Paul Hultin Appointed to Colorado Election Reform Commission
08.13.2008
DENVER: Wheeler Trigg Kennedy lawyer and voting rights advocate Paul Hultin has been appointed to the Colorado Election Reform Commission. Mr. Hultin was lead trial counsel for a pro bono team of Wheeler Trigg Kennedy lawyers who represented the plaintiffs in Conroy v. Dennis, a case filed by a non-partisan group of Colorado voters in 2006. The plaintiffs successfully sued then Secretary of State Gigi Dennis for improperly testing and certifying electronic voting systems used in Colorado. The Court ruled that the electronic voting systems could not be used in the 2008 election until the Secretary of State addressed security and reliability concerns. In response to the Court’s order, Colorado’s current Secretary of State Mike Coffman decertified the majority of the state’s electronic voting equipment in December 2007 until it could be retested and recertified.
After a proposed legislative bill mandating paper ballots in the 2008 election failed, the Colorado Legislature created the Election Reform Commission. This bipartisan Commission plans to examine electronic voting and related issues, technology that might enhance the ability of people with disabilities to vote in privacy, the current recounting and vote auditing procedures, and the feasibility of adopting a uniform state-wide voting system. The Commission will hold public hearings after the 2008 election and make reform recommendations to the Colorado Legislature by March 1, 2009.
On his appointment, Paul Hultin said, "I am honored to join the other members of the Election Reform Commission in addressing the challenges posed by electronic voting equipment and other election integrity issues committed to the Commission. I am confident that the bipartisan Commission will come up with reform recommendations for the Legislature that will assure all Colorado voters that they can have confidence in the accuracy and integrity of Colorado’s elections."
If you would like more information, please contact Connie M. Proulx, Director of Marketing, at 303.244.1919 or proulx@wtotrial.com.