On Wednesday, an agreement was reached by a trio of local watchdog groups and representatives of Mike Coffman, Colorado's Secretary of State, that reinstated the voting rights of around 30,000 people whose names were purged from the state's rolls -- but they'll have to vote provisionally, as pointed out in our October 30 blog "Mike Coffman's Office Blinks -- Sort of -- in Disenfranchised Voters Lawsuit."
However, the aforementioned organizations -- Colorado Common Cause, Mi Familia Vota and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) -- feel that Coffman isn't holding up his end of the deal. They believe he continues to strike voters from state registration rolls and have asked U.S. District Judge John Kane to weigh in. An emergency hearing is taking place via telephone at this hour.
Read the press release about the latest court action by clicking "More." -- Elena Brown
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 31, 2008
VOTER GROUPS CRY FOUL AS COFFMAN CONTINUES ILLEGAL PURGE
Court Schedules Emergency Hearing for 1:00 p.m. MST Today
Denver -- The Rocky Mountain News today reported that Secretary of State Mike Coffman was still canceling voters from state registration rolls despite a court-approved agreement with voting rights and good-government groups to protect voters from systematic purges. The groups have asked the court to enforce the order, and U.S. District Judge John Kane has scheduled an emergency hearing by phone for 1:00 p.m. MST today.
In light of these developments, Jenny Flanagan, executive director of Colorado Common Cause, issued the following statement:
"We are outraged that Secretary Coffman is continuing with the illegal removal of Colorado voters from the state registration list. This is contrary to a court-approved agreement to protect voters from systematic purges and contrary to representations that the Secretary of State made in court. We have asked for and received an emergency hearing with the court, and we hope for a quick and just resolution so that every legitimate voter who wants to vote can do so and so that every vote gets counted."
