In a participatory democracy, participation is, by definition, a good thing. Government should do nothing to hinder eligible voters from casting their ballots.

But Coloradans who have not voted since the 2008 presidential election may find themselves unable to vote in the next one – or in this November’s off-year election – if they don’t do something to reactivate their voter status. Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has sued the Denver county clerk over a plan to continue sending mail ballots to voters who did not vote in the last even-year general election.

A key word there is “continue.” Until this year, clerks were required to send ballots to “inactive” voters. It was an expensive practice because only a small number – between 2 percent and 10 percent – of those voters return their ballots. That is enough voters to change the results of a close election.

Election fraud is a real issue and a serious one, although Colorado has relatively little. Gessler is to be commended for working to reduce it, but this method potentially disenfranchises too many people who have the right to vote.

Inactive voters are not ineligible to vote. As the Denver Post has pointed out, they are not electors “whose identity, address or eligibility to vote are at issue.” They are simply people who, for whatever reason, did not cast a ballot in 2010. They could have been hospitalized or on vacation. They could have perceived no significant differences between the candidates and no reason to vote on the ballot questions. Their ballots could have been lost in the mail.

Partisan politics should not enter into this matter, regardless of which party stands to benefit from Gessler’s decision or from a victory by the other side. It is difficult to believe that Gessler finds an extremely hypothetical Democratic advantage in Colorado’s 2012 presidential vote to be sufficient reason to prevent people from weighing in on this year’s single ballot question, a tax funding measure for education.

Gessler does have a point in saying that for statewide elections to be fair, all Colorado counties need to follow the same rules. The solution, then, has three parts, by three different parties:

First, mandate that ineligible voters receive ballots this year. If that’s an error, at least it’s an error in the right direction. Give the largest number of voters possible an opportunity to participate in the electoral process while everyone tries to straighten out this mess.

Second, the Legislature needs to revisit the question. This year’s bill ending the requirement that ballots be sent to ineligible voters but not prohibiting that distribution is a recipe for confusion and unfairness. Someone – be it Gessler, who is the state’s election chief, or the legislative branch of state government – needs to step up and take responsibility for crafting a system that will best serve the largest number of eligible Colorado voters.

Third, voters should circumvent the entire argument. If you were registered to vote in Colorado in 2010 but didn’t, go to govotecolorado.gov to update your status. Do it quickly, before the third week in October. If you’re not sure of your status, log on to check. It’s easy, and it puts voters in control.

We understand Gessler’s concerns, and respect his interpretation of the Legislature’s intent. Given a little time, a system can be designed that addresses those issues without keeping ballots out of the hands of eligible voters.