General Election Canvass Board Minority Report
November 30, 2018
Canvass of the 2018 General Election of Boulder County, Colorado
Minority Report by Canvass Board Member Catherine Jarrett
The role of the Canvass Board includes a requirement to independently verify, in behalf of the voters and, in fact, all the citizens, that the actual numbers of voters, ballots, and votes are accurately reported, and that for each contest (by precinct or district) the numbers of voters (registered, eligible, voted), ballots (issued, cast, received, accepted, and rejected), and votes (interpreted and counted) are reconcilable.
The canvass is a major component of the election process. The Audit Board, overseen by members of the Canvass Board, works to verify the correct interpretation and accurate counting of votes on the accepted ballots. The Canvass Board works to verify that all eligible ballots, and no ineligible ballots, successfully passed through the vote interpretation and counting processes.
There is no chain of custody for a mail ballot. It is not known whether every eligible ballot (that is, each one marked by the eligible elector) was received by the Designated Election Official (DEO) and accepted for interpretation and counting or rejected for cause. And it is not known whether any ineligible ballots were accepted.
One day before the final Canvass Board meeting, the DEO provided to the Canvass Board copies of selected reports that the DEO had created. Access to the evidence needed to verify the accuracy of these reports has not been provided.
Lacking such detailed evidence, the board can only compare, among themselves, the reports that the DEO has decided to release to the board, which do not include certain data necessary for the certification. However, even if the board elected to perform such a consistency check of the provided reports, it would not be feasible to accomplish within one day. The reports provided are not data files. Technically, they are PDF formatted files that can be examined by people, but cannot be readily imported into analytical programs such as Excel, Access, or SQL.
The DEO refused our requests for access to specific election data including the Cast Vote Record in csv form, the unredacted detail-by style version of the BP012B file, and the list of voters by Voter ID and ballot-style. The DEO persistently yet incorrectly defines what the statutes and rules mean and what the Canvass Board is authorized to see and do. These actions are tantamount to control of the Canvass Board, which is statutorily independent of the elected clerk and recorder—see C.R.S. 1-10-101(1), subsections (a) and (b).
The DEO refused our requests for access to specific election data including the Cast Vote Record in csv form, the unredacted detail-by style version of the BP012B file, and the list of voters by Voter ID and ballot-style. The DEO persistently yet incorrectly defines what the statutes and rules mean and what the Canvass Board is authorized to see and do. These actions are tantamount to control of the Canvass Board, which is statutorily independent of the elected clerk and recorder—see C.R.S. 1-10-101(1), subsections (a) and (b).[1]
My colleagues and I do not believe that the statutes and rules intend for the board to merely confirm that “the DEO’s numbers are consistent with the DEO’s numbers.” Such an approach would not be an independent canvass, and it would not be a meaningful canvass. To be true to their public duty, Canvass Board members must perform due diligence to verify that the numbers are accurate and reported in compliance with the statutes and rules.
At the conclusion of each partisan election beginning in 2012, the noncertifying members of the Boulder County Canvass Board concluded their work by submitting majority or minority reports that provide illustrations of canvassing problems and the data needed to solve them. I hope that Secretary of State–Elect Griswold and Boulder County Clerk and Recorder–Elect Fitzpatrick, and the other Colorado clerk and recorders, will review these reports and address the issues they raise. To my knowledge, nothing has been done to solve the problems that lead to uncertifiable elections. Here are the links:
https://www.bouldercounty.org/elections/by-year/2012-election/
https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2014-election-general-canvass-board-documents.pdf
https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2016-general-election-canvass-documents.pdf
In good conscience, given the existing insufficient materials and time, I cannot complete the duties of a Canvass Board Member as specified in Title 1 and the Election Rules.
I and others offer to join any effort to address these major flaws in the canvass process. Together with election officials, we can make Colorado elections much more certifiable and in compliance with the Canvass Board statutes.
Respectfully submitted,
Catherine Jarrett (R)
[1] C.R.S. 1-10-101(1), subsections (a) and (b)
1-10-101 Canvass board for partisan elections - appointment, fees, oaths
(1) (a) At least fifteen days before any primary, general, congressional vacancy, or special legislative election, the county chairpersons of each of the two major political parties in each county shall certify to the county clerk and recorder, in the manner prescribed by such clerk and recorder, the appointment of one or more registered electors to serve as a member of the county canvass board. The appointees, together with the county clerk and recorder, constitute the county canvass board. Each minor political party whose candidate is on the ballot and each unaffiliated candidate whose name is on the ballot in such election may designate, in the manner prescribed by such clerk and recorder, one watcher to observe the work of the county canvass board.
(b) If for any reason an appointee to the county canvass board refuses, fails, or is unable to serve, the appointee shall notify the county clerk and recorder. The county clerk and recorder, by the speediest and most convenient method, shall notify the county chairperson of the political party to which the appointee belongs. The county chairperson shall forthwith appoint another person to the county canvass board. If the political party has no county chairperson or vice-chairperson or if a vacancy in the appointment occurs on the date of the meeting of the county canvass board so that there can be no specific compliance with the provisions of this section, the county clerk and recorder shall make the appointment or shall fill the vacancy as nearly in compliance with the intention of this section as possible.