DENVER \u2013 In the wake of historic recalls of two Colorado state senators, partisans and analysts from coast to coast busied themselves Wednesday with predictions on what the election means.<\/p>\n
Spin aside, Tuesday night\u2019s elections in Colorado Springs and Pueblo are likely to rekindle a debate about how and when Coloradans cast their ballots. But they won\u2019t inspire another recall campaign in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese victories serve as a warning to arrogant politicians everywhere that they must stop ignoring their constituents,\u201d Colorado Republican Party Chairman Ryan Call said in a written statement. \u201cThese recall elections also prove that Colorado Republicans are energized, organized and ready to fight and win in 2014.\u201d<\/p>\n
GOP officials and well-funded lobby groups at first avoided the recalls, but they got involved after gun-rights activists successfully forced recall votes against Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs and Sen. Angela Giron of Pueblo, both Democrats.<\/p>\n
While the votes were still being counted, the Republican Governors Association predicted they would be an omen for 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cDemocrat Gov. John Hickenlooper\u2019s 2014 re-election hopes not looking too rosy in Colorado tonight,\u201d the RGA said on Twitter.<\/p>\n
Hickenlooper, though, said the 2014 election will be about broader economic issues, unlike Tuesday\u2019s recalls.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs close as I can tell in both of those recall elections, almost every discussion was about guns,\u201d Hickenlooper said.<\/p>\n
Democrats comforted themselves with the knowledge that turnout was low and reflected only a small slice of the state\u2019s voters. The 52,540 ballots cast account for less than 3 percent of the total votes statewide in the 2010 election.<\/p>\n
Democrats believe they could have won \u2013 at least in Morse\u2019s district \u2013 if turnout had been higher. (Giron lost despite Democrats enjoying a 2-to-1 registration advantage over Republicans in Pueblo.)<\/p>\n
The recall should have been the first test of a new all-mail voting system that Democrats passed this year with the help of county clerks from both parties. But a series of lawsuits over Colorado\u2019s little-used recall laws ended up delaying the printing of ballots, and very few people got to vote by mail.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was voter suppression, pure and simple,\u201d said Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, in a news release. \u201cTuesday\u2019s low turnout was a result of efforts by the NRA, the Koch brothers and other right-wing groups who know that when more people vote, Democrats win.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is already a push to rewrite the century-old recall election law, a task that probably will require a voter-adopted constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n
Candidates\u2019 deadlines in recalls are just 15 days before Election Day, and that makes it very difficult for counties to print ballots, said La Plata County Clerk Tiffany Lee Parker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can pretty much guarantee you there will be a lot of discussion and conversation,\u201d said Parker, who helped write the election bill that passed earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The recall movement in Colorado got started with a campaign against freshman Rep. Mike McLachlan, D-Durango. But local activists failed to get enough petition signatures to force a vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened (Tuesday) night was extremely significant, and I have no doubt it would have happened here if we\u2019d had a little more help in getting signatures,\u201d said Dave Saleh, an organizer of the campaign against McLachlan.<\/p>\n
Still, Saleh said, his allies are focused on the 2014 election, and not a do-over of their recall effort.<\/p>\n
By the time the signatures were gathered and approved, \u201cWe\u2019d be six months into the election cycle, so what\u2019s the point?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hickenlooper, too, said he is not worried that recalls will be the new normal in Colorado politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI doubt it. Recalls are expensive. The best way to recall someone is through a general election,\u201d Hickenlooper said.<\/p>\n