Issues
The overarching goal and responsibility of the Secretary of State office is to promote transparency and efficiency for the integrity of elections, public records and state commerce in a non-partisan manner.
Integrity of Elections:
- Buescher worked closely with the state legislature to develop secure access to online voter registration that maintains the current verification tools already in place.
- Buescher created collaborative efforts to review election forms and practices seeking improvements directly from Colorado voters.
- In cooperation with legislators and the business and labor communities, Buescher developed additional safeguards for voters participating in the initiative process and cracking down on fraudulent petitions.
- With an aim for transparency in Colorado elections, Buescher will soon unveil a more user-friendly, cutting-edge system highlighting the money flowing into Colorado’s political environment.
Legislation:
- HB-1357 – Vigil/Schwartz – County campaign finance reports filed with Sec. of State
- With the Secretary of State currently developing a new online campaign finance filing system, Buescher determined that the system should also be programmed for county filings with the Department. Currently, many county candidates and committees submit their paper records to the county clerk. County staffers then have to enter those filings manually using the Secretary of State’s web site. This bill requires these local committees to now file directly with the Secretary of State saving resources for the counties.
- HB-1153 – May/Harvey – Issue committees under the Fair Campaigns Practices Act
- Incorporating a judge’s decision from a recent court case, HB-1153 clarifies when an issue committee is required to file campaign finance filing reports, and more specifically, when campaign finance laws affect committees participating in municipal annexation elections. This bill was already signed into law.
- HB-1018 – Bradford/Spence – SCORE System and HAVA compliance
- With the successful implementation of the federally-mandated statewide voter registration system (SCORE) last year, HB-1018 changes state law from county-based voter registration systems into one, real-time statewide system.
- HB-1216 – Murray/Newell – Election Code Revisions
- This technical clean-up bill addresses lessons learned last election following the popularity of the permanent mail voter list and the implementation of the SCORE system. 1216 passed both chambers unanimously and has already been signed by the governor.
- S. 1390 - MOVE Act -- The Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act
- A rider to the Defense Authorization bill – was signed by President Barack Obama. This legislation will ease restrictions faced by overseas voters, which include members of the armed services protecting American interests around the world. Most of the provisions outlined in the legislation are already in place for Colorado’s overseas voters. In fact, the Overseas Vote Foundation recently named Colorado to its list of the top five states for its military and overseas voting policies. The bill mandates that states provide for faster access to voter registration forms and mail ballots for those Americans living overseas. The Colorado Secretary of State’s office has pioneered overseas access to voter registration forms, mail ballot applications and even ballots via the internet, email and fax.
- A rider to the Defense Authorization bill – was signed by President Barack Obama. This legislation will ease restrictions faced by overseas voters, which include members of the armed services protecting American interests around the world. Most of the provisions outlined in the legislation are already in place for Colorado’s overseas voters. In fact, the Overseas Vote Foundation recently named Colorado to its list of the top five states for its military and overseas voting policies. The bill mandates that states provide for faster access to voter registration forms and mail ballots for those Americans living overseas. The Colorado Secretary of State’s office has pioneered overseas access to voter registration forms, mail ballot applications and even ballots via the internet, email and fax.
Public Records/Enhance Commerce:
- In order to further protect consumers, Buescher developed streamlined access to charities’ financial information allowing potential donors to make informed decisions about contributions.
- Working closely with county governments, Buescher continues to identify efficiencies and cost saving measures helping to reduce the burden on taxpayers and streamlining government processes.
Legislation:
- SB-084 – Scheffel/Scanlon – Secured transactions e-filing
- Already signed by the governor, SB-084 streamlines online filings for secured transaction documents.
- SB-111 – Bacon/Court – Sunset Notaries Public Act
- Already signed into law, SB-111 revises the Notary Public Act giving the Secretary of State additional oversight and rulemaking authority for Colorado’s notaries. Additionally, notaries will be required to attend a notary education course and maintain a journal to record all transactions made. The bill initiates these and other safeguards intended to protect notaries and their customers.
- SB-283 – Sandoval/Scanlon-Summers – Redaction of tax ID numbers
- Attracting unanimous approval from both houses, SB-283 allows the Secretary of State to utilize commercial software to review secured transaction documents to identify and redact social security numbers. In the past, these business filings required social security numbers and images of those documents were available on the state’s web site. Those images will remain unavailable until the software reviews each image and redacts any potential social security numbers.