scott Gessler's new rules

Colorado's minor political parties have banded together to express major gripes with new rules from Secretary of State Scott Gessler -- rules that the groups say create conflicts of interest and threaten to undermine the integrity of upcoming elections.

Scott Gessler targeted by activist over voting in Saguache county and beyond

Scott Gessler.​Aspen's Marilyn Marks is driven. The woman behind Citizen Center, a nonprofit organization that focuses on elections issues and more, is pushing Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler's office to hold a hearing prompted by her complaint about alleged voting irregularities in ... More >>

Scott Gessler not at fault for flaws in spending report, Secretary of State's office says

Update: Secretary of State Scott Gessler has been named a possible suspect regarding flaws in the Colorado Independent Spending Report released by the National Institute on Money in State Politics; the report showed a total expenditure for 2006-2010 much larger then was actually the case. However, G ... More >>

Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012: Mason Tvert on petition drive launch

​Update below: At 2 p.m. today, backers of the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 will stage a press conference formally launching a petition drive to land the measure on next year's ballot. Read it below and get more details from Mason Tvert, part of a group hoping to make history a ... More >>

If the GOP goes down the toilet, at least Republicans can get gigs regulating toilets in Colorado

Minor problem: The Colorado GOP could lose its official status as a major party

Republican Party a minor party? If it happens in CO, petition process could be a major headache

Dan Maes.​If the Republican Party slips to minor-party status in Colorado, which will happen if Dan Maes fails to get 10 percent of the gubernatorial vote, it could face a major problem. No, not the fundraising limitations that have already been reported, but a sudden flood of would-be Republi ... More >>

The clock has almost struck midnight on voter registration; don't turn into a pumpkin!

​Attention, Colorado residents! You until until the end of Monday, October 4, to register to vote. But if doing it in person just isn't your style, you have an additional resource at your disposal this year. For the first time, citizens with a Colorado driver's license can register online.

Looks like the mayor's Facebook page needs a status update