The Independent View: Why Are CO Voters Canceling Their Registrations?

Some Colorado Election Officials say they’ve seen an Uptick in the number of Voters requesting to End their Voter Registration after Colorado’s Chief Election Official announced he would only turn over Public Voter Data to President Trump's Commission to Investigate Elections from 2006 to 2016.

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams (R) said last week he would provide the State’s Public voter File to the Commission, which includes Voters’ Full Name, Year of Birth, Political Party, and Voting History. It does not include Information like the Last Four Digits of Social Security Numbers, Driver’s License Numbers, or Full Dates of Birth, Data Williams said he would not Provide to the Commission.

Even though Williams will turn over only Limited Information, Voters apparently are concerned. Denver Election Officials told Denver7 and The Colorado Independent at least 180 People had withdrawn their Voter Registration since July 3rd. Compared to the Eight Withdrawals they cited over the same time period the previous week, it amounted to a 2,150 percent increase. “I never expected to come to work and see such a sudden increase in voter registration withdrawals. I never expected to see more withdrawals in a day than new registrations,” Amber McReynolds, the Director of Elections for Denver, said in a Statement. “The impact on voters is real. The impact on civic engagement is real. The impact on election offices is real.”

Is this the intended outcome the Commission was looking for? Self Voter Repression and Lose of Ones Voice! Then you also need to find out does Colorado purge Voter History or only moves a Voter from the Active to a Non-Active Database.

In Boulder, Election Officials told The Colorado Independent they noticed about 270 Voters had Canceled their Registration since Monday. Matt Crane, the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder, told the Independent 42% of the County’s 365 Requests to Unregister so far this year came in the past week.

McReynolds said in a Twitter message that she believes Voters made a mistake in Deregistering. Colorado, she noted, has one of the highest Voter Registrations as a percentage of the Population, which she feared could change. “Engaging, not disengaging, is essential to participation in making our communities stronger and improving the citizens’ experience,” she wrote. “I believe it is more important to be registered and engaged than not.” She added she believes Trump’s Commission could have gotten some Voter Data from other Sources, such as Political Parties.

In Colorado, Voters can also pay a $5 Fee and Sign a Sworn Affidavit to become a Confidential Voter to Prevent their Information from being Released to the Public if they believe Disclosing it could result in Harm or Harassment.

Wonder how many Colorado Voters knew of this Option? Election Officials told the Independent and Denver7 they had seen an Increase in the Number of People Requesting Confidential Status. In Mesa County, for example, just 30 People asked for Confidential Status all of last year, but 60 People did in this week alone, according to the Independent.

There has been widespread Backlash after Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) sent a Letter to all 50 States and the D.C. requesting all Publicly Available Voter Information and other Information like: Military Status and Criminal Record. Some states have Refused to Comply with the Request on Principle, saying they won’t Participate in what they see as an effort to Exaggerate the Existence of Voter Fraud. Other States have said they will just provide the Voter File already Accessible to the Public, while a few Officials have said they are Barred by State Law from turning over any Information, or where the Requester has to File the Appropriate Forms and Pay a Fee.

There is a small number of Voter Fraud Cases each year. But there is a larger number of Voting Fraud each year. Most Fraud happens by Candidates and their Staff, Campaign Signature Gatherers, Poll Site Personnel, and Illegal Absentee Ballots submitted by Collection Groups. None of these would be Stopped by Photo ID Laws.