Breckenridge – Someone smelled a rat when a local fire department won a tax-increase election by a single vote even though a bunch of the names of those casting ballots didn’t match voter rolls.
Instead, the problem appears to have been only bad penmanship and sloppy transcriptions by an election judge.
Skeptical about the close mill-levy election last May that resulted in an extra $900,000 in taxes annually for the Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District, a Breckenridge resident discovered numerous errors in the poll book filled out by an election judge.
More than two dozen of the 255 voters’ names were misspelled – including that of the fire chief’s father – and two absentee voters were logged as having returned their marked ballots a day before they were actually mailed.
“This is so unbelievable it almost borders on humorous,” said James Parrot, a Denver attorney hired to look into the records by the district resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of recriminations.
Officials with the district, however, on Monday argued that the errors were caused by the election judge responsible for entering the names, and they defended the election as valid.
“With the exception of some misspelled names and some tough-to-read penmanship, we didn’t find anything inconsistent about the election,” said Fire Chief Gary Green, who confirmed the names and legitimacy of voters by comparing them with the signed voter affidavits.
The measure to raise taxes from 7.2 mills to 9 mills – about $15 for every $100,000 of home value – passed 128-127 after a single provisional ballot tilted the balance.
Election Judge Mary Seilaff, a veteran poll operator, was responsible for handing out the ballots after voters had signed in while two other judges handled the rest of the process.
“Oh, for heaven sakes,” she said. “I’m surprised to hear that. I hadn’t heard about the discrepancies.”
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.
