BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — A state representative from Boulder County, who was accused of misrepresenting her primary residence and charged, resigned on Monday.
Tracey Bernett was the Democratic state representative for House District 12. On Nov. 4, she was charged with multiple felony and misdemeanor counts after she allegedly misrepresented her primary residence to run in the district she currently represents. She faces counts of attempt to influence a public servant, forgery, providing false information about a voting residence, perjury and procuring false registration, the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office said. She was arrested and posted a $10,000 personal recognizance bond, according to the office.
As first reported by the Colorado Sun, she resigned from the legislature early Monday. The legislature will convene for a new session on Monday morning.
According to a statement obtained by The Denver Post from Stimson LaBranche Hubbard law firm, which is representing Bernett, she is resigning to address the charges “rather than compromising the policy initiatives she deems important” to her constituents and the state.
“I am proud of what I have accomplished in my time in office and want to thank all the people who have supported and worked with me in moving Colorado forward,” Bernett said in a statement, according to The Denver Post.
Bernett represented an area that includes Louisville and Lafayette in eastern Boulder County up to Longmont. But after redistricting, District 12 no longer includes Longmont, which Bernett listed as her primary residence when she was elected in 2020. The Longmont home was drawn into District 19 during redistricting.
According to the district attorney’s office, Bernett filed sworn affidavits with the Secretary of State’s Office in 2021 and 2022 declaring that her primary residence was an apartment she was renting in Louisville since last November that is within the newly drawn District 12.
This came to light in September after a resident filed a complaint.
In the wake of the subsequent investigation, prosecutors said Bernett had signed false sworn documents with the Secretary of State’s office. They also said that because she misrepresented her residence, she voted in June’s primary in a district she does not live in.