A proposed ballot initiative to require fingerprinted identification cards for voting, abolish universal vote by mail, and prescribe fines and incarceration for failing to follow election law was dismissed on Wednesday after the Title Board determined the initiative’s proponents did not follow the law themselves.

“It is a technicality. I empathize with you,” board Chair Theresa Conley told Initiative #38‘s designated representatives before the board determined it lacked jurisdiction to set a ballot title for the measure to majorly overhaul the state’s voting procedures.

Margot Herzl of Littleton and Anna Omsberg of Bailey, the board determined, failed to follow the proper legal procedure for submitting their original, amended and final versions of Initiative #38 to the Title Board by the deadline. The proponents’ submission conflated an earlier, almost identical version of the measure with the initiative at hand, and the board encouraged the re-submission of a clean version in time for its June 2 meeting.

“It seems like we’re being punished for being too detailed in showing our changes,” Herzl stated. “My perception of the facts is that we did meet our obligations and you’re choosing not to hear this in spite of that.”

“I’m saying you didn’t follow the statutory obligations,” responded Conley, a representative of Secretary of State Jena Griswold. She added the board was being careful to avoid setting a precedent for future faulty submissions, and wanted to avoid potential objections if it were to proceed under questionable circumstances.

Initiative #38 would require 10 days in jail and a $250 fine per instance of an illegally-cast ballot. A “government-issued elector card” with the voter’s fingerprint, among other features, would be required to vote. Mail voting and use of drop boxes would also cease in Colorado were the measure to pass, as would the ability to both register to vote and cast a ballot on Election Day.

The three-member Title Board’s responsibility is to determine whether a ballot initiative encompasses a single subject, as the constitution requires. If so, it sets a title and proponents may begin collecting signatures to place the measure on the statewide ballot. Prior to its appearance before the board, nonpartisan legislative analysts reviewed Initiative #38 and found several provisions lacking in clarity, including the taking and storing of fingerprints for elector cards.