Earlier this month, Colorado's Secretary of State (SOS) Wayne Williams, adopted a rule that clarifies the General Assembly’s mandate to permit electronic transmission of ballots to and from military and overseas citizens. Unfortunately, there are some who do not want members of the military, their family members, military contractors, missionaries, and other Coloradans abroad to have the same ability to vote that U.S. voter have. Colorado voter have the ability to study the issues and candidates and then turn in ballots after reviewing what’s on them for several weeks. That way, they can make informed choices.
To permit these military and overseas voters the same rights, the General Assembly adopted a law in 2006 permitting electronic ballot transmission for this limited number of voters and then readopted it in 2011. The new rule puts some previously nonexistent guardrails on the legislature’s electronic transmission policy.
It was the Federal Government and Colorado’s General Assembly that expanded electronic transmission for military and overseas voters. The new rule simply informs the voter when electronic transmission is and isn’t appropriate and for the first time requires that they affirm under oath these limitations.
Not surprisingly, a handful of elections activists used this most-recent rule making to rail against what they term “Internet voting.” But what does surprise the SOS is seeing members of the General Assembly, past and present, make misinformed statements and greatly exaggerate the purpose and effect of the new rule. Despite the fact that the rule actually narrows the application of electronic transmission, the naysayers continue to falsely claim that he is expanding Internet voting.
Fewer than 3,400 voters used this method in the 2014 General Election, only a fraction of a percent of Colorado’s total voting population and less than a quarter of the eligible military and overseas voters. And of those 3,400, there was not one single reported instance of hacking, tampering or theft.
Mr Williams said, "Election security and integrity are of the utmost importance."
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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