By Craig Hall and Brandon Leuallen, The Business Times
Even with several tiers of signature auditing in place, the sheer volume of votes in process leaves Colorado’s system open to fraud and mistakes while putting the onus on individuals.
According to Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross, the 12 fraudulent ballots under current investigation were all set aside for the envelope signatures not matching by the automated equipment used by the county. “And while that’s all part of the process, the fact
is our equipment sets aside about 50% of early ballot envelopes due to signatures not matching. Unless it’s an exact, or almost exact, match, the equipment kicks the envelope out,” said Gross, “And not all counties in Colorado even have the automated equipment
needed for the first step in the authorization process.” The Business Times estimates as many as 15,000 ballots have been progressed to individual, tier one judges as of this report.
According to the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, these are the steps which follow the machine-based rejections.