Reinforcing concerns that many Americans have with voting that isn’t done in-person, at least 12 Colorado mail-in ballots were stolen, filled out with forged signatures, and submitted — and three of them are going to count anyway. Announced by state officials on Thursday, the thefts all affected voters in western Colorado’s Mesa County, but the discovery leaves people wondering how many other forged ballots may have gone undetected elsewhere in the state and across the country.

“The Department of State learned that at least 12 ballots appear to have been intercepted before reaching voters,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office in a statement. “Those ballots were voted and then returned to the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder via USPS mailboxes. This issue was flagged during Colorado’s secure signature verification process.” 

Secretary of State Lena Griswold said every voter will be able to “make their voice heard” — but previously tried to prevent Donald Trump from appearing on Colorado ballots (Photo: Jena Griswold / X)

Rather than sending them upon request, Colorado mails ballots to every registered voter in the state — that’s about 4 million ballots making their way through the postal system and before being left in mailboxes, a great many of which are unsecured. In addition to returning ballots via the postal service, Coloradans can also use drop boxes. 

Several of the victimized voters were surprised to receive notifications that their ballots — which they hadn’t submitted — required curing because their signatures didn’t match digital signatures in the state database. Griswold said the handwriting on multiple ballots seemed to indicate the same individual completed each of them. 

While sharing some details about the theft, Griswold, a Democrat, was tight-lipped about the detail most people want to know: which candidate(s) were meant to benefit from this crime? If her name sounds familiar, it’s because Griswold attempted to exclude Donald Trump from Colorado’s 2024 ballots on the claim he’d incited an insurrection in 2021. In May, the US Supreme Court ruled against her. 

Donald Trump must be held accountable for his actions. He incited an insurrection and tried to steal an election from the American people. I hope #SCOTUS affirms the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to bar him from the ballot. pic.twitter.com/LFfRPNNh51

— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) February 11, 2024

Perhaps the most troubling detail about the Mesa County situation is that three of the fraudulent ballots will not be removed from the count. They were flagged for review, but then a single election judge approved them all. After that action, there’s no mechanism for remedy or removal, officials say. The judge who approved the three forged ballots has been reassigned. “Everybody affected will be offered a new ballot,” Griswold told reporters.  

“Colorado’s elections are safe and secure. 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,” said Griswold. “Every eligible Colorado voter will be able to make their voice heard this election.” Griswold’s boast seems excessive, given 25% of the known fraudulent ballots are being counted anyway. Uneasy Colorado voters can check the status of their ballots by visiting Go Vote Colorado.  

Mesa County is in Colorado’s expansive 3rd congressional district. It’s currently represented by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, but she’s now making a run to represent eastern Colorado’s 4th district instead. She only won reelection in 2022 by about 500 votes and would have faced long odds against the same better-funded opponent, Adam Frisch. The Economist projects Boebert will win the 4th-district in a landslide. Neither of Colorado’s Senate seats are up for election this year. Meanwhile, Polymarket gives Kamala Harris a 94.8% chance winning Colorado’s 10 electoral votes.