At least 12 Colorado voters in Mesa County had their mail-in ballots stolen, signed and discarded for the Nov. 5 election before the scheme was quickly uncovered by the state’s voter signature verification process, the secretary of state announced Thursday of Colorado State. .

During an afternoon news conference, Secretary of State Jena Griswold said that of the fraudulent ballots discovered during the Mesa County signature verification process, at least three were counted as votes, and a fourth of voting was almost verified by the county’s election division before a voter contacted them after being notified that their vote had been cast without their knowledge.

“The ballots were filled out, the return envelopes were signed and then they were returned in a blue USPS box, so that’s a mailbox — not a ballot box,” Griswold said.

She said her office was alerted to the “developing situation” Wednesday, adding that a Mesa County criminal investigation is now underway.

When asked if there was a way to extract the three ballots that were counted from the tally or reverse those votes, Griswold said Colorado’s confidential voting process prevents election officials from doing so.

“There is a right under the state constitution to have a secret ballot. Once the signatures are verified, the ballot is removed independently of the envelope and entered into the (counting) process,” Griswold said.

In other words, once the ballot has been removed from its envelope and counted, it cannot be traced back to the envelope in which it was sent.

The three voters whose ballots were fraudulently cast will receive new ballots, she said.

“The issue was discovered during the signature verification process. At least three of the voters had already received communications from the Mesa County Clerk. The Mesa County Clerk mailed two of the affected voters to ask them to heal their ballots, which means fixing the signatures – because the signatures were rejected during the verification process,” Griswold added.

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She said those voters told Mesa County they did not receive or vote with those ballots. The other voters whose ballots were cast without their knowledge were also reportedly alerted by Mesa County officials to cure their ballots, but those ballots “were intercepted in time,” she said .

“We have at least 12 ballots that are suspect. The county clerk discovered the problem relatively quickly and put processes in place to stop any further damage,” Griswold said. “In terms of the signature process, the signatures on the back of the ballots are verified by an election judge, and if there are questions about the signature, there is a secondary review by bipartisan election judges.”

Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross said in a statement Thursday that her office was “committed to transparency” as the investigation unfolds.

“I am fully committed to ensuring the integrity and security of our elections. We are currently investigating attempted electoral fraud. Our priority is to handle this investigation with the utmost care and diligence, and I believe premature release of details could compromise our ability to hold those responsible accountable,” Gross said.

She continued: “While we understand the secretary of state’s desire to make public statements, this is our community and our inquiry. It is essential that we follow proper procedures to ensure a thorough and effective investigation without notifying those involved. The people of Mesa County deserve transparency and accountability, but it must be done in a manner that protects the integrity of the investigation.”

A voter notified Mesa County of potential fraud after receiving a BallotTrax notification that the ballot had been received by the county clerk but they had not yet voted.

Griswold said Mesa County election officials were redoubling their efforts and going through every envelope already processed to “verify everything.”

Citing the ongoing criminal investigation, Griswold could not comment on how or who might have been behind the fraudulent ballots.

“All those affected will be given a new ballot paper. The Mesa County Clerk will be contacting all affected voters,” said Griswold, who asked voters to check the status of their ballots on the state’s website: govotecolorado.gov.

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Asked if more potentially fraudulent ballots had been submitted, Griswold said, “I can’t comment on that right now. What I can say is that the Mesa County Clerk is going through every signature that has been processed so far. This is an evolving situation and we will share what we know with the Mesa County Clerk’s investigation.”

Griswold said her office was not aware of any other suspected fraud in Colorado, but “we are investigating another situation in the state that we don’t have enough facts at this time to share. As soon as we have enough information, we’ll be sure to share it with everyone.”

Again citing the criminal investigation, she said she could not comment on whether the fraudulent votes in Mesa County were part of a larger scheme.

While stressing to Colorado voters that the state’s elections “are safe and secure,” she urged voters to check the status of their ballots on the state’s website: govotecolorado.gov.

voter fraud confirmed is rare in Colorado’s vote-by-mail systemwhich has multiple safeguards and checks to detect improper voting. While cases have been prosecuted over the years — including attempts by people to vote using their ex-spouses’ or recently deceased spouses’ ballots — the alleged scheme in Mesa County, Griswold indicated, was unprecedented, our partners at The Denver Post reported Thursday.

This story was originally published by Jeff Anastasio and Óscar Contreras at Scripps News Denver.