Law would ban guns at polling places | Western Colorado | gjsentinel.com - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

The Colorado Senate gave final approval to a bill Monday that would ban openly carrying a firearm within 100 feet of a polling center.

Democrats who supported the bill say the measure is needed to ensure that voters feel safe while casting a ballot, and don’t feel intimidated when doing so.

But Republicans said the measure makes little sense, especially considering that less than 5% of voters still cast ballots in person.

House Bill 1086 also applies to drop boxes, where voters are only there for a matter of seconds, which Republicans said makes even less sense.

Of the 5% who don’t, about 2% live in the state’s largest county, Denver, which has long had a law against open-carry of firearms. An even smaller segment of the remaining 3% are likely in areas where open carry is common practice, such as rural parts of the state where voters are used to seeing such things, he said.

As a result, the bill only would impact a small number of people, Holbert said.

“So, we’re taking values, perspectives of the world from the metro Denver area, Boulder, and applying them statewide,” Holbert said. “Why? It’s a very small population of voters who actually go to voting places, especially when you take out the largest city and county that already bans this and has for years.”

Democrats, however, argue that times have changed, saying politics has become more vitriol in recent years and voters are concerned for their safety as a result.

Besides, it’s long been the law in several Republican-dominated states, says Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, one of the bill’s sponsors.

“It already exists in several states, including Texas, Florida and Georgia,” the Lafayette Democrat said. “With this bill, we’ll be protecting voters from fear and intimidation during a time when we really need to do this.”

The bill, known as the Vote Without Fear Act, doesn’t apply to those with concealed-carry licenses or law enforcement.

It cleared the Senate on a party-line 20-13 vote. Because it already passed the House on a similar 40-24 party-line vote, it now heads to Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat who is expected to sign it.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat who pushed for the measure, said there is a bigger picture behind the need for the bill, and that is to send a message that threatening behavior of any kind is not to be tolerated, particularly when it comes to voting.

“When we protect Colorado voters from intimidation at the ballot box, we protect democracy,” Griswold said.

“I am proud of this important legislation, which will safeguard Colorado voters’ rights to cast a ballot without intimidation or interference regardless of their ZIP code, political affiliation or race.”

The measure is one of several aimed at safeguarding voting, including protecting people who conduct them.

Two of them, HB1273, would make it a crime to “threaten, coerce or intimidate” an election worker, while SB133 calls on the Colorado State Patrol to beef up security for elected officials in the legislative and executive branches, including the secretary of state.

Those are, in part, because of backlash from some voters over allegations of election fraud.

Another measure is Senate Bill 153, which would codify several emergency rules Griswold’s office has put in place that directly stem from allegations against Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.

That measure would codify some emergency rules Griswold’s office has already put in place.

Those measures include placing restrictions on how county clerks can take images of the software from their election computers, and shortening when election workers, including county clerks, must complete their required training courses.

source: https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/law-would-ban-guns-at-polling-places/article_f2e74e40-a945-11ec-8595-ebb278ea4572.html

Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.