Lost in the national news about Congressional hearings and high-profile fights in Maine, Ohio and South Carolina is a running controversy in one Colorado county that raises fascinating questions about our system of elections and who’s ultimately in charge. Saguache County, located southwest of Denver, is huge in size (Rhode Island and Delaware could fit inside) but tiny in population (6,108 in the latest Census).
In November 2010, the County’s general election featured, in addition to federal and statewide races, a re-election contest for the County Clerk and Recorder position held by Melinda Myers. On Election Night, results appeared to show that Myers, a Democrat, had had lost to her GOP challenger Carla Gomez. A few days later, though, Myers’ office announced that her office had discovered an error and conducted a retabulation that resulted in her winning re-election.
That decision – and the change in result – set off a firestorm in Saguache and across Colorado. New Secretary of State Scott Gessler (R) sought to order Myers to allow a public review of the ballots but Myers – with the support of the state clerks’ association – said she would not cooperate without a court order, citing the secrecy of the ballot.
Gessler got his court order in mid-August, and in late August a review of the ballots took place at the county courthouse. Even that review wasn’t without controversy; many volunteers threatened to walk out if they were not allowed to look at other races on the ballot and re-tally vote totals by precinct.
In the end, Myers’ victory was upheld. However, the fight is not over – Myers and some of her colleagues were criticized for their efforts to shield ballots, and she faces the prospect of a recall at the hands of Saguache voters. [UPDATE 1030am Eastern: Election Law Blog’s Rick Hasen flags a piece describing how two other county election offices are seeking to block access to ballots in reaction to the Saguache ruling.]
Full Article: Saguache County, CO Case Asks: Whose Election is it Anyway? – Program for Excellence in Election Administration.