First Regular Session Sixty-eighth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. R11-1038.01 Troy Bratton SCR11-002 SENATE SPONSORSHIP Lambert, Harvey, Lundberg, Cadman, Renfroe, King K., Spence, Scheffel, Brophy, Grantham, Kopp, Mitchell HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Holbert, Senate Committees House Committees State, Veterans & Military Affairs SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 11-002 Submitting to the registered electors of the state of Colorado an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning the authority of the secretary of state to request proof of citizenship of any elector whose name appears in the computerized statewide voter registration list who the secretary of state believes is not a citizen of the United States. Resolution Summary (Note: This summary applies to this resolution as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this resolution passes third reading in the house of introduction, a resolution summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this resolution will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The concurrent resolution requires the secretary of state to periodically check the computerized statewide voter registration list against lists maintained by federal and state agencies to determine whether registered electors are citizens of the United States. If there is evidence that an elector is not a citizen, the bill requires the secretary of state to notify the elector. The elector must, within 90 days after receipt of such notice, provide proof of citizenship to the secretary of state. If the registered elector does not have proof of citizenship and cannot obtain proof for financial reasons, the secretary of state will either certify the elector's name to the state registrar for vital statistics and request a copy of the elector's birth certificate or, for electors born in a state other than Colorado, request from the appropriate governmental entity the elector's birth certificate. If the elector was born outside of the United States, the secretary of state will contact the United States citizenship and immigration services and request verification of the elector's status as a naturalized citizen. If the registered elector does not provide proof of citizenship, the county clerk and recorder will mark the elector's registration record "Incomplete". An elector whose registration record has been marked "Incomplete" for failure to provide proof of citizenship may, within 6 years, be reinstated by providing proof of citizenship. An elector whose record has been marked "Incomplete" for failure to provide proof of citizenship and who tries to reregister must provide proof of citizenship or the registration will remain marked "Incomplete". Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-eighth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein: SECTION 1. At the next election at which such question may be submitted, there shall be submitted to the registered electors of the state of Colorado, for their approval or rejection, the following amendment to the constitution of the state of Colorado, to wit: Article VII of the constitution of the state of Colorado is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION to read: Section 1b. Proof of citizenship. (1) The secretary of state shall coordinate the computerized statewide voter registration list with relevant federal and state agency records, as determined by law, including but not limited to records pertaining to department of revenue data, jury recusal lists, and information contained in federal databases related to immigration status. If evidence exists that a particular registered elector is not a citizen of the United States, the secretary of state shall send notice to the elector notifying the elector of the secretary of state's belief that the elector is not a citizen of the United States; except that no such notice shall be sent after the ninety-first day preceding the deadline for voter registration as specified by law. (2) Any registered elector who receives the notice specified in subsection (1) of this section shall, within ninety days after the receipt of the notice, provide proof of citizenship to the secretary of state. For purposes of this subsection (2), proof of citizenship includes: (a) A United States passport, or, in the secretary of state's discretion, a legible photocopy of the pertinent pages of the passport, identifying the elector and showing the passport number; (b) The elector's birth certificate or, in the secretary of state's discretion, a legible photocopy of the birth certificate; (c) The elector's United States naturalization documentation or the number of the elector's certificate of naturalization; except that an elector who provides the number of the certificate of naturalization in lieu of the naturalization documentation shall not be deemed to have provided proof of citizenship until the secretary of state verifies the number with the United States citizenship and immigration services in the department of homeland security or its successor; or (d) Any document or method of proof of citizenship established by the federal "Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986", Pub.L. 99-603, as amended. (3) Any registered elector who receives the notice specified in subsection (1) of this section but who does not have in his or her possession proof of citizenship as specified in subsection (2) of this section and who cannot pay the fees required by a governmental entity to obtain such proof may respond to the notice, within ninety days after receipt of the notice, by claiming a financial hardship and indicating his or her place of birth. Upon receipt of an elector's claim of financial hardship and place of birth, the secretary of state shall: (a) If the registered elector indicates that he or she was born in the state of Colorado, certify the name of the elector to the office of state registrar of vital statistics in the department of public health and environment or its successor. Upon receipt of such certification, the state registrar shall provide, at no charge, a certified copy of the elector's birth certificate or a legible photocopy thereof to the secretary of state. (b) If the registered elector indicates that he or she was born in a state other than Colorado, contact the appropriate governmental entity in the state in which the elector was born, request that a certified copy of the elector's birth certificate be transmitted in paper or electronic form to the secretary of state, and pay any fee or charge required by the governmental entity; or (c) If the registered elector indicates that he or she was born outside of the United States but has become a naturalized citizen, contact the United States citizenship and immigration services in the department of homeland security, or its successor, and request verification of the elector's status as a naturalized citizen. (4) If a registered elector who receives the notice specified in subsection (1) of this section does not provide proof of citizenship within ninety days of the receipt of the notice pursuant to subsection (2) or (3) of this section, the secretary of state shall notify the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the elector resides. The county clerk and recorder shall mark the registration record of the elector "Incomplete" and the elector shall not be permitted to vote until the elector's registration record is completed. (5) If a previously registered elector whose registration record is marked "Incomplete" for failure to provide proof of citizenship pursuant to this section provides proof of citizenship to the secretary of state or the county clerk and recorder within six years after the date on which the elector's record was marked "Incomplete", the secretary of state or county clerk and recorder shall delete the "Incomplete" notation and provide the elector with a certificate of registration. (6) Any previously registered elector whose registration record is marked "Incomplete" for failure to provide proof of citizenship pursuant to this section and who attempts to reregister shall provide proof of citizenship. If the elector does not provide proof of citizenship, the registration record shall remain marked "Incomplete" and the elector shall not be registered until he or she provides proof of citizenship. SECTION 2. Each elector voting at said election and desirous of voting for or against said amendment shall cast a vote as provided by law either "Yes" or "No" on the proposition: "Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning the authority of the secretary of state to request proof of citizenship of any elector whose name appears in the computerized statewide voter registration list who the secretary of state believes is not a citizen of the United States?" SECTION 3. The votes cast for the adoption or rejection of said amendment shall be canvassed and the result determined in the manner provided by law for the canvassing of votes for representatives in Congress, and if a majority of the electors voting on the question shall have voted "Yes", the said amendment shall become a part of the state constitution.