Colorado investigates alleged attempt to intercept mail ballots
25/10/2024 6:10
Colorado authorities are
investigating an incident in which at least 12 mail ballots
appear to have been intercepted before reaching voters intended
to receive them, according to a statement from the state's top
elections official on Thursday.
The intercepted ballots for the Nov. 5 election were filled
out and mailed to the county clerk in Mesa County, in the
western part of the state, according to the Colorado secretary
of state's office.
It did not say whether they were marked for Republican
presidential nominee Donald Trump, Democrat nominee and Vice
President Kamala Harris or some other candidate.
The apparent ballot fraud scheme was discovered after some
affected voters received notifications either that their ballots
had been processed or needed to be corrected because of a
discrepancy with their signature, according to the statement.
Several of the affected voters contacted the county clerk's
office to report the issue. The county district attorney's
office is investigating.
“Colorado’s elections are safe and secure. 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,"
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in the statement.
Trump and his allies have consistently spread unfounded
claims that mail ballots are vulnerable to fraud. Ahead of this
election, he has urged supporters to cast ballots early if they
chose, but has continued to suggest that mail ballots are
untrustworthy.
A former Mesa County clerk early this month was sentenced to
nine years in prison for illegally tampering with voting
machines after the 2020 election.
Harris is expected to easily win Colorado in the Nov. 5
election, according to the three main U.S. nonpartisan election
ratings services.
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