November 8, 2007 6:48 AM
Will Denver be ready to count votes for 2008 Election?
Denver's votes are finally counted and all the bond issues - and the marijuana initiative - passed.
But what's the outlook for Nov. 4, 2008, when the nation will elect a president and the turnout is expected to be far greater than Tuesday's off-year election?
Myung Oak Kim and Sara Burnett report:
Denver has yet to choose which system it will use for voters to cast ballots next year.Counties are anxiously awaiting word from Secretary of State Mike Coffman about whether he will certify their voting machines - a decision that is expected next month. And the state is planning to roll out a new $9.5 million statewide voter registration database next spring - a move that has many election watchers on edge, given the state's poor history with computer systems.
"There is chaos," Mayor John Hickenlooper said Wednesday. "There are issues beyond our control here. But what they're telling me is that the worst is behind us."
Columnist Mike Littwin's take:
The reason, we were informed, that the city and county of Denver was unable to finish counting your votes on Election Day - as, remarkably, many cities and counties around the country were apparently able to do - was a lack of, uh, office space.Yes, office space.
The problem was that, here in the Great Wide Open, the election committee didn't have enough room to do the counting. There are about 156 square miles in Denver, if you count DIA, and yet they couldn't locate, like, I don't know, a warehouse, an alley, an abandoned hangar.
Office space? I mean, what would Michael Scott say? I just wish someone had called me. A friend just told me his townhome community rents out a common room for free - and they've got a big-screen TV. Hell, I recently remodeled my basement - with, yes, documented workers - and, if the election folks had just asked, they could have fit in at least 20 people. I mean, as long as they brought their own folding chairs.
November 7, 2007
7:54 AM
TAX and SPEND is here to stay, Sheeple! writes:
It is NOT a good thing that everything passed. WHERE is the accountability for spending here???Denver voters just handed a blank check over to the city--for who knows how long?
Property owners (at least those who have been able to hang onto their homes) will feel the pain from this election for years to come, long after the mayor and governor have moved on. We're not far from a recession, if not a full-blown depression in the next few years. Jobs will go down, and so will home ownership. Guess if you won't own a home, propety taxes won't be a problem. Between the mayor and the governor, TAX and SPEND is here to stay.
November 7, 2007
8:31 AM
Uncommon Sense writes:
I just knew we’d hear from the “any dollar spent by government is a dollar wasted” crowd. Face it, the citizens of Denver saw this as an investment, and were willing to do it. If you actually read the article about what this bond measure did, it reversed a course of skipping over maintenance and then asking voters for even more money later when upkeep is more expensive. These measures passed because a majority of voters found that idea reasonable. Scream and name call all you want, the voters decided and your camp lost across the board.
“Issues A through I were born out of recommendations from a 100-plus-member task force that spent months studying the needs of the city's infrastructure, which includes everything from alleys and bridges to traffic signs and irrigation systems.
Historically, the city has let maintenance slide and then issued "catch-up" bonds every decade or so to keep its assets in decent shape.
But in the last 20 years, Denver skimped on maintenance, expending its bonding capacity on new projects, such as expanding the Denver Art Museum and building a new courthouse and jail.
Hickenlooper sold Issue 1A, the mill levy question, as a way to end the cycle of issuing "catch-up" bonds by creating a dedicated revenue source to pay for ongoing maintenance.
At the launch of his "Better Denver" campaign, Hickenlooper said residents wanting to live in a great city would have to invest in it. ”
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5741039,00.html
And the "accountability" you whine for is in WE THE PEOPLE. It's called democracy- and it worked just fine.
November 7, 2007
8:41 AM
Frustrated writes:
Once again the citizens of Denver have been led astray by the mayor and his rich buddies. Raising taxes for roads, libraries, and parks is understandable because it serves all. New taxes for upgrading and buildings for the opera and symphony etc. only serve the interest of the wealthy. the price of tickets for these venues is beyond the reach of the working class person, and besides the best seats are already reserved for the wealthy .
November 7, 2007
8:43 AM
JW writes:
Well, I agree with tax and spend. I mean seriously, the extra $100 a year for property taxes is going to break my bank!
Wait a minuet....
Oh yea! I have an education! I wont even notice that extra $100!
To take a page from the Republican playbook:
If you cant compete well enough to afford health insurance, dont get sick.
And if you cant compete well enough to afford an additional $100 a year in property taxes...dont own a house!
