DENVER — The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday ordered a long-expected mandatory recount in the 3rd Congressional District race between Rep. Lauren Boebert and Adam Frisch.
Boebert, the Republican incumbent, leads Frisch, the Democratic former Aspen city councilman, by 550 votes in the race, which is within the 0.5% margin of the total number of votes Boebert received to trigger the automatic recount under Colorado statute.
The recount had been expected to happen and is not expected to change the final result. Recounts in Colorado typically do not change the final result but for a few votes.
Frisch conceded the raceon Nov. 18, the last day counties had to submit their final vote tallies to the Secretary of State’s Office. He said he did not expect the mandatory recount to give him the votes to overtake Boebert and said he wouldn’t question the results. He said the chance a recount would change the result was “very, very small.”
There are 26 complete counties in House District 3 as well as part of Eagle County, and they have all been notified to proceed with the recount. They will have to finish by Dec. 13.
The counties will work with bipartisan canvass boards to undertake a logic and accuracy test, then will recount all ballots cast in the race – re-scanning ballots with tabulation equipment except for in San Juan County, which will manually recount the ballots, the Secretary of State’s office said.
“The results of the District 3 race reinforce the fact that every vote matters,” Secretary of State Jena Griswold said 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.”
The counties will have until Thursday afternoon to give her office the dates and times they expect to start, undergo and finish their recounts.
Before Frisch conceded, Boebert had already claimed victory.
“Come January, you can be certain of two things: I will be sworn in for my second term as your congresswoman, and Republicans can finally turn Pelosi’s House back into the people’s House,” she said.
