Democrats killed the only election bill adding verification to Colorado’s mail voting system while passing two measures improving procedures after ballots arrive at counting centers. The pattern reveals the fundamental problem: you cannot secure elections by polishing what happens at counting centers when ballots traveled unsecured to get there.
HB26-1104 would have required annual address verification using credit bureaus to supplement monthly postal service checks. Democrats killed it 6-5 on party lines. HB26-1080 required bipartisan teams for all signature verification reviews and passed 10-1. HB26-1113 rewrote dozens of election procedures in a 44-page omnibus bill and passed 8-3.
Both bills that passed improve security after ballots reach counting centers. Neither addresses the gap between voter and verification. Mail ballots travel from county clerks through postal facilities to voter mailboxes, get marked by voters, return through mail or unsupervised drop boxes, and arrive at counting centers without documented chain of custody. Bipartisan signature teams and enhanced procedures begin only after that unsecured journey ends.
The week’s other bills followed constitutional rather than partisan lines. SB26-070 and SB26-071 require warrants for license plate readers and facial recognition technology. Both earned GOOD classifications despite Democrat sponsors aiming to obstruct federal immigration enforcement and law enforcement testimony opposing warrant requirements. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches. These bills enforce that protection.
Senator Judy Amabile sponsored SB26-070 to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from accessing location data. The political motivation doesn’t matter. The Supreme Court established in Carpenter v. United States that tracking citizens’ movements without warrants violates constitutional protections. The bill is GOOD because it supports Fourth Amendment limits regardless of who benefits.
HB26-1096 allows Medicaid members access to direct primary care services and passed the House 40-22. The bill expands healthcare choice. HB26-1033 reduces regulation on home food producers and passed House Agriculture 10-3. Both are GOOD. HB26-1014 extends business tax credits through 2034 with bipartisan support. It’s BAD. Tax credits remain government market intervention.
Session totals through February 27 show 26 bills tracked. Six are GOOD. Twenty are BAD. The 77% failure rate reflects how most legislation expands government power or violates constitutional limits. Party support doesn’t determine quality. Constitutional alignment does.
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