County Clerk and Recorders Search Voter Registration Records for Inmates and Parolees for the November 2 General Elections

Denver, October 11, 2004 - Today, the Secretary of State and County Clerk and Recorders discussed the Secretary of State’s plan to eliminate any fraudulent voting during the November General Election. In the upcoming days all Election Officials in the State of Colorado will be searching voter registration records for inmates and parolees who have wrongly registered to vote for the November 2 General Election, but will not disenfranchise voters who have a constitutional right to vote.

"1-2-103(4) No person while serving a sentence of detention or confinement in a correctional facility, jail, or other location or while serving a sentence of parole shall be eligible to register to vote or vote in any election; however, a confined prisoner who is awaiting trial but has not been tried shall be certified by the institutional administrator and shall be permitted to register to vote by mail registration pursuant to part 5 of this article."

In other words, if you are serving a sentence in a correctional facility, jail or other location or serving a sentence of parole, YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO REGISTER AND VOTE. To do so would violate the law and/or terms of your parole. The Secretary of State and local election officials are prepared to pursue criminal charges with the District Attorney’s Offices.

"The Secretary of State’s office and the County Clerk and Recorders are taking every step to make sure there will be no illegal voting in the State of Colorado. All questionable voter registrations and convicted felons, inmates, and parolees trying to fraudulently vote will be stopped. At the same time, we are protecting the constitutional right to vote for every eligible voter in the state," Donetta Davidson said.

A plan has been developed to handle possible fraudulent voters voting in person at polling places or who have requested absentee ballots. All County Clerk and Recorders will be instructing election judges on these procedures.

"A fraudulent vote that nullifies a legal one, disenfranchises the legal voter as surely as if his or her vote had never been cast at all," Donetta Davidson said.