November 7, 2007
8:47 AM
james writes:
Uh - This photo from '06 explains exactly why there are problems facilitating and processing hordes of voters:
http://www.futuregringo.com/index.php/2006/11/07/computer-problems-plague-early-voting/
I'm not big on privatizing city functions, but Google could do the job much faster and more accurately.
November 7, 2007
9:03 AM
shaggy writes:
Foreclosures are at an all time high and now the Mayor got his way so now even more foreclosures will be in the forecast.
Nice move Mayor, way to go.
Glad I don't live down in that smog infested, gang banging, S***hole.
No wonder there are so many homeless people in Denver that he has to round up and hide when the loons come to town.
Talk about putting lipstick on a pig.
November 7, 2007
9:07 AM
Uncommon Sense writes:
“New taxes for upgrading and buildings for the opera and symphony etc. only serve the interest of the wealthy. the price of tickets for these venues is beyond the reach of the working class person, and besides the best seats are already reserved for the wealthy .” –Frustrated
It would be easy to make that assumption, and if you look at who attends events in those facilities, you are correct that it is overwhelmingly upper income folks. However, those folks tend to make “a night of it” and eat in restaurants, shop in local stores, and pay for things like parking etc. that do benefit average income workers in a variety of industries. Additionally, cultural amenities (even if they tend to be used primarily by the wealthy) affect the overall perception of our city, and how well it can compete for large scale events (like the G-8 and the DNC convention) and corporate relocations, both of which affect the average citizen.
Shaggy- there is the bitter non-thinking loser we have come to know. Take your beating like a man will ya?
November 7, 2007
9:14 AM
shaggy writes:
This reminds me of the Democrats policy.
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."
Ronald Reagan (1986)
Another excellent Quote.
"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free."
P.J. O'Rourke
One more
"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."
George Bernard Shaw
November 7, 2007
9:17 AM
Anonymous writes:
JW you are such a douche, two months ago you were whinging about Bush ruined the economy and you would like to be able to make more then your parents, but suddenly now everything is golden and you are educated so you can afford the tax hike? Partisian stooge you are, moron.
November 7, 2007
9:23 AM
Dude, where's my car? writes:
Back off piggy, I'm smoking my pot in peace. Earn your keep and arrest someone dangerous! I love you Denver. Let the haters do there thing and hate. They can have highlands ranch and the rest of the burbs all to themselves. You're the coolest city, in the coolest state, in the coolest country. I love you and I'll never leave ya! And Hick, ignore those haters, you're cool too buddy.
November 7, 2007
9:29 AM
Uncommon Sense writes:
A sore loser is still a loser shaggy...
November 7, 2007
9:31 AM
Tom3 writes:
It isn't over for Prop 100 yet. They have not certified a win for the new pot law yet.
Denver Cops were counting ballots last night. Wouldn't it be a coincidence if a couple thousand YES ballots disappeared?
Denver Cops have a conflict of interest on Proposition 100 and I wouldn't put it past them to do election fraud.
After all, they're a bunch of back-shooters and that's a fact.
November 7, 2007
9:40 AM
Tom3 writes:
Prop 100 will be a boon for Denver tourism if it passes.
And the Democrats at the Convention will love it.
Cops need to concentrate on violent crimes, not chasing potheads.
Maybe they should stop eating donuts and lose some weight. Lazy porkers.
November 7, 2007
9:49 AM
Tom3 writes:
Stupid Repukes still think Democrats are all tax-and-spend.
After two terms of Chimpy, the Repukes have outspent the Democrats 2 to 1...and with a tax cut to the rich, have DOUBLED the federal debt. Now the dollar is crashing.
"Tax-and-spend Dems" is as outdated and incorrect a cliche' as "Liberal Media".
Stupid Repukes!!
November 7, 2007
9:49 AM
shaggy writes:
UC,
I'm not a loser, all of you that own homes in Denver are the losers idiot. I would never live or own a Home in that S***hole, Hickenlooper will not get one thin dime from me.
November 7, 2007
9:55 AM
Shaggie is one dull tool writes:
"I would never live or own a Home in that S***hole, Hickenlooper will not get one thin dime from me."
Promise?!? Too bad you feel still feel like you need to post your stupid comments about something that has no effect on you.
November 7, 2007
10:04 AM
shaggy writes:
09:55 AM,
Just responding to something that was addressed to me.
