Voting By Phone Petition

WARNING: IT IS AGAINST THE LAW:

For anyone to sign any petition with any name other than his or her own or to knowingly sign his or her name more than once for the same measure or to sign such petition when not a registered elector.

DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS YOU ARE A REGISTERED ELECTOR: TO BE A REGISTERED ELECTOR, YOU MUST BE:

1. At least eighteen years of age.

2. A citizen of the United States.

3. A resident of the state of Colorado and have resided in the state at least thirty-two days.

4. A resident of the municipal election precinct in which you live for at least thirty-two days.

5. Registered to vote pursuant to part 2 of article 2 of title 1, Colorado Revised Statutes.

Do not sign this petition unless you have read or had read to you the text of the proposal in its entirety and understand its meaning.

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PETITION FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF BOULDER

We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of Boulder, demand, by the power vested in us by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Colorado and the Charter of the City of Boulder, according to Article II, Part 2 (Municipal Home Rule), Section 31-2-210 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, "procedure to amend or repeal charter," that Section 33 of the Charter of the City of Boulder, "Voting Machines," be amended to allow the voters in municipal elections to cast their votes by telephone. We demand that a special election be held on November 2, 1993 and appoint the following five registered voters of the City of Boulder to represent us in all matters affecting this petition or the election it seeks:

Evan Ravitz
Roger Olson
Judith Mohling
Lorna Dee Cervantes
Barry Satlow

We designate the following ballot title:

SHALL THE BOULDER CITY CHARTER BE AMENDED TO REQUIRE THAT VOTERS BE ALLOWED TO VOTE BY TELEPHONE IN ALL MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS GOVERNED BY THE CHARTER (INCLUDING VOTING FOR CITY COUNCIL AND ON INITIATIVES, RECALLS, AND REFERENDA), PROVIDED THAT TELEPHONE VOTING IS FIRST FOUND CONSTITUTIONAL IN AN ACTION FOR A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT, WITH THE CITY PAYING THE REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES AND COSTS OF THAT ACTION?

YES

We propose that Section 33 of the charter be amended as follows:

The following title shall be substituted for the existing title of Section 33:
The following NEW PARAGRAPH shall be added at the beginning of Section 33:
The existing first paragraph of Section 33 shall become the second paragraph, and the last sentence of this paragraph shall be amended as follows (language struck through is deleted and language in CAPITAL LETTERS is added):
The existing second paragraph of Section 33, now the third paragraph, shall be amended as follows to add references to telephone voting and to computer counting of paper ballots:
The following paragraph shall be enacted at the end of Section 33:

1. The following title shall be substituted for the existing title of Section 33:

Section 33. Voting by Machine or Telephone

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2. The following NEW PARAGRAPH shall be added at the beginning of Section 33:

In all Boulder city elections governed by this charter, voters may cast their votes by telephone, using tone dialing or similar technology, and by pulse dialing if permitted by ordinance, unless an act of nature or similar emergency should make telephone voting impossible. Absentee ballots shall continue to be provided. The voting procedure shall provide for the secrecy and integrity of the ballot and allow voting for all candidates for whom the voter is entitled to vote, for candidates not entered in the election and for or against any question or proposition submitted to the voters.

3. The existing first paragraph of Section 33 shall become the second paragraph, and the last sentence of this paragraph shall be amended as follows (language struck through is deleted and language in CAPITAL LETTERS is added): The provisions of any and all state laws now or hereinafter in force relating to the use of voting machines OR TELEPHONE VOTING at elections, except as the council may otherwise by ordinance provide, shall govern the management of voting machines AND TELEPHONE VOTING in elections.

4. The existing second paragraph of Section 33, now the third paragraph, shall be amended as follows to add references to telephone voting and to computer counting of paper ballots:

All the provisions of this charter relating to elections and any and all laws of the State of Colorado now or hereafter in force and not inconsistent with the provisions of this charter shall apply to all elections held in election districts or precincts where voting machines are used BOULDER CITY ELECTIONS. Any provisions NO PROVISION of this charter heretofore in force which conflicts with the use of voting machines OR TELEPHONE VOTING as herein set forth IN THIS SECTION shall not apply to precincts ANY PRECINCT in which an election is conducted by the use of voting machines VOTING IS SO CONDUCTED. Nothing in this charter, however, shall be construed as prohibiting the use of separate paper ballots, if need be, WHETHER COUNTED BY COMPUTER OR BY HAND, for the purpose of TO conducting any special or general municipal BOULDER CITY election. in the City of Boulder.

5. The following paragraph shall be enacted at the end of Section 33:

Before the changes above become effective, a ruling on their validity under the Colorado Constitution shall be sought in an action for declaratory judgment filed in the district courts of this state within 60 days of their approval. Should the city attorney oppose this amendment in that action, the city shall pay the reasonable attorney fees and costs in that action of the initiators of this amendment. On a final judgment that this amendment is valid under the Colorado Constitution and exhaustion of all appeals, this paragraph shall be deemed repealed and shall be removed from the Boulder City Charter.

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