County boards in California and Colorado continue to contest the certification of the presidential election, citing unresolved election integrity issues. Concerns over voting irregularities during the November election cycle have led to hesitation and divided decisions among board members.
In Shasta County, California, Board of Supervisors Chair Kevin Crye, along with supervisors Patrick Jones and Chris Kelstrom, voted to declare the election results “under duress” on Tuesday. Two other supervisors certified the results without this stipulation. The decision followed public outcry over issues such as ink overspray on ballots and reported problems with voting machines.
Registrar of Voters Tom Toller informed the board that their declaration was not legally required to validate the results, as the official certification had already been sent to the state under penalty of perjury the previous week. During the meeting, the board also voted to request federal investigations into the ink overspray issue, allegedly caused by Runbeck Election Services, and irregularities in audit log timestamps from county voting machines before the March 5 primary.
In Colorado, canvass board members in seven counties—Archuleta, Boulder, Eagle, El Paso, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Larimer—voted against certifying the 2024 general election results. Their opposition was tied to the Colorado Department of State’s “accidental” publication of partial voting system passwords in October. Despite Republican resistance, certification moved forward in each county due to Democratic majorities on the boards.
In contrast, Michigan’s laws require election certification, leaving no room for local boards to reject results. In May, Delta County’s canvassing board deadlocked over certifying recall election results due to the perceived similarity of vote totals across three races. After the state elections director intervened, the board certified the results. Michigan later enacted legislation mandating local boards to certify elections, following similar disputes during the 2020 election.
