Staff Report
As anticipated, the mandatory recount of the 3rd Congressional District race yielded no change in the outcome that ultimately saw U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert reelected.
When all 27 counties that are part of CD3 completed their recounts, Boebert lost a net of three votes, while her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch gained a net of one vote, the Colorado Secretary of State announced Monday evening, Dec. 12.
Vote totals changed marginally after bipartisan teams of election judges readjudicated ballots and reviewed all under- or over-voted ballots for voter intent, according to the secretary’s announcement. The recount results ensure that ballots were counted according to the intent of the voter.
A statutorily-mandated recount was required for the race for CD3 due to the narrow vote margin between the winning and losing candidates.
Colorado Revised Statute 1-10.5-101 states: “a recount of any election contest shall be held if the difference between the highest number of votes cast in that election contest and the next highest number of votes cast in that election contest is less than or equal to one-half of one percent of the highest vote cast in that election contest.”
After canvass boards confirmed that the difference in votes cast between the winning and losing candidates fell below 0.5%, Secretary of State Jena Griswold ordered a mandatory recount for the race on Nov. 30.
Montrose County completed its recount Dec. 6, well ahead of the deadline this week, with, the clerk here said, minimal interruptions from some people who did not think the recount should go forward, based on their interpretation of election law.
CD3 is comprised of 26 complete counties, as well as part of Eagle County. In addition to Montrose, the 26 counties include: Alamosa, Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, Delta, Dolores, Garfield, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Huerfano, La Plata, Las Animas, Mesa, Mineral, Moffat, Montezuma, Otero, Ouray, Pitkin, Pueblo, Rio Blanco, Rio Grande, San Juan, San Miguel, Saguache.
Counties will be reimbursed by the Secretary of State’s office for the cost of the mandatory recount.
Griswold on Monday also announced certification of the state’s 2022 General Election, which renders election results official and final.
Certification was conducted after each county’s bipartisan canvass boards submitted their official abstract of votes to the Secretary of State’s Office, as well as the conclusion of a mandatory recount in the race for CD3 and the permissive (requested by candidate) recount of the Colorado House District 43 race, which also did not shift results.
“The 2022 General Election was among the most accessible and successful in Colorado’s history. I am proud of our state’s elections and the voting access that we have added over the last four years,” Griswold said in provided remarks.
“I commend the county election officials, election workers, and the employees of the Department of State for their hard work and dedication to delivering great elections for Colorado voters.”
The majority of Colorado voters — 95.3% — cast their ballots by mail.
2022 General Election Statistics:
• Total Active Voters: 3,839,814
• Turnout among Active Voters: 2,564,519 (66.79%)
• Turnout among eligible voting population: 58.5%
• Ballots cast by Unaffiliated Voters: 1,038,133 (40.48% of total ballots cast)
• Ballots cast by Democrat Voters: 776,489 (30.28% of total ballots cast)
• Ballots cast by Republican Voters: 716,319 (27.93% of total ballots cast)
• 9,287 voters used TXT2Cure to cure a signature or ID discrepancy with their ballot in the 2022 General Election.
