El Paso County official explains length of time involved in counting, verifying ballots from Tuesday’s election

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Some voters wonder why Pueblo County finished its tally of Election Day ballots on Wednesday morning, while El Paso County isn't expected to follow suit until a day later.

Steve Schleiker, clerk and recorder for El Paso County, explains.

"We're a much bigger county," he said. "We also had a 40% turnout. That's 10% more than what we usually have in an odd-year election. And we take the time to ensure that we verify ballots that have no signatures or have signatures that can't be verified. We had several hundred of those."

This election was the first for Schleiker since he was elected to the job a year ago.

"I had a long talk with the staff and asked tough questions," he recalled. "I added three people to the staff, and we increased our use of technology -- such as installing cameras at all of our ballot boxes. Those are the steps that can prevent problems and mistakes."

Schleiker said that even with 40,000 ballots remaining to count after the polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, he decided against having staff and election judges work late.

"I've got 250 election judges, citizens in our community who are stepping up, a majority of them are retired," he said. "They come in to assist us and coordinate the election. But when you're working 18 hours a day, folks get tired. That's when mistakes happen."

Schleiker said that he's proud of the job his staff did on the election, and that it's a good preparation for a busier election season ahead.

"We're going to have back-to back elections after this.," he said. "The presidential primary on March 5, the primary in June, and then we have the general election coming up in November. So, I want these folks to have several elections under their belt, understanding how things operate prior to the general."

Schleiker said that because of the issues on the ballot Tuesday, he predicted a higher-than-normal turnout.

"It's looking like three of the school board races are still so close that they will require recounts," he said. "The other results will stand."

Schleiker spent time visiting staff and judges at ballot boxes Tuesday.