EL PASO COUNTY — Last Wednesday, a team of bipartisan El Paso County election judges began the lengthy recount process for the House District 16 (HD16) race between incumbent Democrat Representative Steph Vigil and Republican challenger Rebecca Keltie, a Navy veteran.
The County is estimating the recount will take between 70 to 80 hours with six bipartisan tabulators and two bipartisan adjudicators overseeing the process.
Unofficial results posted by the Clerk and Recorder’s office initially showed a seven-vote difference between the two, but that was later amended to six votes before the recount began.
El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker said that was due to an El Paso County ballot that was dropped off in Gunnison County before the Election Day deadline.
By law, Schleiker said that the ballot was immediately mailed back to El Paso County, but the early November snowstorm delayed it. Once received, his office tabulated it as required.
Normally, something like that wouldn’t necessarily have much of an effect in the grand scheme of things. But for a race like HD16, which is being decided by a razor-thin margin, every vote truly matters.
“If my election doesn't tell everyone that every vote counts, then I don't know what they're watching, because it does,” said Republican Rebecca Keltie last Wednesday outside of the recount room at the Citizens Service Center on Garden of the Gods Rd.
“I mean, it came down to just curing ballots. People who maybe didn't put their signature or the signature couldn't be read. I mean, every vote matters,” she said.
Keltie arrived to watch through the glass from the public hallway as the recount process began, but she wasn’t allowed inside the room. Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker came out and walked Keltie through the process.
Schleiker himself went through a recount in 2022, which only netted him an additional two votes. Recounts typically only ever change a couple of votes, and those are usually due to the adjudication process, Schleiker said.
The adjudication judges will play the most pivotal role, Schleiker explained, because if there is a ballot with an incomplete marking, or perhaps a bubble partially filled out for one candidate and fully filled for the other, or any other instance that can’t be processed by the machine tabulators, the adjudicators must determine the voter’s intent.
If they can’t come to an agreement, it moves before the Canvas Board, Schleiker said. It’s usually through this process that only a handful of votes might change during a recount, he said.
For the HD16 recount, Schleiker said they brought in two veteran adjudicators who have served in multiple elections.
Each party is also allowed to send in their own watchers to observe the process and ensure election integrity. Candidate Keltie expressed discontent with the watcher selection because she wasn’t allowed to select her own. The state or county party provided recount watchers of their own choosing.
Schleiker said that’s due to state law and in the future, he’d look to amend the law so candidates could have more of a say in the process. Keltie said she didn’t know who the Republican watcher was for her own recount.
“It would be nice if the candidate was more involved in who the watchers were to be, but in this instance, that wasn't the case,” she said. “But hopefully, going forward, maybe we can make some positive changes to where candidates are more involved in their election. No one else has worked harder for their own election than the candidate, so they should be involved the entire way.”
Though not every El Paso County voter lives in House District 16, the judges are recounting all 387,751 ballots cast in the county. According to the unofficial results, HD16 only 41,276 ballots cast. That means over 346,000 ballots that aren’t part of this race will be recounted as well.
“We can go and pull each ballot that was cast in that particular district. I don't want to do that,” Schleiker said. “It takes a lot of time and also leaves a lot of possible error out there. ‘Are you sure you pulled all the correct ballots? Or all the ballots?’”
Colorado law states a mandatory recount must occur if a race is within a half percentage point, which is easily the case in HD16. Since it's mandatory, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office is paying. But Schleiker said he estimates the total cost is likely between 20 to 30 thousand dollars when factoring in time for the judges, staff, security, and other expenses.
Democrat Rep. Steph Vigil wasn’t present Wednesday when the recount began, but sent KOAA a statement.
"This is one of the most narrow election outcomes in Colorado state history. I have always been a fierce defender of our system and the amazing election workers who run it, and I'm grateful we have a process to be absolutely sure every voter is heard,” Vigil said. “Regardless of how things shake out in the recount, I'm proud of the work I've accomplished as our district's representative, and win or lose, I will continue to be present in our community as a voice for progress."
If the results hold and the seat flips to the Republicans, Democrats will lose their supermajority in the Colorado House. Without that, it’s more difficult to override governor vetoes and automatically refer constitutional amendments to the ballot without the other party’s support. It’s also expected to create more balanced committee assignments.
In the unlikely, but not impossible, event that the recount flips the winner to Vigil over Keltie, then Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker said they’d conduct another recount by hand. In that scenario, no winner would be declared for months since it would be a much more expansive process.
Regardless, his team began counting last Wednesday, took off for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and returned on Saturday to count through the weekend. Schleiker said he hopes they complete the recount by Wed Dec 4. The statutory deadline is Dec 6.
Email Senior Reporter Brett Forrest at brett.forrest@koaa.com. Follow @brettforrestTVon X and Brett Forrest News on Facebook.
_____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
