DENVER — The "Big Lie" is still the center of Republican politics in Colorado.
On the House floor of the Colorado State Legislature on Tuesday, Democrats introduced a resolution to urge Congress to pass voting rights legislation in Washington, D.C.
The resolution was ceremonial. It passed with every Democrat voting in favor, each Republican who voted, voted against.
The debate was conspiratorial.
"The systems we have are not secure. The chips are made overseas. They are built with wireless modem connections in them. This is not a gold standard. This is a recipe for disaster and intrusion by foreign powers," said State Rep. Ron Hanks, R-Penrose.
There was an amendment introduced by State Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs, that sought to thank "Hanks and the millions of other Americans who joined him on January 6, 2021, to exercise their unalienable rights…"
The amendment was to thank Hanks and others for being in D.C. on Jan. 6. The amendment failed with every Democrat voting against. Two-thirds of the 21 State House Republicans voted in favor.
Five Republicans voted against, including House Minority Leader Rep. Hugh McKean, R-Loveland.
Three Republicans were excused from voting, including Hanks.
"The choice is clear! The choice is clear between the two group of elected representatives in this building today. You have a choice. We are telling you that your ability to vote is under threat. It is in these words right here. It is. There was an amendment run on the House floor of the State House of Representatives, here in Colorado, to question whether or not President Biden is our duly elected president. Holy moly," said House Speaker Rep. Alec Garnett, D-Denver.
HANKS' INVITATION
Hanks, who represents Fremont County, has declined multiple invitations to visit the Fremont County Clerk and Recorder's Office regarding elections.
"I extended the invitation, you know, 'Come down to my office, see how an election really works in Fremont County.' We had all of our equipment out still from the election, and as a citizen, he'd be able to come in because we hadn't packed it away yet," said Republican Fremont County Clerk and Recorder Justin Grantham. "As long as we had a bipartisan team, he'd be able to see what we had out there. Maybe not physically touch it, but he'd be able to see what's there."
Grantham said that was the first of two invitations to visit the elections office to see how Colorado's elections run successfully.
"Probably March or so, I did a formal invitation to him, by letter, requesting that he come down and he'd be part of the Logic and Accuracy test," said Grantham.
A Logic and Accuracy test is basically where a voter can test a deck of ballots and compare what is filled out on the ballot versus the machine count.
"A minimum of 25 ballots that they'll cast, each, can go through the machine," said Grantham. Those judges that have to count only 25 ballots, they still mess up versus the machine."
In Grantham's view, the tester messes up the count of 25 ballots compared to the machine, showing how the machine can be relied on for accuracy.
In the March letter from Grantham to Hanks, Grantham wrote:
"My invitation to you to tour my office behind the scenes never happened. Whether you were busy before you took office, didn’t have time in February (when the legislature wasn’t convened), or haven’t had time the last 2 months is very disheartening."
"I am truly surprised you never made the time to have a conversation with the chief election official of the county that you reside in and represent. The misinformation being spread has led to multiple threats on Clerks including myself. Serious threats have happened in your own district due to the misinformation."
"There was no actual response to my office for quite a while, and then I see a response in the local conservative newspaper, thanking me for my invitation, but he was going to focus on other counties for now, and Fremont County is not on his radar," said Grantham.
On Tuesday, Hanks provided Next with Kyle Clark his emailed response to Grantham.
"The fact is, the election issues I am pursuing reside outside Fremont County and the other counties of House District 60. Accordingly, I have directed my focus to those higher priority issues. I believe there will be opportunity to focus on each county at a future date."
"…it is disingenuous of the Secretary of State, her office, and, frankly, of you, to indicate threats of violence are the result of passionate Americans requesting further information and audits of our sacred voting processes."
"Talk to somebody that's actually doing the work on the ground. Just researching online is not enough if you want to claim voter fraud," said Grantham. "You should hear from me or the staff in the office that are doing the work that know what's right and what's wrong."
"If you're going to somebody who's telling you that our voter registration system has never been tested, you're going to the wrong person because it's not true. If you're going to somebody and they tell you that there's a Kraken in the voting system, you're going to the wrong person," said Matt Crane, Executive Director of the Colorado County Clerks Association. "You need to go to your trusted source, which is your Clerk and Recorder. You may not like the answer, but they're going to tell you the truth."
Crane, the former Republican Arapahoe County Clerk, as head of the county clerks association, has to fight misinformation and disinformation from his own party.
"If we have anybody, in elected office especially, that is running with a narrative that much of which is not true, and is probably not true, and they won't go to the trusted source to ask questions, you have to wonder about the motivation for it. Are they chasing votes? Is it a grift? What is it?" said Crane.