Colorado will reinstate purged voters

DENVER, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Colorado elections officials will reinstate tens of thousands of voters who names had been purged from voter rolls, voter rights advocates said.

The decision follows an agreement reached in federal court late Wednesday, The New York Times reported Thursday. The agreement provides that the reinstated voters will be able to vote Tuesday and extra precautions will be taken to ensure their votes are counted, the newspaper said.

Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman had removed the names from the state's voter rolls.

Common Cause joined with Mi Familia Vota Educations Fund and the Service Employees International Union in filing a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging the voters were illegally purged and that Coffman violated the National Voting Rights Act by purging the names within 90 days of the Nov. 4 election.

Within that 90-day window, names cannot be removed unless a voter asks for removal, dies, is declared incapacitated or is convicted of a felony, the groups said in the lawsuit. Coffman said his office complied with federal and state laws.

The voters affected by the agreement will be able cast provisional ballots, which will be counted unless election officials can determine -- after extensive records checks -- that a given voter is ineligible, the Times said.