Sad, sad situation in Colorado. Low turnout and gun-nutism win over rationality.

[RBInMaine]

Just unreal. All that freaking NRA gut nuttery, those awful Columbine and Aurora massacres, and yet not enough Democrats would get off their butts to get to the polls to stop those recalls last night. Once again, the Democrats sat on their asses, just like in 2010, and SCREWED THEMSELVES. Hope they are proud. Sad. Just pathetic.

[msongs]

1. sadly there is no constitutional right to not be murdered by gun owners nt

[bigdarryl]

2. Don't blame the NRA blame the State democratic party for not getting out the vote

Or the national party for that matter

[RBInMaine]

24. You are right. As I said. The Dem field operation obviously SUCKED.

[Sunlei]

3. why did they not allow mail-in ballots?, mail in is state law in Co.

While voter turnout is typically low in recall elections, Democrats accused pro-recall activists of engaging in voter suppression tactics.

A big blow to Morse and Giron was a ruling that prohibited voting by mail in the election, even though Colorado voters have overwhelmingly relied on mail-in ballots in the past. The decision ignored a state law passed earlier this year that guaranteed a ballot by mail to every registered voter in Colorado, including in a recall election.

Going to have to take it to a higher Federal court, I guess.

[CTyankee]

4. I didn't know that. No wonder.

Yet another instance of republican voter suppression tactics while progressives were asleep or not paying attention. Our side shoulda seen that coming...now we know...

[Sunlei]

5. republicans won't win anything without cheating, going to have to make Federal court cases.

[CTyankee]

6. Cheating compounded by out and out LYING...

which is what Paul Krugman addressed in a recent NYT Op Ed piece (which I cannot seem to find just now). Dr. K is both dumbfounded and deeply suspicious of how the RW gets away with it...

[Sunlei]

7. money talks and the PAC billions, (now legal) make the RW strat to own everyone, very powerfull

[CTyankee]

8. we will learn from this and develop our own strategies, I hope...

[Sunlei]

9. hope Ds can use the courts and laws as effectively as the Rs have done.

All the Rs now in office aren't little Angels with a pure history, some are very corrupt and that needs to be exposed.

[CTyankee]

10. BTW, I posted your post about the voter suppression tactic the Rs pullled in two

threads started by gun gloaters here at DU who are so delighted that the "people' have spoken, yadda, yadda...

I'm so glad you posted about the change in the rules on the mail in balloting...

I wouldn't be a bit surprised to learn that there was more than a little anti-semitism in this Colorado vote, directed against Mayor Bloomberg....

[Sunlei]

11. I wish all voting was mandatory like Australia and NZ...then all we'd

have to do is find the hacks/frauds

[CTyankee]

12. we just have to keep on exposing their tactics and really make a stink about it every time

they try to pull a fast one.

[Sunlei]

14. it has to be a legal FAST stink though, or as always these 'new' Rs continue their pogrom

Surprised the two recalled don't take the no mail-in ballots right to the Co. Federal courts and refuse to step down until proper state election laws are used.

Even if they have to re-do the vote properly.

[CTyankee]

15. Let's NOT stop here in DU gun threads to REMIND everyone about this happening!

We have to stop this nattering by our gun gloaters that it ain't that simple to shrug and say that democracy pure and simple won the day for their side. Plaster that story everywhere. It's on Google.

Don't let them get away with distorting the truth about what happened in this recall election!

[former9thward]

28. This was due to a badly flawed law passed by the Democratic legislature.

The law tried to ban Libertarians/Greens from the ballot and was unconstitutional on its face. Because of the timing of the decision there was no time to mail out ballots. This had nothing to do with republican voter suppression. It had everything to do with a dictatorial, vengeful state legislature who got their ass handed to them because they tried to suppress Third Parties.

http://kdvr.com/2013/08/12/judges-ruling-means-no-mail-ballots-in-recall-elections/

[uncle ray]

16. thank our friends in the CO Libertarian Party.

they won a lawsuit in August banning in the mail-in ballots, or at least making them a non-option due to time constraints.

voting locations also changed this election. this election was the first where you have to go to a "voter service center" to cast your vote.

something else that changed in election law this year is voters in CO now only need to show "intent" to reside where you vote. some republicans had made their intentions known that they "plan to move" to colorado springs for a day to vote.

