By Jen Schumann | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice
On Aug. 26, 2021, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold made a number of emergency election rules permanent.
One rule mandated that only one election judge oversee the first step of signature verification.
This rule removed the option for county clerks to use bipartisan teams of election judges at a critical first step. It is where signatures are analyzed, often with machines, before separating ballots from envelopes.
In Mesa County, a recent fraudulent ballot scheme may have been preventable. It might have been, if Griswold had left more control to county election clerks.
A rule to use just one election judge in the first step of signature verification has led to a costly, time-consuming reexamination of thousands of ballots in Mesa County.
Before Griswold made this rule permanent on Aug. 26, 2021, over one hundred concerned Coloradans testified in a public hearing and submitted written comments. They overwhelmingly opposed Griswold’s proposed rule changes.
Logan County Clerk Pam Bacon was critical of how Tier 1 judges have limited information during signature verification.
Prowers County Clerk Jana Coen stated in her written commentary, “In my opinion for any election that county clerks are performing there should always be a bipartisan team of judges doing signature verification, especially for those counties that do not have a machine to do their verifying. The first level of review is very important and we should be conducting signature verification with both party’s judges as a means of transparency, no matter what type of election year it is. I feel after the 2020 elections, transparency is absolutely important when it comes to public perception.”
Even Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, voiced strong opposition: “Language is problematic when read literally, it would eliminate the use of ASR/ASV or smaller county use of a bipartisan team for Tier 1. Request rule stay as is. Counties would like the option to use bipartisan teams during Tier 1 review. The state and counties tout signature verification because of the ‘bipartisan’ process.”
Attorney Christopher Murray added that bipartisan oversight is critical to public trust. He said, “The ability of clerks to permit watchers to challenge signatures at first-level verification builds confidence in our elections. The process should be maintained.”
Diane Wolta, a concerned citizen, expressed worries about reduced oversight. She said, “These rules only decrease voter confidence in our election’s integrity. They seek to REMOVE citizen access and participation in the election process.”
These voices echo a shared view among election officials and voters. Bipartisan teams boost accuracy and are key to public trust in elections.
The outcry came from clerks, attorneys, lawmakers, party chairs, cybersecurity experts and citizens. Despite the public outcry, Griswold adopted the rules anyway.
Now, Mesa County is reexamining thousands of ballots after fraudulent ballots made it past one signature verification election judge.
Griswold’s rule changes have led to consequences being felt at the local level. This raises concerns about election transparency and balancing state standards with local control.
Mary Weiss and others believe that bipartisan oversight serves as both a check on errors and a way to boost public trust. Weiss shared in written testimony, “Elections are the work of the people. The best review of Signature Verification Judges comes from those they work with that have a different party affiliation.”
Clerk Coen submitted, “The first level of review is very important and we should be conducting signature verification with both party’s judges as a means of transparency.”
Many in Colorado argued for bipartisan involvement at every step of the signature verification process. They said such actions were key to election integrity and public trust.