I don't remember reading where you were included so STFU.
November 7, 2007
10:09 AM
Uncommon Sense writes:
"I'm not a loser, all of you that own homes in Denver are the losers idiot."
You advocated for a strategy that lost. That makes you a loser. Crying about it now just makes you a sore loser.
Democracy in action- the people have pronounced you a loser.
November 7, 2007
10:09 AM
JW writes:
"UC,
I'm not a loser, all of you that own homes in Denver are the losers idiot. I would never live or own a Home in that S***hole, Hickenlooper will not get one thin dime from me."
Shaggy, you do live in Morrison, correct? That means you are in Jefferson county, correct?
That would mean, your property tax rate is very likely still higher than Denvers, even with Hick's little bump.
:)
http://www.metrodenver.org/documents/dataCenter/Taxes_PropertyTaxAssesmentRates05.xls
November 7, 2007
10:20 AM
Anonymous writes:
Tom3 claims:
"After all, they're a bunch of back-shooters and that's a fact."
Link please, or is this more of your usual unsubstantiated crap?
November 7, 2007
10:20 AM
jay writes:
"It is NOT a good thing that everything passed. WHERE is the accountability for spending here???"
Will of the people is heard...but like many republicans these days...they're not so interested in representing the will of the people.
Oh...and folks....stop confusing poor shaggy with logic and facts...he's going to go into schreech mode any second
November 7, 2007
10:20 AM
Anonymous writes:
STFU? Nice! Typical wrongwinger--trying to shut down free speech.
Oh, and by the way--who's going to make me pissant? Sure as heck not you!
November 7, 2007
10:44 AM
Anonymous writes:
Right jay, now its the will of the people but when every shit passes that you dont like its vice versa and the minority should have been heard! You are truly an idiotic partisian stooge.
November 7, 2007
10:51 AM
shaggy writes:
JW,
I highly doubt it.
I live in unincorporated Jefferson County and we have lots of clean air to breath up here!
I shouldn't say that to loud other wise jay will want to move up here and start liberalizing it.
November 7, 2007
10:57 AM
Uncommon Sense writes:
Anon- the referendums were widely covered in the news, and people went to the polls and decided. If they thought they were as evil as you screachers proclaim, it should have been easy to defeat them.
What could be more democratic than that?
November 7, 2007
11:02 AM
CC writes:
Ivory towers are expensive!!!
November 7, 2007
11:06 AM
JW writes:
"I highly doubt it."
Really? Whats your property tax rate then?
I think you probably dont know. If you dont know your own, its even more likely you don't know Denver's, and even MORE likely you dont know what Denver's will be when this takes effect.
Since you likely dont know ANY of that, its also quite likely that you "highly doubt it" based on...feelings?
"I highly doubt my property taxes are higher than Denvers becasue it feels right."
Sounds downright stupid to me.
November 7, 2007
11:17 AM
jay writes:
cruton at 10:44...don't pout. I love how Hick handled this issue. He clearly explained the issues and then put them before the voters with a promise to enact their will regardless of the outcome.
If only your politicians in DC would do the same.
November 7, 2007
11:19 AM
Anonymous writes:
Downright stupid--that describes Shaggie perfectly!!!
November 7, 2007
11:35 AM
Cheech writes:
Smoke up Denver! Mason Tvert is saint and brings victory to all he touches. Burn one down folks, and give the boys in blue a big, cheesy, high-as-a-kite smile as they drive past on their way to deal with actual crime. You rock Denver!
November 7, 2007
12:24 PM
shaggy writes:
JW,
The mill levy in Denver is 66.94
The mill levy in Morrison is 67.56
The assessment value in Colorado is 7.96%
According to what I looked up on the net and not actually looking at my paper work, it looks like I might pay a little more than you do at the moment. A small price to pay for clean air, nature and no gang bangers and drive byes.
So all you Denverites are still the losers of Hickys tax increases, all nine of them.
November 7, 2007
12:30 PM
JW writes:
"So all you Denverites are still the losers of Hickys tax increases, all nine of them."
Proving yet again that facts do not have an effect on wingnuts views.
However, you are now actually informed that you do, in fact, pay more in taxes on your property than those of us in Denver, and no longer "Beleive" the opposite in ignorance.
Some progress, I suppose.
November 7, 2007
12:57 PM
shaggy writes:
JW,
Using this equation and basing it on two houses valued equally at $150,000. One in Denver and one in Morrison.
