Menu 
Search 
The information on this page is archived and provided for reference purposes only. It may be outdated or no longer maintained.
Coffman Applauds House Committee for Striking Provision That Allowed Paroled Felons to Vote
Colorado Attorney General and Secretary of State Called Amendment Unconstitutional
Denver, April 24, 2007 – Secretary of State Mike Coffman today applauded the House Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs for striking an amendment to SB07-083, which the Attorney General had previously described as unconstitutional.
The amendment, introduced by Senator Peter Groff (D-Denver) at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union, would have given felons on parole the right to vote. The committee voted unanimously to remove the provision.
“I adamantly opposed this amendment as I believe, along with the Attorney General, that allowing felons on parole to vote violates the State Constitution,” Coffman said.
“This controversial issue should not have been placed on this annual technical clean-up bill in the first place,” Coffman continued. “I hope lawmakers will respect the tradition of legislation meant to make technical corrections to our laws, and keep contentious issues off this bill as it proceeds.”
Historically, the Secretary of State’s office has introduced legislation each session to make technical corrections to election and campaign finance laws, and lawmakers have resisted placing controversial issues on these bills. SB07-083 was the county clerk and Secretary of State’s election law technical clean-up bill for this session.
The Colorado Constitution states that a qualified elector may only have his or her voting rights restored once he or she has “served out his full term of imprisonment.” (Article VII, Section 10).
Colorado law defines “full term of imprisonment” to include parole, and in a 2005 opinion the State Supreme Court ruled that the law was not unconstitutional and wrote that, “the people of Colorado in adopting their constitution intended that those who commit crimes so severe that they warrant time in prison are subject to disenfranchisement and are reinvested with the right to vote only on completion of the entire sentence, or if pardoned.” (Danielson v. Dennis (Case No. 06SA174, 139 P.3d 688)).
