Only 7 votes deciding Colorado’s HD16; What happens now?
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - After ballot curing, the El Paso County Clerk and Recorders Office reports only seven votes separate Incumbent Democrat Stephanie Vigil and Republican Challenger Rebecca Keltie. The final outcome is within the range of an automatic recount.
As vote totals stand right now, Keltie leads 20,640 votes to Vigil's 20,633. The Colorado Secretary of State's Office says there's one-hundredth of a percentage point separating the two candidates.
According to Colorado law, "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."
"It's very rare. But I tell you what, I think what it does, it emphasizes the power of one vote," El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker said an election with this thin of margins isn't something you see every day.
Schleiker laid out what the recount process will look like for his office. In early December nearly all the election judges will come back to work to help out. The recounting process will use machines, just like how the ballots were originally counted.
A process called adjudication will address any questionable ballots and would be the process that could change some votes. Adjudication is where a Republican and Democratic election judge unanimously decide who a voter meant to cast their vote for.
"Honestly, it's just kind of waiting for the recount to happen. I'm fairly confident," Rebecca Keltie told KRDO13 even if the results change she'll trust the process. "You have to either trust the process or don't trust the process. I know the people who are running it, you know, and I know that they're doing their very best."
Stephanie Vigil declined a KRDO13 request for an interview but provided a statement:
"I am enormously grateful to have served this term as HD-16's representative and I want to extend special thanks to those who have stepped up to support the campaign in various ways, and all my wonderful colleagues in the Colorado General Assembly who I've been privileged to serve with. This work is not possible by one person alone, and I'm honored every day to be surrounded by fellow organizers who do such good work in Colorado Springs.
"I will be watching for the automatic recount process to commence, and as a fierce defender of our election system I will of course honor the results of that final outcome. I have proudly run a positive, people-centered campaign, and even if we ultimately fall a few votes short, we did it battling an onslaught of dark money attacks, and opposition that relied on conspiracy theories, fear, and division. I believe this is a testament to the incredible passion in my coalition to stand firmly in our Colorado values and deliver meaningful representation for our city.
"Constituents in HD-16 who are frustrated and disappointed should know that I am not going anywhere. I will be active in our community in every meaningful way that I can, and will continue to be accessible to you for collaboration and partnership."
The last time a state election was decided by fewer than 50 votes while triggering an automatic recount was the 2004 District 23 State Representative Election between Gwyn Green and Ramey Johnson, according to Colorado Elections Records. District 23 represents Jefferson County.
Only 48 votes separated Green and Johnson, nearly seven times more than in the HD16 election this year, and only 27,753 people voted in the 2004 election. Whereas 41,273 people voted in the HD16 election this year.
