Denver (AP) Secretary of State Mike Coffman has announced a new policy preventing election workers on his staff from partisan activity.
The rules were made public Thursday, almost two weeks after a state election worker was accused of selling voter data through a personal web site.
The new policy restricts workers from endorsing, opposing or working for a political candidate or a statewide ballot initiative.
Coffman says the policy should have been in place earlier. He also acknowledged a “failure of leadership'' for not knowing that the election worker was selling voter lists to Republicans through a web site.
Coffman says he knew Kopelman was politically active but thought Kopelman would stop that kind of work after he was hired in the elections division.
Kopelman's pay was docked and he was removed from work on the re-certification of electronic voting systems after Coffman learned of his web site. He has declined comment.
Under Coffman's new policy, state election workers can't contribute money to a partisan organization or candidate. They also can't attend precinct caucuses or conventions.