Property Value X assessment X mill levy = property tax.
The PT for the house in Denver would be $799.36.
The PT for the house in Morrison would be $806.66.
This is the figure before you guys just incurred a what $100.00? or so dollar increase, so it looks like you pay more in property taxes than I do. hehehehe
You can apologize anytime now JW.
November 7, 2007
12:59 PM
Uncommon Sense writes:
Cheezus shaggy, you just AGREED with what we have been saying all along:
“According to what I looked up on the net and not actually looking at my paper work, it looks like I might pay a little more than you do at the moment. A small price to pay for clean air, nature and no gang bangers and drive byes.”
So you yourself say that higher taxes are fine (and in fact “a small price to pay”) for things you want (clean air, nature, and low crime). How is what you JUST said any different than what the democrats have been saying for years. You heard it here first, Shaggy proudly admits he is a tax and spend liberal!
At least be consistent in your lunacy- you outwitted yourself there numnutz
November 7, 2007
1:09 PM
JW writes:
"This is the figure before you guys just incurred a what $100.00? or so dollar increase, so it looks like you pay more in property taxes than I do. hehehehe
You can apologize anytime now JW."
TSK TSK! Did I not just teach you the value of actual knowledge over "Belief"?
"If all nine ballot issues pass, the owner of a home valued at $255,000 would pay $63.27 more in property taxes annually."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5741039,00.html
I was using the $100 as sort of an average, as many houses in denver are worth more than $255k.
What was that about appologies? If you are going to ask for one undeserved, better pony up when you owe one.
November 7, 2007
1:22 PM
JW writes:
Doh.
Well, after doing the math, it looks like Shaggy is right. For a $255k house, the Denver tax is $51 higher after Ritters tax hike.
Appologies Shaggy.
November 7, 2007
1:29 PM
jay writes:
Well that's it...I'm going to have to move. I simply can't afford the additional $100 a year. Or....I could skip one meal out once a year....gee....let me think about that in exchange for the ROI....
By the way shaggy...it's not "hicky's tax raises"...they're the people's tax raises...as the PEOPLE approved them at the polls. no one held a gun to their head.
Isn't democracy in action a beautiful thing?
November 7, 2007
1:42 PM
shaggy writes:
Ty, Ty, Ty.
Can you pat yourself on the back with both hands like I can JW?:)
"Well, after doing the math, it looks like Shaggy is right. For a $255k house, the Denver tax is $51 higher after Ritters tax hike."
Appologies Shaggy.
Posted by JW on November 7, 2007 01:22 PM
I am blowing this up and framing it in my office:)
I have apologized before too so don't use this as though I don't.
However,
Beings you probably own a $1,000,000 dollar house near the Denver Country Club, your taxes would normally be around $5,328.424.
Yours would be raised to around $250.00 on top of that.
UC, Take a bonger and go buy us a couple of smothered burritos. I have never said any of that so don't make me call you the "L" word. We all pay taxes and all I do is to try to avoid over taxation and wasted taxation from the Demoralrats.
November 7, 2007
1:44 PM
shaggy writes:
btw, It was Hicks project, nor Ritters however I believe they do confer on most everything.
November 7, 2007
1:48 PM
JW writes:
"I have apologized before too so don't use this as though I don't."
Bah. Ive never seen you A) Appologize or even B) admit you were wrong. Typically, when backed into a corner, you obfuscate. Id have way less problems with you were it otherwise.
"Beings you probably own a $1,000,000 dollar house near the Denver Country Club"
If I did, pretty sure I could handle that extra $250.
November 7, 2007
2:01 PM
Uncommon Sense writes:
“According to what I looked up on the net and not actually looking at my paper work, it looks like I might pay a little more than you do at the moment. A small price to pay for clean air, nature and no gang bangers and drive byes.
So all you Denverites are still the losers of Hickys tax increases, all nine of them.
Posted by shaggy on November 7, 2007 12:24 PM”
What part of that statement does NOT advocate paying higher taxes for clean air (aka the environment), nature (the environment), no gang bangers and drive “byes” (crime reduction)? Please, pick from any of the unedited words of yours above and provide any kind of rationalization that makes you NOT promoting a liberal ideology.
You hypocritical mental midget. You rail, non-stop, how all taxes are bad. But for your own home, you favor higher taxes saying it is a “small price to pay” for a cleaner environment and crime reduction. That is a LIBERAL idea, and it shows how two faced you are. You can’t even be consistently stupid- only in sporadic burst.
