Contact: Marilyn Marks Phone: 303-250-9681 Email: Marilyn@AspenOffice.com
Colorado Talk Show Hosts Sue Town of Castle Rock to Stop Ballot Counting and Void Gun Rights Election
Denver, Colorado --Colorado talk radio hosts Ken Clark (Freedom 560 on KLZ 560 AM) and Dan Meurer, aka Dan America ("The I Am Joe America Show" on Velocity Radio.FM), have filed suit against the Town of Castle Rock to vindicate voters rights to a secret ballot and a fair election.
They have sued to stop the tabulation of the ballots in the Towns August 19, 2014 special election. The election centers around two questions that will decide who has the authority to ban the open carrying of firearms within the Town of Castle Rock the appointed Town Manager, the Town Council or the voters of Castle Rock.
In 2003, the Town Manager banned open carry within the Town of Castle Rock, including all open space areas within the Town. The Town placed two questions on the ballot for the August 19 election. A Yes vote on both questions would place the power to ban open carry in the hands of the voters, rather than leaving such unilateral power in the hands of the appointed Town Manager.
However, the election has been plagued by numerous controversies due to officials practices that resulted in violating the secrecy of ballots voted and processed during the course of the election. Repeated requests and formal complaints by Clark, Meurer, Castle Rock resident and Congressional candidate Jess Loban, Castle Rock resident and candidate for the State House Patrick Neville, and election quality activist Marilyn Marks to remedy the identified problems with the election processes were met with resistance and inaction by the Town Council, the Towns Election Commission, the Town Clerk, Sally Misare, and the Town Attorney, Robert Slentz.
Clark and Meurer have sued to stop the election due to these secrecy issues and the obstruction of authorized watchers rights to verify the ballot processing procedures. The lack of secrecy in the voting process has been well publicized by Clark and other hosts on KLZ 560 AM, as well as on Meurers internet radio program, and was picked up by other news outlets including Denver television stations and newspapers in the region.
Because we were successful in warning the voters of Castle Rock that their votes could be known to friends, neighbors, bosses, or anyone else, that creates an unfortunate situation where people are less likely to vote their conscience, said Meurer.
Though Clark and Meurer are both ardent advocates for Second Amendment rights, and it appears likely that a Yes vote in this election will prevail, both are taking a principled stance on this issue. The process is more important than the result, said Clark. If we dont protect that ballot box, the rest of our rights are useless.
Randy B. Corporon, of The Law Offices of Randy B. Corporon P.C., attorney for Petitioners, said, Im proud to represent these patriots who are putting principle above their preference for an immediate YES result in this election. They understand that liberty is self-governance defined by free and fair elections. We trust that with this legal action, voters can begin to regain lost ground in protecting their crucial rights to secret ballots and fair elections.
Marilyn Marks, election quality consultant and activist, noted, The wrongful actions of the Town officials permitted the election workers and watchers to view how individual voters voted, creating a fundamentally unfair flawed election which few will ever believe is legitimate. No matter what the ballot count may ultimately show, the ballots were not all freely cast representing the will of the citizens of Castle Rock. Voters were aware that town-appointed workers could see their personal ballots, and therefore they could potentially be called on to explain their vote. It is the Town Council, not the voters, who must be called on to explain their troubling decisions regarding this election."
In addition to requesting that the Court declare the August 19 election void, Clark and Meurer are requesting that the Court block any attempts by the Town Council to pass emergency changes to the Towns election code for purposes of recounts and election challenges for this election, something that the Town Council has indicated it plans to do at the Councils meeting on August 26.
Theyre changing the rules in the middle of the election, said Clark. Referencing the uncertainties in election procedures introduced by the passage of two laws in the last two General Assembly sessions, House Bill 13-1303, mandating all mail ballots, and and House Bill 14-1164, creating a Local Government Election Code, he continued, This is the kind of lawless election practice that needs to be stopped before Novembers elections.
For more information contact Ken Clark at 307-286-4776, or Marilyn Marks at 303- 250-9681 or Marilyn@AspenOffice.com.