AURORA | Amid controversy over a train-district ballot question being mistakenly sent to hundreds of thousands of voters in the Aurora region, federal and local elected officials said Thursday they’re confident that the underway election will be safe, secure and accurate.
“We have the safest and most secure election system in the world,” Aurora Democratic Congressperson Jason Crow told reporters at a press conference just outside Aurora.
Crow was joined by Denver DA John Walsh and from Arapahoe County, Clerk Joan Lopez, Sheriff Tyler Brown and DA Amy Padden. The group met at a roundtable discussion before the press conference with Ben Hess of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections. The roundtable was planned in advance of news of the ballot quagmire involving 800,000 voters being wrongly included in the election to raise taxes to create a Front Range “CoCo” railroad district. The group met to discuss election security concerns and how best to ensure that security for the public.
“Colorado leads the way in our nation as a first-in-class election system that is safe, that is secure, that allows all Coloradans who are qualified with the right to vote,” Crow said. “And we will protect that.”
The Prop 7A mistake affects some voters in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Weld counties, according to a joint update from the Colorado Department of State and the Colorado County Clerks Association.
State election officials will coordinate with county clerks to determine a way to identify the mistaken ballots and ensure Question 7A responses aren’t tallied in the vote count, Lopez said Wednesday.
Of the approximate 800,000 mistaken ballots, about 262,000 were wrongly sent to Arapahoe County residents, officials said. Adams County officials said the flap affects 275,000 voters in their county.
State election officials said they will provide more details on that should work in the coming days.
But local officials and Crow had previously planned their roundtable to address waves of misinformation and disinformation on social media channels, and regularly promoted by President Donald Trump.
For years, Trump has, without evidence, insisted there are voting irregularities and widespread fraud. No credible evidence of widespread voter fraud has been produced in Colorado or anywhere in the United States.
Hess, whose national, non-partisan organization works to analyze and strengthen election systems and election law, said Colorado’s election system is a standout.
He said his group works to get election and law enforcement officials to collaborate for the sake of secure voting and creating systems that offer transparency, accountability and security.
“Having been invited to this (roundtable discussion) today, and hearing a lot of the conversations between those exact two groups that Arapahoe County and Denver are already well ahead of the curve as far as those relationships, building those things, making preparations and making plans for the election process.”
Brown asked the public to call the sheriff’s department with any concern regarding something they see or hear that’s linked to allegations or observations of tampering with ballots, electors or ballot collection boxes.
“We all work collaboratively to make sure that elections are safe,” Brown said. “I reach out to our district attorney, Amy Patton. I reach out to the Denver district attorney, John Walsh. I’m in constant communication with Congressman Crow’s office, and it’s important that people know that we are all here protecting democracy and making sure people’s voices are heard.”
Padden said prosecutors won’t look the other way when problems come to light.
“We have the tools in Colorado,” Padden said. “We have the Vote Without Fear Act. We have other laws in place to ensure that if someone is intimidating a voter, if someone is harassing an election worker, if someone is tampering with ballots or with a ballot box, we can prosecute those individuals, and we are prepared to do that if that were to happen in Colorado.”
Referencing reports from the June Primary Election that some political groups recruited people to video record at ballot collection boxes, that type of behavior does not rise to the level of voter intimidation.
If, however, they’re wearing firearms or approaching voters as they deposit their ballots, that’s another situation, especially within 100 feet of a polling place, Brown said.
“We would much rather investigate something and have it be nothing than have it be something that wasn’t investigated,” Brown said. “So if you have those moments where you feel like you’re intimidated, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.”
As for the railroad district Prop 7A issue, Lopez assured voters that a verifiable and transparent system is being created before ballots begin being counted on Oct. 19, to ensure no voter’s ballot is tabulated for the 7A questions if it shouldn’t be. Lopez said there have been incidents in the past in Arapahoe County, like others, where ballots sometimes are offered to the wrong voters.
In 2019, ballots were wrongly sent to Aurora voters during that year’s city council election.
Approximately 200 voters in Aurora’s 255th precinct received incorrect ballots from Arapahoe County, mistakenly directing them to vote for Ward IV candidates instead of Ward V. Election officials identified the error well before the election and issued replacement ballots alongside explanatory letters. Votes cast on the incorrect ballots were not counted, according to Sentinel reporting.
That same year, for the same election, 17,000 Aurora voters in Adams County were sent new ballots following an error regarding instructions for an at-large City Council seat. The mistaken ballot asked voters to select one at-large candidate instead of two.
Lopez and other election officials said that mistakes can happen because elections involve numerous jurisdictions, groups and agencies, but that the mistakes are identified and there are systems in place to correct them.
“As clerk and recorder, I know that election security is not about being an alarmist,” Lopez said. “We are here to not spread panic and rumors and social media chatter and executive orders. Colorado has built strong election systems, and our responsibility is to continue strengthening them. Not because we should be afraid, but because we have to prepare for anything that comes our way, and we are prepared.”