Mandatory recount ordered in CO-3 race

Democrat Adam Frisch, left, and Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, right, are running for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District seat. Colorado Newsline photo by William Woody

] Boebert leads by just 550 votes or .16%

ALAMOSA — Secretary of State Gena Griswold announced on Wednesday that she has ordered a recount of the race in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District between incumbent Lauren Boebert and Adam Frisch. The recount determines who will represent CO-3 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Colorado Statute requires an automatic recount when the margin of votes between the two candidates in a race is less than .5%. Results posted on the SOS website as of November 30 show that 327,134 votes were cast in CO-3 in the November 8 election. Republican Rep. Boebert received 163,842 or 50.08% of those votes, a figure only 550 votes more than Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, who received 163,292 ot 49.92%. The vote differential is .16%, far less than the .5% cut-off point that, per state statute, triggers an automatic recount.

Acknowledging that an automatic recount would take place but would likely have little impact on the outcome of the election, Frisch announced on Nov. 18 that he called Boebert to concede. The night before, although the race was not called, Boebert posted a video of a victory speech on Twitter where she pledged to represent those who voted for her in the race.

According to a statement on the secretary of state website, all counties within CO-3 have been notified to begin preparations to proceed with a recount.

“The results of the District 3 race reinforce the fact that every vote matters,” said Griswold in a statement. “Colorado voters have made their voices heard, and I am ordering this recount in accordance with Colorado law to confirm the will of the voters.”

Once the recount begins, the 27 counties that are completely or partially in the district will work with their bipartisan canvass boards to complete a logic and accuracy test on the required tabulation equipment.

Following the logic and accuracy tests, the counties will begin recounting all ballots for the CO-3 race in the same manner they were processed during the election. All counties will rescan ballots using tabulation equipment with the exception of San Juan County, which will manually recount ballots.

The recount, by law, is to be completed by Dec. 13 with the cost paid for by the office of the secretary of state.


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