A convicted felon out on parole may have unlawfully cast the deciding vote in last month’s hotly contested Dacono mayoral race, Weld County authorities said Tuesday.
To add even more intrigue to the plot twist, Larry Johnston, the challenger who lost to incumbent Wade Carlson, said the voter in question is 41-year-old Jon Carlson, whom Johnston said is Wade Carlson’s son.
“This election was so tight and so close that one vote does count,” Johnston said Tuesday.
Steve Moreno, the Weld County clerk and recorder, said Tuesday that the 10-day period to contest election results – specified in state law – has passed, and thus Wade Carlson will remain the winner by a margin of 368 to 367. Had the race been tied, a game of chance would have determined the winner.
Moreno said a preliminary review indicated that the voter’s name was on a list of people ineligible to vote that was sent to the clerk’s office. Because of an oversight, Moreno said, that voter was sent an absentee ballot, which he cast.
But, Moreno said, authorities won’t know for certain whether that vote made the difference in the election.
“We can’t go back to say how he voted or which ballot was his ballot,” Moreno said.
Moreno has turned the investigation over to the Weld County district attorney’s office. A spokeswoman for the office confirmed Friday that prosecutors are examining the matter but declined to say what sort of action they could take.
Reached Tuesday evening, Wade Carlson said he didn’t want to comment on the new twist and would not confirm whether Jon Carlson is his son.
“I don’t wish to talk about it, and I have nothing to add,” Wade Carlson said.
Jon Carlson could not be reached for comment.
Johnston said he first learned of the problem on Dec. 10, when somebody called him. He investigated for himself before contacting Moreno.
According to state records, Jon Carlson, who has a lengthy arrest record, pleaded guilty earlier this year to attempted marijuana cultivation and was sentenced to two years in prison. He was paroled over the summer.
State law prohibits felons – either in prison or on parole – from voting.
“The real point here,” Johnston said, “is the ethics that were involved in casting a vote … and the process that allows a vote that shouldn’t have been cast to have made a difference.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
