Colorado Officials Catch Stolen Ballots Being Filed

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/mesa-county-colorado-ballots/2024/10/26/id/1185549/

Colorado elections officials say advanced ballot matching technology has allowed them to stop as many as a dozen stolen ballots from being filed early in the presidential election.

The ballots were stolen from Mesa County voters and filled out without them knowing, according to Secretary of State Jena Griswold, reported ABC News Saturday.

"On Tuesday, October 23, the Department of State learned that at least 12 ballots appear to have been intercepted before reaching voters," she said in a statement. "Those ballots were voted and then returned to the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder via USPS mailboxes."

The plan was thwarted when the state's voters signature verification system caught the discrepancies with the signatures on some of the stolen mail ballots after they were returned to the clerk's office.

Election officials reached out to the voters to let them fix the issue, but the voters said they had not yet voted.

Three stolen ballots, however, passed the verification process and were filed successfully, reported ABC News.

As a result of the discovery, the county is reexamining the nearly 30,000 ballots it has already received, reported Colorado Newsline, quoting an estimate from the county clerk's office.

"This attempt at fraud was found and investigated quickly because of all the trailblazing processes and tools Colorado has in place, like signature verification, ballot tracking, and the curing process," Griswold said. "Every eligible Colorado voter will be able to make their voice heard this election."

She said the voters who had their ballots stolen would receive new ballots.

The Mesa County District Attorney's office is investigating the matter.

Griswold, who is a Democrat, would not answer a question about whether a suspect or suspects have been identified, or whether the votes were cast in favor of Republicans or Democrats.

In Colorado, all active registered voters get a ballot in the mail. This year's ballots went out starting on Oct. 11, with voters being able to return them by mail or drop them off at a polling location or in a drop box.

The voter signatures on the ballot envelopes are compared with signatures on official documents, such as driver's licenses.

Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross, a Republican, accused Griswold of releasing the information prematurely.

She acknowledged that her office is "investigating attempted election fraud," but said that prematurely releasing the information "could compromise our ability to hold those responsible accountable."

"While we understand the secretary of state's desire to make public statements, this is our community and our investigation," Gross said.

Griswold, responding to Gross' remarks, said that with less than two weeks left before Election Day, "we took action to alert voters potentially affected by this scheme."

She added that she was "proud" to appear at the press conference with Matt Crane, the Republican executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association and the Colorado County Clerks Association "to ensure voters have accurate information and quell any disinformation on this situation."