[Sunlei]

18. the big Rs use the Libertarians to foward their agenda.

Rs probably donated to some of the libertarians that have the issues, brought the court cases- Rs want to use. And it worked didn't it? so Co. had no mail-in ballots and people voting who said they may move to Co. springs someday. Musical chairs for voter locations.

Like when republicans screwed Ron Paul supporters at the very last second and shoved Romney down their throats.

Libertarians are being used again

[RBInMaine]

25. BUT c'mon, the Dem field operation with these kinds of stakes could have been WAY better.

[former9thward]

29. Not true at all.

The CO legislature attempted to ban Libertarians from the ballot. They got their ass handed to them for this attempt as they should. When you reach too far sometimes you get burnt.

[petronius]

20. Here's a little background on that - it seems the new election law conflicted

with the state constitution:

http://kdvr.com/2013/08/12/judges-ruling-means-no-mail-ballots-in-recall-elections/

[DFW]

30. If voting by mail was prohibited, I'd say a lawsuit is not only justified, but demanded n/t

[wild bird]

31. Voting by mail wasn't prohibited,

A libertarian challenged the date set by the gov. because the new mail in ballot law conflicted with the state constitution.

The Constitution states that a candidate has up to 15 days to submit signatures so that their name appears on the ballot. Giving candidates 15 days did not leave enough time to print and distribute mail-in ballots.

The voting law conflicted with the state Constitution - the judge said the Constitution takes precedence.

In a lawsuit filed last week by the Libertarian Party of Colorado, the group alleges the secretary of state's office and county clerks did not give them ample time to gather signatures to get their candidates on the ballot to challenge Democratic Sens. John Morse of Colorado Springs and Angela Giron of Pueblo. Under the Colorado Constitution, a candidate has up to 15 days before the Sept. 10 election date to submit signatures so that their name appears on the ballot.

With Monday's ruling, Libertarians, and any other potential candidates, now have until Aug. 26 to gather enough signatures to get on the ballot — making the tight turnaround impossible for clerks to then print and mail ballots to voters. "It cannot be ignored," McGahey said of the state constitution in his oral decision from the bench.

McGahey also called House Bill 1303, a sweeping elections bill passed by Democrats this year that requires all mail-in elections, "flawed" as it conflicts with the constitution.

According to the state statute cited by Gessler's office, a 10-day window from July 18, when the governor set the recall election date, allows candidates to submit 1,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office to have their names appear on the ballot.

http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/fort-morgan-news/ci_23852132/denver-judge-sides-libertarians-recall-lawsuit

This is the law in question - passed this year by a Democratic legislature and signed by a Democratic Governor

Lawmakers passed HB1303 during the 2013 legislative session in an effort to improve voter participation. It required mail ballots be sent to every voter and that instead of precincts, voter service centers would be open where people could register to vote or change their address through election day. Previously, voters had a 29-day window to register before elections, among the longest blackout periods in the nation.

The new law is getting its first trial run during the recall elections in Pueblo and El Paso counties. Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, are facing recall elections where voters will decide whether to keep them in office or oust them over gun laws they supported last session.

http://gazette.com/county-clerk-discounts-voter-fraud-allegations-in-colorado-recall/article/1505965

The Dem governor set the date for the election which did not leave enough time to print and mail ballots.

Gov. John Hickenlooper set the recall election date on July 18 for Morse and Giron. Both state senators face recalls for their support of tougher gun laws passed by the Democratic-controlled state legislature this year.

