House speaker: GOP demand part of “debunked conspiracy theories”

A group of Colorado House Republicans is calling for a third- party investigation into the state’s election software and voting machines along with the formation of an election integrity commission, despite a lack of evidence for any claims of largescale voter fraud.

Colorado election officials — including Republican county clerks — have pointed to the state’s proven track record of election security that has served as a model for other states, and federal judges have dismissed allegations by President Donald Trump that the election was stolen from him.

But seven Colorado House Republicans and one representative- elect penned a letter Monday to outgoing House Speaker KC Becker calling for an audit of the Dominion Voting Systems software used by the state and creation of a special committee.

Becker quickly dismissed the request, accusing the Republicans who wrote the letter of trafficking in “debunked conspiracy theories.”

The letter was signed by Rep. Kevin Van Winkle, of Highlands Ranch; Rep. Kim Ransom, of Douglas County; Rep. Dave Williams, of Colorado Springs; outgoing Minority Leader Patrick Neville, of Castle Rock; outgoing Rep. Perry Buck, of Windsor; Rep. Shane Sandridge, of Colorado Springs; outgoing Rep. Steve Humphrey, of Severance; and Rep.- elect Ron Hanks, of

Penrose.

“Free and fair elections are foundational to keeping our Republic and voters must have confidence in the election system,” they wrote in the letter.

“The committee through educational hearings and sworn witness testimony from experts can help uncover any fraud or weaknesses in Colorado systems to help restore faith in the election process.”

The representatives argued that “at the very least, the facts uncovered by the committee can also help inform the 73rd General Assembly in efforts to craft legislation intended to further secure Colorado’s election process.”

In a statement Monday, Becker said Colorado’s elections are among the safest and most secure in the nation, and robust audits leave no doubt about the this year’s results. She noted that Dominion was selected by a bipartisan committee.

“While it is disappointing to see a few fringe members of the minority traffic in debunked conspiracy theories, it isn’t surprising given their steadfast allegiance to President Trump and his continued efforts to undermine our democracy,” Becker said.

“Colorado, as we always have, will investigate any legitimate reports of voter fraud, but this request is nothing more than a dangerous stunt aimed at eroding trust in our elections.”

Elections officials throughout the state repeatedly have denounced statements questioning Colorado’s election integrity and Dominon has refuted claims about any deleted or changed votes.

In a virtual meeting last week with U. S. Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, Weld County Clerk and Recorder Carly Koppes said the state’s risklimiting audit in Weld County over multiple elections showed no discrepancies and “we can 100% guarantee that every single ballot that was cast was read accurately due to that audit.”

Additionally, Koppes said ballots cast in all of the state’s 64 counties “were counted exactly how they were supposed to and how they were marked as the voters intended.”

The Dominion system can’t be manipulated to change votes, she said.

El Paso County Clerk and Record Chuck Broerman said Dominion has different products depending on each state’s needs, and the way Colorado’s process works may be different than other states.

“Since 2015, we’ve had well over 800 combined logic- and- accuracy tests and post- election risk- limiting audits,” he said at the meeting. “We passed those. We’ve been able to verify to the public time and time again that the ( Dominion) product is working for us.”