Gessler prepares review of Saguache 2010 ballots

State staff and local citizens will canvass votes

Denver, March 15, 2011 – Today Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced that members of his staff will conduct a review of Saguache County’s 2010 General Election ballots. The review will count and tabulate results using local citizens and will be open to the public.

“The citizens of Saguache County deserve fair elections, and I believe this effort will help restore their faith in their elections once again,” Gessler said. “We’re planning a process-driven review that preserves the openness and transparency voters should expect.”

Gessler and staff from the Secretary of State’s Division of Elections will travel to Saguache Wednesday afternoon to begin preparations for the review. Gessler will hold a town hall meeting Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. at the Saguache Community Center, located at 525 7th Street, to answer questions and visit with local residents.

The hand review will take place at the Saguache Community Center. Teams of local citizens will each join a member of the state’s staff to confirm and tabulate votes cast in the races for County Commissioner, County Clerk and Recorder and a control group. The public is encouraged to observe the process and witness the counting procedures.

“I anticipate a cooperative effort between my office, county officials, and the community to shed light on the process and illustrate the safeguards and election procedures in place,” Gessler said.

Following the review, the Secretary of State’s office will immediately release the results of the count in the three races. Because the 2010 election results have already been certified, the results will not be official but will be included in a final public report to be released by the Secretary of State in the near future.

The Secretary of State’s review of the 2010 General Election results in Saguache does not effect the Attorney General’s investigation currently underway.