Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder Kim Percell has full faith in the county elections process.
As the June 25 primary election draws closer, with the general election looming behind it in November, Percell on June 11 addressed concerns raised during a Board of County Commissioners meeting the preceding week.
Members of the Republican Women of Montezuma County have voiced concerns about election integrity in regards to the county’s ballot counting machines.
The group conducted several informal surveys. Lori York, the president of Republican Women, and other members of the organization presented their concerns to Board of County Commissioners at their meeting June 4.
Respondents signed their name to any of four statements with which they agreed. The statement most commonly signed was, “We believe our current election system in Colorado is fraudulent, and we do not trust it,” which 140 people signed. Next came, “We do not trust the election machines, we want no machines in our elections, we want to go back to hand-counting votes.” This statement was supported by 135 people.
WRMC did not verify that the signatures were those of registered or eligible voters.
Among those who signed the surveys, there was lacking support for volunteers to hand-count ballots – just 56 people expressed interest. Only 23 people said they would attend County Commission meetings and speak in support of hand-counting ballots.
Percell was not surprised by the concerns.
For every report she receives stating that the ballot counting machines are faulty, she said she receives another that says that they are reliable. She has never seen proof that the machines are unreliable, and she verifies that the results she receives are identical to those posted on the state website.
“We do a logic and accuracy test prior to the election, where we bring in judges, and those judges actually vote on test ballots, and then we put them through the equipment to make sure that the votes that they cast are actually counted correctly by the machine by doing a hand tally count of the exact same balance. And that it's been 100% accurate,” Percell said.
The RWMC did not respond to requests for comment in time for the print version of this story.
On June 10, Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order activating a portion of the Colorado National Guard Cyber Operations Element in regards to the June 25 primary election.
The order expresses security concerns associated with online voter registration systems, not ballot counting machines. It seeks to instill confidence in voter registration so that concerns about privacy do not prohibit voter registration. In Colorado, voters can register as late as Election Day.
Percell believes that the executive order is precautionary.
“I think everything toward elections right now is cautionary. The security has heightened in every direction of elections. Whether it’s for the election judges, whether it’s for the equipment, whether it’s for the ballot drop boxes having 24 cameras on them, the whole security at the election has been heightened,” she said.
Lenetta Shull, chair of the Montezuma County Republican Central Committee, attended the logic and accuracy test on May 30 as a representative of the Republican Party. She was joined by a representative from the Democratic Party. The test was also open to the public.
Shull commended the women of RWMC on their respectful attitude and passion for accountability, but expressed full faith in the Montezuma County elections.
Shull said Percell has made very effort to educate the voters on the efficacy of the machines.
“My concern is that everyone needs to be educated on the system, and the best way to do that is to become an election judge or visit with our clerk,” said Shull. She noted that Percell has discussed this issue with the Board of County Commissioners and the League of Women Voters.
“We have got to ask the questions. That's the best way to keep our elections safe and secure, is by asking those questions and moving forward with that,” she said.