And the repukes joined the Dems in opposing the lawsuit.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats appeared unified in court, saying the 10-day window should have been upheld. With a recall election that voters have to attend in person, lower turnout is likely, which is not beneficial to the Democratic incumbents. And with a third-party candidate now likely to appear on the ballot, Republicans fear a split vote.

http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/fort-morgan-news/ci_23852132/denver-judge-sides-libertarians-recall-lawsuit

A shout out to Hack89 for the information and links.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

13. One thing I always wonder

when people talk about the inconvenience of having to undergo a background check or be delayed in any way from getting a firearm is, what's the rush? If you absolutely have to have a firearm immediately, you have more problems than a firearm is going to solve (and you probably shouldn't have one in that event)

[hack89]

21. I don't think UBCs were the big issue in Colorado

there is strong national support even among gun owners on that particular issue.

And I am not even sure the magazine limit size was that big an issue either considering it was not retroactive and did not ban possession.

You have to look at a couple of things. The first is the gun control laws that were proposed but not passed. I suspect that suspicion by gun owners that the legislature's ultimate goal is NY or CA type gun control motivated many to draw a line in the sand now and head off more onerous laws.

The second is that many were offended by the political process itself - the laws were pushed through very quickly with very little time for public debate and input. Voters don't like to be taken for granted.

[hollowdweller]

27. Agree

People are convinced any gun control is just a first step to total confiscation. A myth perpetuated by the NRA and helped by people on democratic message boards talking about how great it would be.

Americans want their social safety net, and they are worried about the inequality. But there is a big libertarian streak in the US where people don't want stuff like guns, or marijuana or sexual preference to be a crime.

Also in Colorado I think you probably had democrats who had voted republican in recent years vote those two democrats in, mainly because the democrats had not pushed gun control in recent years. When the reps voted in gun control and thought they had the gun lobby on the run, the gun lobby, who happens to be the voters pushed back.

[Mz Pip]

17. Low turn out

Well, there you go. I have said this before, the world is run by those who show up.

Maybe they still would have last but it's pathetic that this was made so damn easy.

[CTyankee]

19. They also changed the rules and did not have mail in voting that Colorado voters overwhelmingly use

nowadays. Gee, funny thing, that! Here all these voters thought they'd be able to have the mail in ballot as usual and whammy, no mail in voting in this one...so now we can all shrug and say "oh, the voters didn't turn out...too bad..."

[Mz Pip]

22. People need to pay attention

These dirty tricks are so commonplace these days. The State Democratic Party needed to be all over this and do a GOTV. IF it didn't then this loss is on them.

Enough of the tea baggers thought it important enough to show up, but Democrats didn't get their ballots and that was a good enough reason to not vote?

[locks]

23. reality in Colorado

We are truly sad and disappointed in Colorado about this recall (which may have repercussions across the nation) and we need to understand who and what we are fighting on gun control and other Dem issues.
I don't think Dems sat out the election; it was only in two districts: 1) Colorado Springs which has more military (active and retired) and Christian fundamentalist associations than anywhere in the nation, and 2) Pueblo which used to have a strong union workforce but since big steel left is more right to work and Republican now.
Both districts have large, vocal and wealthy gun owner associations and many hunters who constantly put out lies and threats about losing their gun rights.
Colorado Springs Gazette is RW and the Denver Post leans more and more to the right since we lost the Rocky Mountain News. The Independence Institute run by Jon Caldara has a lot of influence and the"libertarians" love them. Coors, big oil, gas, and mining corporations are headquartered in Colorado and spend lots of money on lobbying. Our governor is running scared now for fear of losing in Nov. as are our representatives. Univ of CO prez and three regents are Republican billionaires.
We are a purple state only because Denver and a few other districts are liberal and have higher Hispanic and African-American populations. My point is that like most other divided states we not only have to fight hard to educate and get out the vote we also need to know where our information comes from and take the time to follow the money.

[RBInMaine]

26. I have to question the D field operation. Such low turnout was BS with these stakes.