An article by Sky Hi News in the Wednesday, July 16^th issue titled “Missing seals in 2024 led Secretary of State’s Office to enact oversight on Grand County elections” highlighted many problems with last year’s election.  As county election judges we have signed this LTE sharing our concern about the ability of the County Clerk’s office to run an accurate election come November.

After discovering a break in the chain of custody in October of the 2024 election, the Colorado Secretary of State hired Sara Rosene and Patty Brown as contractors to supervise last November’s election.  Once they were involved, they responded to many problems including: 1. limited knowledge of rules, statutes, constitutional requirements, and election calendar deadlines; 2. a lack of effective time management and prioritization; 3. inadequate organization of the elections office; 4. poor maintenance of the election equipment; 5. lack of appropriate election security; and 6. confusing communication with election judges and voters.

These issues raise serious concerns about the Clerk and Recorder’s competence. Grand County had a strong record of holding secure and accurate elections for many decades under the direction of former county clerk Sara Rosene. The problems encountered in 2024 should raise alarm bells two years into current clerk Jolene Linke’s tenure.

While these issues are still largely unresolved, Linke tried to convince the Board of County Commissioners that a change of voting systems from Dominion to Clear Ballot was called for.  We are appalled that such a change would be recommended at this critical time. The current well-documented problems with Grand County’s elections are not the tallying system. Where does the buck stop?

We are asking to see an executable plan from the clerk. Time is of the essence. The Secretary of State’s Office is not likely to pay for expert contractors again to run the election. Who will?