Author: Vince Phillips

By Vince Phillips In Colorado Elections #1, I presented clear photographic evidence from the 2022 general election in Chaffee County: Dominion Voting scanners produced official ballot images in which the blank ovals next to candidates’ names had been removed. The original paper ballots showed clean, unmarked ovals. The scanner-generated images had removed them. This is not a trivial visual issue. Under Colorado law, voter intent is officially determined from the ballot image, not directly from the physical paper ballot. The machine’s interpretation of that altered image becomes the official record of the vote. This raises fundamental questions that Chaffee County…

By Vince Phillips Colorado election officials frequently state: This statement is carefully worded. It does not say “no discrepancies were ever found.” It does not say every ballot was counted correctly. It only says they did not find problems serious enough — in their judgment — to have changed an election outcome.This is a familiar rhetorical pattern. When officials want to expand access or relax verification rules, they declare “every vote must count.” Yet when specific problems surface, such as legitimate write-in votes that were never counted, the response quickly shifts to “it would not have changed the outcome.” The system appears designed more…

By Vince Phillips Throughout this series I have raised specific, documented concerns about Colorado’s election system: altered ballot images, unwitnessed signatures reviewed by minimally trained judges, opaque scanner settings, narrow Risk-Limiting Audits, restricted access to original paper ballots, and the thin statistical protection most local races actually receive. A consistent and troubling pattern has emerged in how these concerns are often received by officials: instead of addressing the substance, the response frequently shifts to attacking the critic, labeling questions as “election denial,” or issuing broad reassurances that avoid the specific issues raised. This is not healthy oversight. Recent Examples from…

By Vince Phillips After more than two dozen letters examining Colorado’s election system, one central truth has become clear: most of the complex procedures we now rely on, signature verification, Risk-Limiting Audits, extended curing periods, and prolonged post-election counting, are not robust security measures. They are workarounds created to support a cumbersome, mail-heavy voting model that inherently creates vulnerabilities the system then struggles to patch. These workarounds do not deliver the strong protections officials claim. They create layers of complexity, opacity, and reliance on trust rather than verifiable safeguards. How Switzerland Handles Postal Voting Switzerland is often cited as a successful model of widespread…

By Vince Phillips Chaffee County’s budget has more than doubled in the last decade That’s real money coming directly out of local taxpayers’ pockets through property taxes, sales taxes, and fees. County commissioners recently joined nearly 50 other Colorado counties in sending a letter to state leaders pushing back against “unfunded mandates”, state requirements that come with little or no funding to implement them. Their message is straightforward: If Denver wants us to do more, they should help pay for it or make the rules optional. While population growth, inflation, and local decisions all play a role, state mandates are…

By Vince Phillips In previous letters I have examined rejected ballots, risk-limiting audits, ballot imaging, and the critical role of signature verification in Colorado’s mail-ballot system. One important question remains largely unexamined: Are the election judges who make these high-stakes decisions trained to a standard that justifies placing such trust in their judgment? Colorado officials repeatedly describe signature verification as a “nation-leading security measure” performed by bipartisan teams of election judges. That sounds reassuring, until you look at the details. The Reality of Election Judge Selection and Training Election judges self-identify their party affiliation when they volunteer. The county clerk then selects…

By Vince Phillips In previous letters I have looked at signature rejection rates and the limited training given to election judges. Another important factor deserves attention: major societal changes have quietly made signature verification more difficult, especially for younger voters.The turning point came around 2010 with the adoption of Common Core standards. Many states, including Colorado, dropped cursive handwriting as a required subject in elementary schools. As a result, millions of Millennials and Gen Z voters were never taught cursive and often developed printed or inconsistent signatures.This has become a nationwide issue wherever mail-in voting is heavily used: The only real safeguard…

By Vince Phillips In previous letters I have examined signature rejection rates, election judge training, and how societal changes are stressing an old verification method. One overarching reality deserves its own focus: the signature on the mail-ballot return envelope has quietly become the single primary safeguard of a ballot’s validity. Consider the contrast with the traditional in-person system. A voter once faced multiple, overlapping protections: Today, the overwhelming majority of Colorado ballots arrive by mail. Those layered safeguards are largely gone. What remains is essentially one check: Does the signature on the envelope match the voter’s file signature? Crucially, this signature is created with…

By Vince Phillips In recent letters I examined signature verification, election judge training, societal shifts, and the dramatic reduction in overall safeguards. Officials often respond by pointing to what they call “layered security.”The Colorado County Clerks Association frequently cites some version of this statement: “Layered Security – Ballot tracking, signature verification, and post-election audits that confirm accuracy.” Let’s examine these layers: Ballot Tracking (BallotTrax) BallotTrax is useful visibility for those who choose to use it. In the 2022 general election, roughly half of vote-by-mail voters actually used the service. However, BallotTrax only tracks the envelope, not who actually signed and returned it. People…

By Royal Tater (as channeled through High Plains Grifter) Listen up, ye peasants of Chaffee County… I mean, loyal subjects of the Mile High Realm! It is I, the Royal Tater, Supreme Sovereign of Sustainability, Defender of the Grid (on sunny days), and Benevolent Overlord of All Things Electric Preferred. From my throne high atop Mount Virtue Signal(with excellent cell service from Starlink and a backup diesel generator(naturally), I extend royal gratitude to my most faithful minion, Commissioner P.T. Wood. Oh, what a fine display of blind obedience, PT! While the unwashed masses, those backward propane peddlers, hillbilly builders, and…