Rocky Mountain News:  

Veteran state lawmaker Ken Gordon will lead the Colorado Election Reform Commission, a new panel that will study voting systems and recommend changes to the state legislature.

Gordon, a Democratic state senator from Denver who is leaving office after 16 years in the General Assembly, sponsored the bill that establishes the commission and has led numerous legislative efforts related to voting issues in recent years.

"A lot of what we're going to do is going to relate to how the 2008 election goes," Gordon said Friday.

"We'll look and see what kinds of problems there are and that will inform what we do."

In addition to Gordon, eight commission members have been appointed. They include four clerks: Scott Doyle of Larimer County, Patti Nickell of Bent County, Stephanie O'Malley of Denver and Bob Balink of El Paso County.

Other members include Deputy Secretary of State Bill Hobbs; lawyer Scott Gessler, who is deeply involved in Republican election issues; Castle Rock Town Clerk Sally Misare; and Mark Baisley, a Douglas County Republican who previously has run for office.