Some of us have been warning for over a decade that the elections aren't honest. But after each election, complacency sets back in and we must go through it all again in the next election, hoping somebody will finally "do something" about the bigger problem that is our own to challenge.
How can I be happy? Because now that the results are so unbelievably bad and so many people distrust the results, I hope that we, collectively, will use our authority to do what we must do to fix the problem. Contact your county party chairman and ask them to talk with their Canvass Board members and recommend they refuse to certify this election.
Canvass boards meet soon
Colorado's County Canvass Boards will be meeting soon. In each of Colorado's 64 counties, the county clerk and the Democrat and Republican Party Canvass Board members meet to review the election records. Clerks often let it be known that they expect certification. Boulder County Republicans have refused to certify most elections since 2012, for several reasons, including that most ballots were received by the clerk in unattended envelopes from unverifiable electors.
Originally, conducting our elections was the express duty of the county parties, but that duty has been surrendered to the very government which the parties are responsible for creating — through elections! Some of the rules and statutes now entrenched in election operations were made by "elected" officials whose elections Boulder County GOP's canvass board members, and others, refused to certify. Many of those rules/laws are designed to make conducting dishonest elections easier and to threaten Canvass Board members who might consider refusing to certify. Intimidation is no substitute for verifiable proof.
I pity the clerks who genuinely want to conduct an honest election. They can complete every election process precisely as instructed and still have no way to prove that only eligible electors voted and that there was no funny business inside the machines. If they conduct a hand count, they're "breaking the law."
Refuse to certify — and put it on the record
If we want honest elections, we must start by refusing to certify Colorado's 2026 general election. If a minority of the county board refuses to certify, the election is still recorded as certified. But the board member(s) who refused to certify must submit a minority report which becomes part of the election record. Each year, each election, more Colorado County GOP Canvass Board members have refused to certify elections, and more election problems have been documented in the official record.
Boulder County's frequent refusals prompted former Secretary of State Wayne Williams to redefine "ballots cast" in 2016. Since mail ballot electors can't be verified, Williams' rule says all the ballots received by the clerk are defined as "cast." "Cast" — by the clerk, or in retrospect, with each voter still unverified as eligible? This definition is "subjected to strained or forced interpretation," which is against Colorado law.
The "Duties of the Canvass Board" now states: "The canvass board's only duties are to: (a) Conduct the canvass and certify the official abstract of votes in accordance with section 1-10-101.5…" Also added was: "The canvass board may not perform duties typically reserved for election judges… including… Evaluating voter eligibility…" THIS ASSUMES THE ELECTION JUDGES WERE ABLE TO EVALUATE VOTER ELIGIBILITY PRIOR TO ANY BALLOT BEING GIVEN TO ANY ELECTOR, and that all ballots in the clerk's reports at the Canvass Board meeting were cast by eligible voters. This cannot be verified, which is why Wayne Williams redefined "ballots cast"!
It is true that even if an entire county Canvass Board refuses to certify, the Secretary of State can override their decision and call the election "certified." I question how long we can have a constitutional "republican form of government," which guarantees the right of the people to choose their own officers for governmental administration, if we continue to allow the government itself to conduct and certify OUR elections?
Get involved
I do have hope. Maybe this is the year we demand, and get, honest elections.
For more information, see:
BOULDER COUNTY REPUBLICANS DEMAND HONEST ELECTIONS
ONCE AGAIN DEMANDING HONEST ELECTIONS
If you are a Boulder County Republican and want to stay connected with neighbors working on these issues, join us at Our BCR, the Boulder County Republicans' hub for communication, information, and coordinating our activities. Sign up even if you only want the information.
And please: call your county party chair. Ask them to speak with their Canvass Board members. Ask them to refuse to certify until each ballot can be verified as cast by an eligible elector.
— Peg Cage