What experience (personal, professional, other) would you bring to your role as Secretary of State that will benefit our state?

I am a spokesperson for the Boulder-based election reform group Best Democracy.

I’m a former National Advisory Board member of the Center for Voting and Democracy (now called FairVote).

I was the Vice Chairman of the Colorado Coalition for Fair and Open Elections, which represented eight alternative political parties in lobbying for two successful ballot access reform bills in 1995 and 1997.

In 2003, I lobbied for a bill that allows minor parties to participate in Colorado primary elections.

In 2019, I lobbied against ballot access restrictions that Jena Griswold helped draft and lobbied for. 

I have a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado.

What is your vision for being our state’s Secretary of State?

The purpose of my candidacy is to advocate for proportional representation voting systems for legislative elections, including the Colorado General Assembly, Colorado’s US Representatives, boards, councils, and commissions.

Ninety four nations use some form of proportional representation voting systems to secure fair, inclusive multi-party representation in government, reflecting the political diversity of the population.

Everyone should have fair representation in government, not just the plurality in single member districts.

I support a major reduction in the number of petition signatures required for political candidates and citizen initiatives. I propose that candidates should have the option of paying a nominal filing fee as an alternative to petitioning. I also support online petitioning for candidates and citizen initiatives.

As Secretary of State, how will you seek to clean up the voter registration lists to eliminate all non- eligible voters?

Candidate chose not to respond.

To what extent should Colorado counties determine and manage their election processes through their local Clerk and Recorder office, and which parts of the election process should be determined and managed by the Secretary of State’s office?

Candidate chose not to respond.

As the Secretary of State is the supervisor of state elections, do you believe that elections in Colorado should be conducted differently? Should voters in Colorado be required to verify their identity and residential status in the respective counties in which they vote? Are you in favor of a single-day, in-person voting system consisting of all- paper ballots? Why or why not?

Colorado elections are generally conducted well within the confines of the existing political system. I support the use of verifiable mail in ballots with the optional alternative of voting in person at polling places.

The winner take all, single member district election system used in the United States doesn’t provide real representation for most voters. Proportional representation would enable nearly all voters to elect representatives of their choice.

Do you support the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) system? Please explain.

Candidate chose not to respond.

As the Secretary of State oversees more than elections, what is your experience in the following areas of responsibility: a. Business and Licensing, b. Administration, and c. Information Technology?

Candidate chose not to respond.

Do you believe that it is appropriate for federal law enforcement officers to be involved in state law enforcement matters?

 Candidate chose not to respond.

As Secretary of State, how will you address citizen complaints addressed to your office in a fair and timely manner?

 Candidate chose not to respond.

What experience (personal, professional, other) would you bring to your role as Secretary of State that will benefit our state?

The purpose of my campaign is to raise awareness of Approval Voting and the benefits it can bring to elections. Relevant background:

• Studied and promoted alternative voting methods since 2000.
• Cofounder of the Center for Range Voting, a website that promotes the use of better voting methods in public elections.
• Edited initial draft of CO State Rep. John Kefalis’ 2007 Voter Choice Act, which would have enabled using various alternative voting methods in Colorado elections.
• Cofounder and Vice Chair (2010-2013) of The Center for Election Science. This is the main organization promoting use of Approval Voting in US elections. It worked closely with local groups to get Approval Voting adopted in Fargo, ND and St. Louis, MO city elections.

What is your vision for being our state’s Secretary of State?

I would promote Approval Voting to the people of Colorado, and encourage government at all levels to adopt Approval Voting for their elections, if approved by the voters through referendums.

What is Approval Voting, (AV), and why should we adopt it?

The voting method we use now for most elections is called Plurality Voting. For each office (for example mayor), the ballot lists the candidates, and voters are instructed to “Vote for one.” The candidate with the most votes wins.

AV uses the same type of ballot, except that the instructions say “Vote for one or more”. All the votes are counted, and again the candidate with the most votes wins.

So what’s the benefit? (Continued below)

As Secretary of State, how will you seek to clean up the voter registration lists to eliminate all non- eligible voters?

With Plurality Voting, many voters feel compelled to vote for the “lesser evil” major candidate, even if they like a third party or independent candidate more, because if they vote for a third party candidate they give up the chance to choose between the major candidates. Voting for a third party essentially “wastes your vote.”

