Advanced ballot matching technology thwarts fraud scheme in Colorado, officials say

Election officials in Colorado are crediting advanced ballot matching technology for snuffing out a scheme to fraudulently cast as many as a dozen ballots in the upcoming presidential election.

At least a dozen voters in Mesa County, Colorado, had their ballots stolen and fraudulently filled out without them knowing, Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced on Thursday.

"On Tuesday, October 23, the Department of State learned that at least 12 ballots appear to have been intercepted before reaching voters," Griswold said in a statement. "Those ballots were voted and then returned to the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder via USPS mailboxes."

After the stolen mail ballots were returned to the clerk's office, the state's voter signature verification system flagged discrepancies with the signatures on some of the ballots. When election officials reached out to the voters to offer them a chance to "cure" the issue, the voters informed the officials that they hadn't voted.

Three of the stolen ballots that passed the signature verification process were successfully cast.

"This attempt at fraud was found and investigated quickly because of all the trailblazing processes and tools Colorado has in place like signature verification, ballot tracking, and the curing process," Griswold added. "Every eligible Colorado voter will be able to make their voice heard this election."

The Mesa County District Attorney's Office is investigating the fraud scheme.