Almost as bad as the anti-gay repubs who turn out to be toe-tappers, but at least they have the “God says it is so” card to fall back on. You are just an out-an-out two faced liar.
November 7, 2007
2:08 PM
Libertarian writes:
Denver cops counting election ballots, isn't that a blatant conflict of interest? This is a case of the fox guarding the hen house is it not, but of course it is a well known fact that Denver elections are rigged and as phoney as a pro wrestling match and have been so for many years.
November 7, 2007
2:17 PM
Fred writes:
Anyone want to buy a nice single family ranch house in Harvey Park?
100 bucks a year might not mean a lot to those that approved these new taxes but it sure means a lot to me.
I ride a bike to work to avoid parking and fuel expenses. I brown bag unlike my coworkers because I still owe student loans. I suppose I could go without the apple and the PB&J.
Am I bitter, heck yes.
What happened to Ref C?
November 7, 2007
2:36 PM
shaggy writes:
Your could be right UC, MY APOLOGIES. I guess. If you want to look at it that way. Location location location.
But wouldn't that mean you are paying higher property taxes to breath in smog and dodge bullets?
That means you are really getting screwed at both ends.
Fred good Q about ref C.
From my understanding the Democrats put in so much pork after that got passed that there is not enough money now to put it into the departments it was originally set up to assist. I will try to find out the break down if I can sift thru all the Democratic fat surrounding it.
November 7, 2007
3:02 PM
Uncommon Sense writes:
Shaggy- if you honestly believe that paying more taxes for clean air and reduced crime is ok, then PLEASE stop the relentless drumbeat that all taxes are bad. (and while you are at it, you may want to check out which party that reasoning falls in line with)
If the question comes down to “is this particular tax proposal a good use of my tax dollars?” then let’s have that debate. But every time we try to debate ANY proposal on its merits, all you can do is say “Taxes bad!!!”.
Notice how even on this posting, you never criticize any of the measures specifically for what they raise money for (which at least one other person did see-“ Frustrated on November 7, 2007 08:41 AM”), you just say everything is bad. All I am asking is that you actually try to argue your point rather than repeat a red meat simple minded line that you have shown you don’t actually believe.
November 7, 2007
3:33 PM
spud writes:
Could Hick give us a heads-up on the next tax he'll propose next year, so we can get prepared? He has never seen a tax he didn't like!
November 7, 2007
3:40 PM
Uncommon Sense writes:
The voters can stop it at any time spud. But apparently they are ok with it.
November 7, 2007
3:47 PM
shaggy writes:
See you are lying UC, Show me where I have said all taxes are bad. I just point out the fact and the fact is that Democrats like to raise everyone taxes.
There is no debating that fact, now you can debate if they were needed or not.
So quit throwing out crap that I say when I do not say it, got it?
While you are at it, show me where I get taxed for the air I breath and where you don't>
I will be checking back for the results.
November 7, 2007
4:47 PM
jay writes:
"Democrats like to raise everyone taxes"
So do Rubs...they just spend money we don't have first....which is worse for the economy than raising it before spending it. Got it?
"Could Hick give us a heads-up on the next tax he'll propose next year, so we can get prepared?"
He let the voters decide on this one....or maybe you weren't paying attention, spud. This is the Voters of Denver tax hike....not Hicks.
November 7, 2007
6:33 PM
You Call THIS progress? writes:
The election was a SHAM. Looks like we're shaping up to be like um, Florida in 2000? There's NO WAY voting this way can be considered a "success."
What's happening, in case you weren't aware of it, is this:
-Ballots can be "disqualified", based on their crappy design in the first place. One little bend in the wrong place and your vote is TOAST.
-Ballots are a PAIN in the a**; because it's REAL easy to mess them up. One little stray mark, and your vote is TOAST.
-Don't know 'bout you, but 75cents is more than we care to spend for something we ALL READY pay taxes for. Oh, and by the way, isnt' this WHY we went to voting machines DECADES ago?????
Whatever happened to the system that worked JUST FINE until Hickenlooper got into office? WHY don't we have our polling places, where people could vote on machines that WORKED? As for the pathetic excuse that it "cost too much" for the polling places and machines--try comparing that to what our latest voting fiascos have bought us: LOTS of overtime for city workers, which do come in handy dis time of year, right? And what a great use of our SWAT team--when they could've been out doing their JOBS vs counting votes?