AV allows you to vote for as many candidates as you like, and you can still vote for one if the major candidates if you wish. Since voters can vote for all that they like, the voting results are a much better indication of the true popularity of each candidate. Third party and independent candidates with good ideas get the recognition they deserve.

To what extent should Colorado counties determine and manage their election processes through their local Clerk and Recorder office, and which parts of the election process should be determined and managed by the Secretary of State’s office?

Plurality Voting can result in a less popular candidate winning over a more popular one, if the preferences of third party voters are taken into consideration. Examples are the presidential elections in Florida 2000 and possibly nationwide in 1992.

AV removes the spoiler, allowing the more popular candidate to win, when Plurality Voting may choose the less popular one.

As the Secretary of State is the supervisor of state elections, do you believe that elections in Colorado should be conducted differently? Should voters in Colorado be required to verify their identity and residential status in the respective counties in which they vote? Are you in favor of a single-day, in-person voting system consisting of all- paper ballots? Why or why not?

Candidate chose not to respond.

Do you support the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) system? Please explain.

Candidate chose not to respond.

As the Secretary of State oversees more than elections, what is your experience in the following areas of responsibility: a. Business and Licensing, b. Administration, and c. Information Technology?

Candidate chose not to respond.

Do you believe that it is appropriate for federal law enforcement officers to be involved in state law enforcement matters?

 Candidate chose not to respond.

As Secretary of State, how will you address citizen complaints addressed to your office in a fair and timely manner?

 Candidate chose not to respond.

What experience (personal, professional, other) would you bring to your role as Secretary of State that will benefit our state?

I was raised in a political family, that was engaged in many petition and political campaigns. I bring organizational skills and a perspective of a third party to election integrity.

What is your vision for being our state’s Secretary of State?

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over again, expecting a different result. It’s time a literal third-party steps into the office to bring real change.

As Secretary of State, how will you seek to clean up the voter registration lists to eliminate all non- eligible voters?

Previous administrations have made several great strides in this area. However, those efforts need to continue. New strategies need to be developed that will bring security to the mail-in ballot system. The biggest component to election integrity is for citizens to become involved and engaged in the election process.

To what extent should Colorado counties determine and manage their election processes through their local Clerk and Recorder office, and which parts of the election process should be determined and managed by the Secretary of State’s office?

As a party we believe in local government. Management should stay as local as possible. Again election integrity relies on citizen involvement at every level, especially as local as possible.

As the Secretary of State is the supervisor of state elections, do you believe that elections in Colorado should be conducted differently? Should voters in Colorado be required to verify their identity and residential status in the respective counties in which they vote? Are you in favor of a single-day, in-person voting system consisting of all- paper ballots? Why or why not?

I believe that if you are eligible to vote you should be willing to prove that.

Any system of casting vote has potential flaws. They all, however, have their own systems of checks and balances that need to be enforced.

Do you support the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) system? Please explain.

Yes, it is a step in the right direction.

As the Secretary of State oversees more than elections, what is your experience in the following areas of responsibility: a. Business and Licensing, b. Administration, and c. Information Technology?

My husband owns a small business. We have first hand experience in the ups and downs in business licensing and other filings. The system could be easier to navigate for business owners who are self filers.

I also have quite a passion for petition initiatives as well. I will always fight for a citizens right to influence the law we live under.

Do you believe that it is appropriate for federal law enforcement officers to be involved in state law enforcement matters?

Absolutely not.

As Secretary of State, how will you address citizen complaints addressed to your office in a fair and timely manner?

I will do my best to investigate and respond to any citizen inquiry or complaint.

What experience (personal, professional, other) would you bring to your role as Secretary of State that will benefit our state?

University of Arizona to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a physics minor. The summer I graduated I went job hunting via Greyhound, and finished having been through all of the lower 48 states of the USA. I’ve worked as an information technology professional for more than four decades, designing, developing, building, coding, testing, implementing, and maintaining information systems. With the Federal Highway Administration I worked up to Computer Systems Analyst with responsibilities as a Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative. I am currently retired from a banking company. These included security, encryption, accounting, compliance and data quality aspects.

What is your vision for being our state’s Secretary of State?

