Larimer County Clerk grilled on election process

The Larimer County Clerk was in the hot seat at Commissioner Lew Gaiter’s citizen meeting in Wellington on July 3 and opened the floor for questions, concerns or complaints about the upcoming general election.

Angela Myers, Larimer’s County Clerk and Recorder since last year, manages election administration as well as motor vehicle licensing and marriage licensing. She’s also running for the seat in the November election.

The citizens at the meeting primarily asked Myers about the integrity of the ballot counting process, and whether the privacy of citizens will be properly protected.

Myers told the citizens that at every point in the election process, the ballots are handled by bipartisan teams rather than individuals, to minimize risk of tampering. This is not the case in all of Colorado’s counties.

“Integrity does exist in Larimer County elections,” Myers stated confidently. “I am very confident that we do not have fraud in Larimer County because we are so vigilant.”

The other chief concern was over mail-in ballots being sent to deceased citizens, allowing vote tampering.

Myers explained that there is a lengthy process involved with confirming identity of mail-in ballot citizens, including checking their signature on the outside of the ballot.

Myers ended the meeting by assuring the citizens that she has made every effort possible to prepare for a bipartisan, unbiased election process, and that she herself abides by this standard.

“I don’t endorse any candidates of any kind,” Myers said. “You can’t have a clerk that is politically motivated.”