November 8, 2007
8:16 AM
Garrett Christnacht writes:
Given the longer time it takes to tally the vote count, I think absolutely no results should be released or announced until 24 hours after the polls close (7PM the day after Election Day). Make it a major media event and treat it like a sporting event. Can you imagine everyone gathering in bars and taverns to cheer the results (and perhaps a few post-election bar brawls!)
November 8, 2007
8:34 AM
Anonymous writes:
The elections were rigged, its all democratically controlled and being menipulated for their gains. Its time to start the rebellion and kill all liberals and take our country back!!!!
November 8, 2007
8:40 AM
jay writes:
someone's had a little too much meth this morning....
November 8, 2007
9:02 AM
Uncommon Sense writes:
"it looks like I might pay a little more than you do at the moment. A small price to pay for clean air" Shaggy
I said that you agreed that paying higher taxes for cleaner air was a liberal position and one that you held (as shown above).
I never said that "you pay for clean air and I don't". I said you pay MORE for it, and, in your own words, it is "a small price to pay"
That is a liberal position shaggy- pure and simple. So all this liberal bashing is just self-loathing. Hmmmm..... I wonder what that means for the gay bashing.
November 8, 2007
9:18 AM
JW writes:
Stephen Colbert on the daily show, election night 2000.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x374ye_colbert2000_fun
Begs the question;
Stephen Colbert: Great American? Or Greatest American?!
November 8, 2007
1:41 PM
John Wren writes:
This morning both Denver daily newspapers glorify the Mayor's massive manipulation as he stole the A thru I election. He spent an incredible $1 million on an advertising and promotional campaign to sell Denver the big lie that a citizens committee of 115 wanted A thru I.
This massive campaign, called an "investment" of those who would split up the take, used telemarketing to contact every one of the 470,000 voters in Denver, and this telephone sales campaign identified the gullible and feeble minded, and then stayed in touch with those 50,000 or so suckers until they returned their mail-in ballots, going to their door to pick up the ballot when necessary!
420,000 voted no or were so discouraged they didn't vote at all. 420,000 out of 470,000! The Mayor has perfected this technique, and now it is glorified in the very biased coverage of the campaign.
In the past one of our daily newspapers would have spoken out about this obvious manipulation. But now that there is no real competition between the papers, the people have lost their watchdog. I think that is the reason for the declining circulation of both papers.
Denver citizens need to organize now to prevent the next assault. We need an early warning system, a citizens grassroots network that can spot these efforts as they begin and mount an organized campaign to see that the election truly reflect the will of the majority of Denver citizens.
Those who are concerned are invited to join us each Friday at the Denver Grassroots Rally. Our first project is to encourage concerned citizens to register by the December 5 deadline to be able to participate in the February 5 Colorado Caucus. It will be held this Friday, 4 p.m. at Panera Bread at 13th & Grant near the Capitol. For more information or to RSVP to get on the speakers list, see http://cocacop.meetup.com/2
November 9, 2007
8:39 AM
Al Kolwicz writes:
Mark,
I suspect that your paper ballot poll has been hacked.
Last night 82 percent preferred paper. This morning the titles are flipped, and 64 percent perfer voting machines.
November 9, 2007
10:25 AM
Alison Maynard writes:
Mail ballots are the instrument of choice for those who would steal elections--and that includes the "City Fathers" in Denver. There was no question, in my mind before the election, that all the bond issues would pass, since the money machine--the public works contractors--like big fat public contracts and they are the ones who put our elected officials in office.
I can tell you a little bit about how Denver conducts mail ballot elections. In the Jan. 30, 2007, mail ballot election in Denver, 183,000 ballots WENT MISSING. They were wholly unaccounted for. In addition, this election violated a host of ordinance, statutory, and constitutional provisions. It was for a charter change--abolishing the Denver Election Commission, to replace it with an elected clerk, who of course turns out to be Wellington Webb's daughter--and almost no one in Denver knew about it. There was only one publication of notice of the election, which was WITHIN the 30-days-before-election prohibition of the law, and that was in a journal which caters exclusively to the construction trades and is available almost nowhere. You can't even get it at the public library downtown. There's only one copy and it always goes missing: contractors who want to bid on projects steal it.
