Colorado election officials say they identified at least a dozen fraudulent ballotsIE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.Skip to ContentNBC News LogoTrump adminPoliticsLocalNew YorkLos AngelesChicagoDallas-Fort WorthPhiladelphiaWashington, D.C.BostonBay AreaSouth FloridaSan DiegoConnecticutU.S. NewsWorldBusinessEditors' picksShoppingTiplineSportsHealthScienceCulture & TrendsShare & Save —My NewsManage ProfileEmail PreferencesSign OutSearchSearchProfile My NewsSign Out Sign InCreate your free profileSectionsU.S. NewsDecision 2024PoliticsWorldBusinessSportsInvestigationsCulture & TrendsHealthScienceTech & MediaWeatherVideo FeaturesPhotosNBC SelectNBC Asian AmericaNBC BLKNBC LatinoNBC OUTLocalNew YorkLos AngelesChicagoDallas-Fort WorthPhiladelphiaWashington, D.C.BostonBay AreaSouth FloridaSan DiegoConnecticuttvTodayNightly NewsMSNBCMeet the PressDatelineFeaturedNBC News NowNightly FilmsStay TunedSpecial FeaturesNewslettersPodcastsListen NowMore From NBCCNBCNBC.COMNBCU AcademyPeacockNEXT STEPS FOR VETSNBC News Site MapHelpFollow NBC News news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeSearchSearchFacebookTwitterEmailSMSPrintWhatsappRedditPocketFlipboardPinterestLinkedinLatest StoriesTrump adminPoliticsU.S. NewsWorldBusinessEditors' picksShoppingTiplineSportsHealthScienceCulture & TrendsVote WatchColorado election officials say they identified at least a dozen fraudulent ballotsThree of the ballots made it through the process and will count, Colorado's secretary of state said. Three of the fraudulent ballots were counted before election officials could pull them from the process because they passed signature verification.Hyoung Chang / Denver Post via Getty Images fileBy Maura BarrettAt least a dozen mail ballots were stolen, fraudulently filled out and submitted in Colorado for the Nov. 5 election, the Colorado secretary of state’s office said Thursday.Officials said the issue was identified via the signature verification process, which checks the signatures on ballots against those the state has on file for voters.Authorities said the ballots were mailed into the Mesa County election office via the U.S. Postal Service, not returned in drop boxes.The secretary of state’s office said nearly all of the votes cast on the stolen ballots were stopped before they were counted. But three ballots were counted before election officials could pull them from the process because they passed signature verification. Those votes, the office confirmed, cannot be remedied or removed.“Colorado’s elections are safe and secure,” Secretary of State Jena Griswold wrote in a statement. “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.”Several of the affected voters contacted the Mesa County clerk’s office after they received communications that their ballots required curing because of discrepancies with their signatures, the secretary of state’s news release said. One affected voter notified the Mesa County clerk after having received notification through the state’s tracking and notification system, BallotTrax, that the Mesa County clerk had received the ballot for processing. Voters can also track the status of their ballots at govotecolorado.gov.The Mesa County district attorney is investigating, according to the secretary of state’s office. The district attorney’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The secretary of state’s office has not responded to a request looking to clarify which candidates the ballots were cast for.Mesa County has been home to election conspiracy theories promoted in recent years, including by Republican former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was recently convicted in a 2021 security breach of the county’s election system. Colorado has a robust universal mail-in ballot system in which every registered voter is mailed a ballot. The state’s system was a model for many other states during the 2020 pandemic as states looked to boost accessibility.Maura BarrettMaura Barrett is a correspondent for NBC News.AboutContactHelpCareersAd ChoicesPrivacy PolicyYour Privacy ChoicesCA NoticeTerms of Service (Updated JULY 7, 2023)NBC News SitemapClosed CaptioningAdvertiseSelect Shopping© 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLCNBC News LogoMSNBC LogoToday Logo
Weird watching “real media” publish these crazy ass stories. This garbage is straight up NBC News…