Please explain in detail the Colorado Statutory duties of the elected official office which you would take an oath to uphold.

The Clerk’s office is driven by statute, which are too numerous to list! For example, in Elections, everything from ballot layout to hiring of election workers to when/where/how to hold elections to ballot tabulation and reporting results is all statute driven. In Motor Vehicles processing all transactions are done per statute so that your vehicle is compliant with state law. In Recording statutes drive methods for recording all documents, how to issue marriage licenses and statute sets the fees for all of it.

While it is not immediately obvious how your views on the last national election should have anything to do with the sort of local issues you will be involved with, I think it would be good to know whether you think, as some insist, that Joe Biden was fraudulently declared president. For my own part, it has surprised me to find this opinion expressed by people I never expected to hear it from. Would you all be willing to state clearly your own take on the matter?

Joe Biden is our legitimate President. As the person in charge of running Gilpin County elections, the rhetoric and misinformation spread around the baseless claim that the election was stolen has stunned me. Clerks across the country take their oath of office extremely seriously and would not be privy to falsifying an election, even if their candidate didn’t win. Colorado Clerks have asked, repeatedly, for proof of election rigging so that we can investigate it. No one has ever provided any evidence! I wish more people would get involved as an election worker so they could see firsthand how elections are conducted and how many safeguards are in place for them.

Who was the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election?

Joe Biden.

Do you believe that all American citizens (over the age of 18) have an equal right to vote and have their voices heard? If so, do you believe that did not happen in the 2020 election or are you afraid it might not be the case in the 2022 election? If elected, what would you do to try to ensure that all adult American citizens’ votes are counted and/or American voices heard?

You must be 18 to vote, and all American citizens over 18 DO have an equal right to vote and make their voices heard. In 2020 record numbers of people voted all across the county because they wanted to be heard. People need to consistently exercise their constitutional right to vote, as no election is too small not to participate in. I hear repeatedly how people think their vote doesn’t count, and it is just not true. Quite a few people have withdrawn their voter registration in Gilpin, and it saddens me because I feel the answer is more participation in the process, not less. As Thomas Jefferson said, “we do not have a government by the majority. We have a government by the majority who participate.” In 2022, as in 2020, your vote, your voice, counts.

Clerk & Recorder

The position of County Clerk and Recorder necessitates the overseeing of elections and the voting process within Gilpin County. Do you believe that the election process is fair, safe and secure in Gilpin County as well as throughout the country, and if not, what measures would you take to insure elections be so.

Elections in Gilpin, and Colorado, are some of the most secure elections in the country. The process is fair, safe and secure, and accessible! The voting process needs to be made easier, not harder. Clerks across the state work with the Secretary of State’s office and our lawmakers to make sure this process continues to be safe and secure and fair. I will continue to work with the Clerk’s Association on legislation that enhances our elections and makes them more accessible.

Do you believe that the 2020 elections were fairly run locally and nationally? If you don’t believe they were fairly run then please explain your objections.

They were run fairly. Clerks take their oaths of office seriously and facing the scrutiny that elections have been put under, has been incredibly stressful. The truth matters and I encourage people to get involved as elections workers so they can see the process firsthand.

What are your views on the actions of Mesa County Clerk and Recorder

Tina Peters and her attempts to prove that there was significant fraud in the Dominion voting systems that are also used by Gilpin County?

There was no fraud in the Dominion Voting Systems and everything that Ms. Peters ‘exposed’, was fabricated by her. Dominion is a respectable company with hard-working staffers who are committed to ensuring the election process is accurate. I feel she sowed seeds of doubt in the whole electoral process to get her 15 minutes of fame but we will see what the courts say. I know there was no fraud.

Do you know of any evidence of deliberate fraud with the Gilpin County voting systems?

None whatsoever. The equipment is not connected to the internet and the paper trail of paper ballots allows you to compare paper ballots to digital images to show that they are one and the same, with nothing altered.

How can the appointment scheduling system for the Motor Vehicle Department be improved?

The appointment scheduling system in Gilpin and across the state works well and the majority of people have expressed satisfaction with it. People don’t like waiting in line and having an appointment saves them time. Many people don’t realize that for so many transactions, you don’t even need to come into the office. The Department of Revenue regularly rolls out new programs so that you can ‘skip the trip’ and conduct your transaction from home, or at a convenient kiosk in a supermarket.

Did the 2020 election outcome represent the will of the people? If not, why not?

The 2020 election outcome absolutely did represent the will of the people. People stood in line for hours in some states to cast their vote because it was that important to them to make their will known.

What is the most important thing about being a clerk and recorder?

There are many ‘most important’ things. The department has 3 sections and a resident visiting any section feels that their transaction is the most important. It is important to be flexible and be able to pivot to challenges, to listen to the residents, hear their concerns, and to move the department forward so that it addresses more and more needs.

Do you believe the 2020 elections were fair?

Absolutely.

How do you promote a good working relationship in the office?

I believe in listening to my staff, to treating them like human beings and not worker bees, and to foster an atmosphere of respect and comradery. I genuinely like my staff and am interested in how they are doing both in and out of the office. I also believe in celebrating each team member for birthdays and other accomplishments. We all spend a lot of time together and it’s important that we are all comfortable with one another.

What are your top 3 priorities for 2023?

1. Voter education 2. Greater access to services 3. becoming fully staffed and trained to serve the residents

How will you assure every vote is counted in Gilpin County?

There are checks and balances in place to make sure every vote is counted. If a voter submits their ballot, it will be signature verified. If the signature doesn’t match, they will be given an opportunity to ‘cure’ their signature, at which point their ballot will be counted. When we signature verify each ballot in the voter registration program, that program gives us a total count of how many ballots were accepted for counting. The accepted ballots then go to bipartisan teams of election workers who open, process and batch those ballots for actual counting. When the ballots are counted, the scanner gives us a count of how many ballots were tabulated. The number from the voter registration program and the number from the tabulator MUST match. There are checks and balances all along the process so that no ballot goes missing and every vote is counted. If you want to be sure, you can sign up at Gilpin.ballottrax.net to track your ballot from when it is sent, to when we accept it.