Former Denver election commissioner Jan Tyler and I challenged the January election in Denver district court, but, unfortunately, the judges in this state are just another tentacle of the same octopus which controls it generally. Judge Martinez was totally uninterested in the violations of law we established, and totally uninterested in the fact that 183,000 ballots were unaccounted for. (The measure passed with only about 54,000 voters voting, total, so less than one-third of the number which went missing.). He spent most of the hearing trying to decide if service on the city was proper, even though two city attorneys were there defending the city vigorously, with witnesses and exhibits, just as they had been doing for the prior five months since the case was filed.
Neither of the two local "newspapers" reported anything about our case, except when it was first filed in January by Jan acting on her own. The public has never been told that 183,000 ballots were UNACCOUNTED FOR.
Jan Tyler has started her own blog, "Election Neutrality Now." I will be writing more about the problems with mail ballots there.
I fought two elections in Castle Rock on behalf of citizens trying to reclaim their government there, in 1998-2000, where absentee ballots were used to steal the election. There are organized operatives in this state paid by real estate developers to co-opt elections. The ones who worked the Castle Rock elections were employed by a crook named Rick Reiter, who does business as "Reiter and Associates." The developer who funded Reiter--and, mind you, none of the financial disclosures required by law were ever made; we had to make a big issue in our court case to get any documents, at all, about the money they spent--was Lee Alpert. We uncovered forged absentee ballots (that is, the signatures on the outside envelopes were forged) and forged applications for absentee ballots. The town clerk was even marking return ballot envelopes before sending packets to the voters so she could distinguish the voter's allegiance when the ballot came back in the mail. She was able to tell what the voter's sympathies were because our opponents were using one type of form for application for ballots, and my clients another.
Our evidence showed that she had to have thrown many of my clients' applications for absentee ballots into the trash: she never even recorded them as having been received. People told us that they had sent in completed applications, and never received a ballot back. Their names did not show up on the list she kept of applications received. In fact, whenever the U.S. Postal Service was involved, she made a false record, since she knew it could not be pinned on her. This town clerk, Sally Misare, was deeply in bed with the operatives, even meeting with them at 6:00 a.m. the day of the election. The Reiter operatives had BALLOTS in their possession; they also obtained an official ballot box from the County, which they got from their crony from the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce, who had gotten herself elected Douglas County Clerk & Recorder, Carole Murray. They set this bogus ballot box up on the grounds of the Town rec center as if they were election officials. They were conducting a "courier service," handing out ballots to people and picking them up on election day, even taking them out of people's mail boxes. One of the Reiter employees, Matt Fitzgerald, was videotaped carrying this ballot box around in his personal car, with his girlfriend in the front seat, then dumping the ballots out on his carseat when he arrived at the offices of the developers, where he went before taking the ballots to the town hall. They violated the law in numerous respects.
I filed a 28-page affidavit with the district attorney after that election, documenting hundreds of violations of election laws, including what I've set forth above, as well as people voting twice, people offering to vote twice, hundreds of false records made by the clerk (each of which is a felony), and more. The DA kept assuring me he was "working on it," then LET THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS EXPIRE without filing any charges. This DA was Jim Peterson; the investigator who is the one who kept telling me "we're working on it" was Mike Knight.
In our election contest in the district court, we started out with a great judge, Judge Scott Lawrence, who was outraged by what he saw unfolding in Castle Rock. He gave us several pre-trial orders which were favorable to us. Ten days before our hearing, however, he was suddenly rushed into emergency surgery, and his voicebox and part of his tongue were removed. He never returned to the bench. It was a tragedy. We had to wait a long time for another judge, and then got a "good ol' boy," one who saw no problem with anything Sally Misare or the other defendants had done. No problem. Sally didn't mean to commit fraud. The absence of records which were required to be kept, and hundreds of false records, no problem: she didn't mean it. Oh, I forgot a big one, although it deals with the polling place portion of the election, not mail ballots: she filled out the ballot accounting forms WITH A TYPEWRITER THE DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION, and got the election judges to sign them. The form stated how many ballots were issued, how many defective, spoiled, etc., the day BEFORE the election. This woman did not even keep a pollbook, one of the most important checks in an election.
