The two Republican members of the Canvass Board refused to Certify the 2016 Boulder County General election, and prepared a minority report giving their reasons.  That report appears on the County Clerk’s web site (the last few pages) and HERE.

That report includes the statement that, “We were unable to complete our duties because the board was denied access to the detailed/itemized election records needed to perform our duties, the data provided was late and some was provided in an unusable format, and our concerns and questions at the meeting were not resolved.”

That statement is followed by a list of details which justified the refusal to Certify, including the claim that, “The information provided to the board did not include the detailed/itemized election records needed to verify the numbers provided by the clerk.”  We believe that omission by itself, if correct, made it impossible to certify that, “the number of ballots counted [did] not exceed the number of ballots cast in [that] election” as specified in the Certification that Canvass Board members were to sign or not sign as required by law.  The minority report describes other reasons for refusing to certify the election.

We believe that individuals who serve on Canvass Boards should be aware of all aspects of an election and their duties, so that they can certify or refuse to certify the results of the election in keeping with their oath and in accord with all applicable laws and legislative intent.