This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at kunc.org.
Colorado lawmakers are sending the governor a measure meant to shore up voting rights.
The move is part of a national effort to write protections established by the federal Voting Rights Act into state laws. But it comes despite opposition from local officials, who have argued the law could upend decades-old practices.
Senate Bill 25-001 passed the legislature this week largely along party lines. It would give voters the right to bring discrimination suits at the state level and extend new protections specific to Colorado, including making sure people can vote while in jail and barring discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
"We should not tolerate dilution or suppression," said state Rep. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver. "The promise of this country is to say that we believe that your voice matters, and that we will take steps to ensure even through our differences ... that we will protect the vote."
Backers cite the gradual weakening of the Voting Rights Act and recent attacks from the Trump administration on state voting laws to argue that there's a need for state legislation.
But pushback has come from local officials, including some representing progressive parts of the state. They say the measure could reopen settled legal questions about voting practices that some could argue are discriminatory. Those include electing officials at large, which can keep minority candidates out of office, and holding local elections in the spring or summer, when turnout tends to be lower.
Throughout the legislative session, the Colorado Municipal League, which represents local governments, has been urging lawmakers to amend the measure. The group says the proposal conflicts with provisions of the Colorado Constitution that bar state regulation of municipal elections. It also says the bill could erode the nonpartisan nature of local elections, by forcing them to coincide with state and federal elections, and it notes that the measure doesn't apply to state or school board elections.
"The sponsors and proponents identify some issues of grave concern related to the conduct of elections without provid[ing] one shred of evidence of those issues occurring in the municipal and county elections that the bill applies to," Kevin Bommer, the CML's executive director said in an emailed statement. "What is left is an unfunded state mandate, an unconstitutional intrusion into home rule authority, and nothing done by the state to deal with elections they are responsible for."
Supporters of the bill have acknowledged those concerns but say it’s more important to ensure elections are fair. The measure has backing from a variety of groups, including the ACLU, the League of Women Voters and Colorado Common Cause.
Eric Maruyama, a spokesperson for Gov. Jared Polis, says he's evaluating the measure.
"Colorado is proud of our world-class secure voting system and appreciates the work of the bill sponsors to build on our success," Maruyama wrote in a prepared statement. "Governor Polis appreciates all the work the legislature put into this bill, and looks forward to reviewing the bill in its final form when it reaches his desk."
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
