It could very well be a first in Colorado election history: A city clerk calls it quits on election night with votes left uncounted and a message to voters: Check back tomorrow.
The unusual move leaves a slew of unanswered questions.
Exactly how many votes were left uncounted?
Why were conflicting vote-count reports issued throughout the night?
What security measures were in place to safeguard ballots overnight?
The best thing we can expect to see from this is a recount in the close District 3 race between Michael Merrifield and Lisa Czaladtko.
The worst thing we could see is a lawsuit for failing to finish the job on election night and for the confusion surrounding the count.
Does Young understand her responsibilities as city clerk? It’s a fair question, because this isn’t the first problem we’ve seen.
Readers might recall that questions about whether corporate contributions are allowed in municipal elections has also been an issue during this election.
That prompted the state to send someone to oversee this election — as if Colorado Springs were some third-world country where ballots are left alone to be tampered with and count inaccuracies are rampant.
Let’s hope it’s not, but who knows where the ballots were stored overnight.
Election results are serious business. A free and fair election is the cornerstone of democracy. Uncertainty about vote counting could lead to serious problems.
As the city prepares for a strong mayor runoff contest, it’s left with doubt in the city clerk’s abilities to run an election. That doubt has already led to previous calls for her resignation or dismissal.
Will she be able to withstand the scrutiny that comes from her latest election-night decision?