Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams told reporters Monday in Denver that he feels good about the recently wrapped legislative session, even while acknowledging his is a minority view.

“We think a lot was accomplished – in respect to our office,” Williams said. “Some of the postmortems have said not much got done, but from our standpoint, passing eight bills plus working to advance others actually indicates a lot was done… in the elections area. We attribute that to the great work of our legislative team and the legislators that carried the bills.”

Williams, a Republican, lauded bipartisan work on bills that bolstered ballot signature verification and voter registration system accuracy.

Williams was a major supporter of two presidential primary bills that died in the Republican-controlled Senate at the end of the session. On Monday he said his office would support similar legislation next year, too, if ballot initiative efforts to re-introduce the primaries fail to pass this November. This year’s bills would have retained the caucus system for races other than the presidential primary races. The bills came in response to the chaotic overcrowded caucus meetings this year that drew howls from angry voters.

“I wasn’t surprised (the bill failed),” said Williams. “I think there are strong opinions on the primary system, partially in a Legislature that is elected through a caucus and primary system right now.”

Williams noted that the ballot initiatives would introduce statutory, not constitutional, changes and so could be adjusted by lawmakers.

Williams said he would also like to see next year’s Legislature pass a voter ID bill. He also acknowledged that’s unlikely to happen. A voter ID bill would face steep hurdles. Headlines from states around the country have shown voter ID bills disenfranchising voters, tangling them in bureaucracy. In Wisconsin, where a voter ID law has drawn court challenges, news outlets Monday reported testimony that alleged Republican lawmakers celebrated the way they believed the law would keep poor voters and young voters from the polls.

“We were looking at bills this year that would have the possibility of passing through both the (Democratic-majority) House and the (Republican-majority) Senate. Recognizing the current makeup and the current political structure and the current positions of some of the parties, (voter ID) was not a bill we initiated,” Williams said. “I continue to support photo ID. I think it’s an important standard.”

-Ramsey@Coloradostatesman.com