October 24th 2024.
In a shocking announcement on Thursday, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold revealed that at least 12 mail-in ballots were stolen, fraudulently filled out, and submitted in Mesa County for the upcoming election on November 5th. Griswold explained that authorities were able to detect the scheme before most of the ballots were processed, but unfortunately, three of the ballots were successfully cast after passing through a signature-review process. The fourth ballot was flagged after the legitimate voter received a notification that their ballot had already been cast.
Griswold emphasized that while election officials were unable to retrieve the three fraudulent ballots, they will still be counted. She also noted that confirmed voter fraud is extremely rare in Colorado's nearly all-mail voting system, which has multiple safeguards and checks in place to detect any improper voting. While there have been isolated cases of fraud in the past, Griswold made it clear that the scheme in Mesa County was unprecedented.
It was discovered that all of the stolen and fraudulent ballots were completed with the required signature on the back of the return envelope and were submitted through U.S. Postal Service boxes instead of the designated ballot drop-box locations. Griswold also mentioned that some of the ballots appeared to have been signed by the same person. However, she declined to comment on whether any arrests had been made or if any suspects had been identified.
In Mesa County, an electronic signature verification process is used to compare signatures on file, and election judges also manually check the signatures on the back of the envelopes. The signature-verification system helped identify the scale of the fraud in Mesa County, as two voters reached out to election officials after receiving notifications to fix concerns with their signatures, even though they had never received their ballots.
During the press conference, Griswold also mentioned that there was a similar ballot issue being investigated in another part of the state, but she and her spokesman Jack Todd declined to provide further details. Griswold reiterated that the incident in Mesa County was an example of the election system working to catch potential fraud, despite three of the fraudulent ballots making it through the system.
Griswold assured voters that the team at Mesa County is reexamining every ballot-return envelope that has been received and that the investigation into the situation is ongoing. She also emphasized that Colorado's elections are safe and secure, and the attempt at fraud was quickly discovered and investigated due to the groundbreaking tools in place.
It was later revealed that the three fraudulent ballots were all stolen from addresses in close proximity to each other, and the affected voters will still be able to cast their votes. Griswold mentioned that her office learned about the scheme on Wednesday, a day after Mesa County officials identified it. However, she declined to comment on when the ballots were believed to have been stolen or whether they were filled out in favor of a specific political candidate or party.
According to Griswold, a criminal investigation is currently underway in Mesa County, but the District Attorney's Office declined to comment. The U.S. Postal Service also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement released after the press conference, Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Bobbie Gross stated that her office is fully committed to ensuring the integrity and security of the elections, and they are currently investigating the attempted fraud. However, Gross, a Republican, criticized Griswold for publicly revealing the scheme, stating that it was crucial to follow proper procedures to ensure a thorough and effective investigation without tipping off those involved.
Despite the incident, Griswold and Matt Crane, the executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, reassured voters that the state's elections are safe and secure. They reminded everyone that the system is run by humans and that there will always be some room for error. However, they emphasized that the system worked in this case, and they will continue to work closely with the Mesa County clerk to ensure compliance with electoral law. Griswold concluded by stating that the incident in Mesa County was an unfortunate example of fraud but also a testament to the effectiveness of the state's election system.
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