I’ve noticed “elections” with “races” where there was one candidate, and you either voted for that candidate or you got no say in that “contest”! My experience in Systems Analysis will bring a different and useful viewpoint to the office of Secretary of State, looking at such contradictions with a fresh eyeball. I’ve experienced various volunteer roles, including treasurer, laboring under the current Secretary’s rules. My ultimate guidestar is to ensure “All elections shall be free and open; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.” just like it says in Section 5 of Colorado’s own Bill of Rights.

As Secretary of State, how will you seek to clean up the voter registration lists to eliminate all non- eligible voters?

Very cautiously. The very first section of Colorado’s own Bill of Rights says “All Political power is vested in and derived from the people; all government, of right, originates from the people, is founded on their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.” That means that, although I will exercise due diligence purging those who have died, or otherwise left Colorado, I’ll be careful not to take away “the right of suffrage.” from people who have been turned out of their homes, or simply do not have the correct papers. Hey, the only authentic proof of MY citizenship, a “Certificate of Live Birth” does not count, according to former President Trump!

To what extent should Colorado counties determine and manage their election processes through their local Clerk and Recorder office, and which parts of the election process should be determined and managed by the Secretary of State’s office?

Counties and municipalities of Colorado, especially those enjoying “Home Rule” status, giving them “power to legislate upon, provide, regulate, conduct, and control: … balloting, challenging, canvassing, certifying the result, securing the purity of elections, guarding against abuses of the elective franchise, and tending to make such elections, or electoral votes nonpartisan in character;” and so on, should do so. The Secretary of State’s office should provide a structure of professional standards and best practices so professionals could do it, but acknowledging the responsibility is ultimately theirs, so that some counties or municipalities may dare do better than any given Secretary of State could imagine. Finger-pointing, fault-finding, and floggings only motivate cover-ups when we need honesty and transparency most.

As the Secretary of State is the supervisor of state elections, do you believe that elections in Colorado should be conducted differently? Should voters in Colorado be required to verify their identity and residential status in the respective counties in which they vote? Are you in favor of a single-day, in-person voting system consisting of all- paper ballots? Why or why not?

I am strongly against in-person-only voting, given the number of aging and ADA citizens in Colorado. Since the techniques most likely to be used to tamper with results can be applied in a matter of minutes, there’s no point restricting voting to one day. I do advocate “hard-copy” ballots which can be manually recounted, and am suspicious of recounts where the same data is input to the same machines, loaded with the same software, and a difference in the result is somehow possible. I’ll also give close scrutiny to requirements for specific identity documents, and be sensitive to aspects which may curtail the rights of the poor and minority voters.

Do you support the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) system? Please explain.

I will give the ERIC system the same maintenance, upgrade and patching support given to the other IT systems in the Secretary of State’s office. I do foresee some enhancements will be needed to many other databases which are stuck in the 19th century. I also see that a Quick Update Affidavit Response Catalog will need to be developed to comply with Section 5 of the Colorado Bill of Rights: “… no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.” and to support the end of choiceless elections.

As the Secretary of State oversees more than elections, what is your experience in the following areas of responsibility: a. Business and Licensing, b. Administration, and c. Information Technology?

a.  I have applied for and obtained a business license in Colorado, myself.

b.  I have administered contracts for the FHWA, and

c.  run, debugged, documented and defended a pilot IT system under the scrutiny of independent auditors and federal regulators.

d.  I have been a Notary Public for the State of Colorado, and performed the services involved.

e.  I have worked with multiple states on financial, and inventory systems,

f.  As custodian of Colorado laws, I can apply the audit processes, mentioned above, to records such as the C.R.S.

Do you believe that it is appropriate for federal law enforcement officers to be involved in state law enforcement matters?

Only to the extent of enforcing Federal Law, and then in full coordination with local authorities. Conversely, the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly makes state governments responsible for giving “any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” which would include protecting against criminal activities by renegade Federal authorities.

As Secretary of State, how will you address citizen complaints addressed to your office in a fair and timely manner?

Not sure on this one. The incumbent has made prominent advances in this area, such as provisions for 24-hour ballot boxes in rural areas, and on tribal lands, and for being able to start businesses with only a $1 license fee. Some sort of crackdown on out-of-state corporations sending agents into Colorado, to do business without licenses, perhaps? I’d have to have a closer look to be more specific.