County Commissioner Wayne Williams has joined the chorus of Republicans complaining about an  election reform measure being pushed by House Speaker Terrance Carroll and other Democrats.

Williams does have a dog in this fight, sort of.  Having served two, four-year terms on the county commission, he  is now campaigning hard  to become El Paso County’s next clerk and recorder.

If elected, Williams would be the one charged with overseeing elections and making sure they comply with the state laws. (There are other contenders for the slot, including outgoing treasurer Sandra Damron, Public Trustee Tom Mowle, and scientist Charles Corry.)

Both Williams and term-limited clerk Bob Balink  question the timing of the bill,  portraying it as a desperate measure by Democratic politicians who will find themselves on the street following the November election.

At the State Capitol on Thursday, rumors were flying that the measure was dead, but Speaker Carroll said otherwise in a press release. “I have worked with the minority leader Mike May to identify a bipartisan group of legislators to guide this legislation.”

Carroll added that the measure has two goals: to promote fraud-free elections and ensure that counties can run efficient elections. “I want to be clear that I am leaving all options open, including running legislation this year.”

In an email to Secretary of State Bernie Buescher, Balink blasted the bill. “It is ABSOLUTELY NOT NECESSARY for this bill to be rushed through in the waning days of the 2010 session.” (The emphasis is Balink’s.)

“This is not an emergency,” Williams added.” This is a power grap by a desperate group of people.”

 Under the draft legislation, voters could register on Election Day instead of a month in advance as is now required by state law; county clerks would send out mail-in ballots to every voter,  and third parties, such as labor unions, could pick up and turn in the ballots.

Williams said the measure  would make the “entire system more vulnerable to attack.”

Tom Mowle, appointed a couple of years ago by Gov. Bill Ritter, to head up the El Paso County Public Trusteee’s Office, is finding support among Republican  and undecided voters.

Mowle is the lone Democratic contender for the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder job. By contrast, three Republicans are vying for the slot, including term-limited Sandra Damron, term-limited county commissioner Wayne Williams, and Charles Corry.

Mowle said he knocked on about 100 houses over the weekend in which the occupants were registered as either Republican or independent. Only three of the people he talked to said they wouldn’t vote for him.

“They were very positive,” said Mowle, who by all accounts, has run an efficient operation at the public trustee’s office, processing millions of dollars in foreclosed real estate.

Five candidates are vying for the District 5 county commission seat that is currently being held by term-limited Jim Bensberg. And a sixth may be on the way “making it an even half dozen,” said Kay Rendleman, chairwoman of the El Paso County Republican Party.

The candidates include Peggy Littleton, state Board of Education member for the 5th Congressional District and a regular at commission meetings; Ed Jones, former state senator and former commissioner from 1994 to 2002; Bill Guevara, a former official from California; Patrick Carter, former precinct leader and Republican chairman for House District 16, and David Williams, UCCS student body president and possibly the youngest-ever candidate to run for the county commission.

By contrast, Darryl Glenn, a city councilor and Republican party favorite, has the field to himself in District 1, which is the seat being vacated by term-limited Wayne Williams.

To recap the other races: Three candidates are vying for the El Paso Clerk and Recorder’s Office, including Wayne Williams, Charles E. Corry, a research scientist and computer expert, and Treasurer Sandra Damron, who is also term-limited.

And three candidates running for the Treasurer’s Office: They include Jim Bensberg and term-limited Bob Balink, as well as Tom Mowle , a Democrat who in February 2008 was appointed as public trustee for El Paso County.