Right-to-work foes detail lawsuit-fraud

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_9420468

They claim some signature-gatherers were ineligible and that more than 53,500 signatures are invalid.
By Andy Vuong
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 05/30/2008 12:21:58 AM MDT

Labor interests Thursday detailed a lawsuit they filed to keep the right-to-work measure off the state's November ballot, claiming proponents of the initiative committed fraud.

The suit alleges that some signature collectors, or circulators, were out-of-state residents who falsely stated their addresses on the petitions and wrongly swore that they understood circulation laws.

Circulators are required to be Colorado residents, but some provided home addresses that were traced to a payday lending store, a shuttered tanning salon and a vacant field, according to Jess Knox, executive director of the group behind the lawsuit.

Filed in Denver District Court late Wednesday, the suit also challenges the validity of the petitions' notaries and claims more than 53,500 signatures are from individuals who aren't registered to vote.

Kelley Harp, spokesman for the group pushing the right-to-work measure, called the suit a smokescreen and said union forces "would rather fight this in court than at the ballot box."

"If any of the claims are true, what the lawsuit purports to show is clearly not up to par with the high standards of this campaign," Harp said.

FULL story at link.