A Republican effort to combat illegal immigration was killed in a Senate committee Monday.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 9, sponsored by Republican Sen. Dave Schultheis, of Colorado Springs, would have given voters a chance to amend the constitution to prevent cities, counties and municipalities from adopting policies that limit the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

The resolution would also require that for every contact that public entities have with individuals whose immigration status raises suspicions, there needs to be a reasonable attempt to determine the person’s status.  The person is then required to be transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement if that person is found to be illegally in the U.S.

“Nearly 15 bills have been offered by members of the House and Senate to deal with illegal immigration,” said Schultheis.  “Unfortunately, the Democrats have failed to put tough laws in statute and they refuse to give the citizens to right to vote on it.”

Ruling Senate Democrats passed a measure today that, critics say, would make it easier to commit voter fraud. 

Sponsored by Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, Senate Bill 240 would give anyone, even without proof of eligibility, the ability to register to vote online.  The Rocky Mountain News lambasted the proposal in a staff editorial earlier this year. 

Republicans--who, along with one Democrat, unanimously opposed the measure as an invitation to election abuse--fought unsuccessfully to add security precautions like a photo-ID requirement.

"Photo ID is kind of a passport to participating in all kinds of ordinary life," the GOP's Sen. Shawn Mitchell, of Broomfield, told his colleagues. His appeal fell flat on Gordon, however, who mocked Republican concerns about ineligible voters trying to register.

"Some people have a paranoid delusion that there are people here illegally in the United States in order to vote," Gordon said.

The bill would require the secretary of state to create an online form for people to register to vote and would require the secretary of state to match the signatures of those who register to a set of databases called for in the bill.  It does not require verification of citizenship--only that the registration form must include a notice reminding voters that it is a felony for someone who is ineligible to attempt to register.