Face the State

FTS Opinion

Michael Bennet has been sworn in to represent Colorado in the U.S. Senate. His pick came as a shock to many, but the impact of Gov. Bill Ritter's selection is still making waves in Colorado politics. Now Colorado Republicans are pushing to put the crucial, albeit rare, decision to fill a Senate vacancy to a public vote. They are right.

State Senators Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, and Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, are the sponsors of Senate Bill 152. As it stands, the bill would require "...vacancies in the office of United States Senator be filled by a vacancy election." Although the bill is lengthy, it essentially boils down to this: a vacancy in one of Colorado's U.S. Senate seats, such as that occasioned by Ken Salazar's appointment as Interior secretary, would be filled through a special election in the identical manner that a vacancy for the U.S. House of Representatives is now filled.

In a recent Rocky Mountain News guest column, Kopp made his argument for special elections. His point that senators hold tremendous power should not be taken lightly. Voters are given the opportunity to select their senator during a general election, why should a mid-term vacancy be any different?

Kopp and Penry's push mirrors a national movement to overturn the power of a governor to unilaterally fill a senate seat. Given the recent scandal with ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, a Democrat, is now introducing a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ensure an election occurs whenever there is a vacancy.

"In 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution gave the citizens of this country the power to finally elect their senators," said Feingold. "They should have the same power in the case of unexpected mid term vacancies, so that the Senate is as responsive as possible to the will of the people."

While Feingold pushes for this change on the national level, there is a compelling reason the state legislature should support SB 152. Ritter's appointment of Bennet came after Ritter solicited, and then ignored, the input of hundreds of voters across the state. As Face the State found through an open records request, there was no mention from the public about an appointment for Michael Bennet. The power of a governor, whether Democrat or Republican, to appoint whomever he or she chooses to fill a senate vacancy is chilling. And as Blogojevich has proven, selling seats can become a tempting option.

The main argument against holding a special election is the cost. The fiscal note for SB 152 estimates the cost of a special election to be between $400,000 and $1,000,000 for a large county. But as the fiscal note concludes, "U.S. Senate vacancies are expected to be rare and any costs could be absorbed within existing appropriations." Prior to 2009, the last U.S. Senate appointment made by a Colorado governor took place in 1941.

While we here at Face The State only rarely support legislation that has the potential to cost taxpayers money, this is an exception. Ensuring election integrity and voter rights is one of the primary roles of a republican democracy. By protecting this system, we protect an entire way of life.