In a nutshell, that's why we cannot accept the idea of mail ballots. In a polling place election, every part of the process--other than the voter's actual casting of a vote in the booth--is observed by a multitude of eyes of different political persuasions. Every single ballot is accounted for (or at least it is supposed to be). In the January Denver mail election, in contrast, there was this absolutely preposterous figure of 183,000 ballots that were simply unaccounted for, yet no comment by the press and no interest by the judge. Numerous activities which constitute criminal conduct in the polling place occur in the mail ballot process as a matter of course, and now have become acceptable. For instance, you can't, standing in line at the polling place, state whom you are going to vote for. That's a crime. But if you are involved in a mail ballot election, you can lobby the voter nonstop while the ballot is in his possession. You can get your whole group together and fill out your ballots at the same time while you're talking about it. And, if you're an employer, you can make sure your employee votes the way you require before sending his ballot in.
We cannot tolerate this idea of "mail ballot elections" in a free society. We must return to one-day-only, secure polling place elections with hand-counted paper ballots, and enforcement of the criminal laws governing election procedures. We must return to how it was before! It's the only way to protect our democratic form of government--and it may already be too late. I fear that it is.
Alison ("Sunny") Maynard
November 9, 2007
11:49 AM
Tree writes:
Rats, I vote by mail. Englewood.
November 9, 2007
2:53 PM
Eli Chairez (Ellie) writes:
October 9th, 2007
2:43 PM
" Unless The Voters are 'cued-in' to The Fact: That I, "Lee Clendenin" ran for Mayor in 2003-And Am Not A CITIZEN then NO... It Is only going to Cause More delay simply because in all elections process. Officials will be ' locked-into' a back-up while trying to see if I personally decide to 'rock-the-boat' and put in my 'Latino VOTE' seems because Officials Don't Want Citizen's To Know The True Facts Behind My Own Immigration 'Fiasco' and 'Bizarre Case' ? Officials will rather want to keep-the-voter in the dark over 'serious issues' and 'truth-behind' denver elections and Why The Process Is'nt Expected To Improve! Why. Because, They Need To Check Every Ballot To Insure That I Have Not Voted! Get IT?
I Think To This End--It Would Be Best To Have A Federal Immigration Judge Halt--EVERYTHING. AND GET-TO-THE-BOTTOM Of What The Hell Is Going ON!
TEAM USA~MEXICO
Communities For Global P.e.a.c.e. '08.
Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved. Not Reversed!
November 9, 2007
2:55 PM
Eli Chairez (Ellie) writes:
October 9th, 2007
2:43 PM
" Unless The Voters are 'cued-in' to The Fact: That I, "Lee Clendenin" ran for Mayor in 2003-And Am Not A CITIZEN then NO... It Is only going to Cause More delay simply because in all elections process. Officials will be ' locked-into' a back-up while trying to see if I personally decide to 'rock-the-boat' and put in my 'Latino VOTE' seems because Officials Don't Want Citizen's To Know The True Facts Behind My Own Immigration 'Fiasco' and 'Bizarre Case' ? Officials will rather want to keep-the-voter in the dark over 'serious issues' and 'truth-behind' denver elections and Why The Process Is'nt Expected To Improve! Why. Because, They Need To Check Every Ballot To Insure That I Have Not Voted! Get IT?
I Think To This End--It Would Be Best To Have A Federal Immigration Judge Halt--EVERYTHING. AND GET-TO-THE-BOTTOM Of What The Hell Is Going ON!
TEAM USA~MEXICO
Communities For Global P.e.a.c.e. '08.
Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved. Not Reversed!
PS-WHY. DO YOU THINK THEY ARE FORCED TO CALL IN 'THE S.W.A.T TEAM?
November 10, 2007
9:11 AM
Denver is Corrupt writes:
Why won't the Denver Election Commission send each voter a confirmation of receipt of their mailed ballot to create the paper trail so many are interested in as it relates to electronic voting?
And yes, the passage of the tax-hike referendums was assured (wink-wink) at the get-go.
Imagine if Denver's power clatch was a Republican entity. Does anyone think that the topic of election woes would repeatedly appear with such soft treatment in our non-partisan daily media? Does anyone really believe that the problems could not have been anticipated with such a consistent track record of failure? Does any breathing person think that Democrats would not have been on the war path against such an inept city government after the first failure for "voter disenfranchisement"?
Well?
November 13, 2007
5:09 AM
Anonymous writes:
Paper ballots are essential because you do not specify, for the 'voting machines' option, a voting machine with verifiable ballots, i.e. a paper trail. Without a verifiable backup, voting machines can be the target of voter fraud, undermines our right to vote.