The May 2 special district election for the Falcon Fire Protection District may have come and gone, but questions linger over the election process.Alex Donnell, the former FFPD board president who served as the designated election official during the May election, has filed an affidavit against El Paso County Commissioner Douglas Bruce for what is stated in the document as “violations of the Uniform Election Code of 1992 during the Falcon Fire Protection District’s May 2, 2006 election.”The affidavit cites several examples of “misconduct” on the part of Bruce, including a violation of numerous state statutes.Don’t cross that lineOne of the statutes that Bruce is accused of violating is C.R.S. 1-5-105: “Statute textNo election-related activity shall be conducted within one hundred feet of any building in which a polling place is located except that of the conduct of the election at the polling place.”Bruce disagrees with the allegation.”I certainly didn’t cross the 100-foot line and distribute flyers within the 100 feet,” Bruce said. He said he “paced it out” on a previous day. “They had signs posted that day, two of them, and you can draw an imaginary line between them, and I was at least 15 to 20 feet, maybe more, beyond that line,” he said.Bruce said he did not violate the 100-foot rule, and if it was a violation, then he was not the only one who should be accused of wrongdoings. Bruce said several of the Falcon Fire District firefighters were guilty of the same offense.”People handing out the literature in favor of the ballot issue who worked for the fire district … were there (in their uniforms) handing out flyers in the same place [as me] or closer to the [voting] line,” Bruce said. “How come they don’t go after three or four or five of their own people who were handing out flyers?” He referenced the accusations as a “big political publicity stunt.”Jim Scott, (his name has been changed at his request to protect his identity), a Falcon resident, encountered first hand what state statutes describe as “electioneering.””I was in line behind a gentleman who was wearing either a windbreaker or a shirt that clearly had the emblem of the Falcon Fire District on it,” he said. “And he was persuading people in line to vote for the initiative – for the tax. I told him I disagreed with him and gave him my reasons why. And I said ‘that being said I don’t think it is appropriate to be discussing in line, if I’m not mistaken that is not something you are supposed to do.’ He said, ‘Well, I’m just talking. I’m not trying to persuade anybody.'”Scott said he was not convinced and felt the firefighter was there “posing as a voter … trying to haggle with or argue and vote in favor of the initiative.”Trent Harwig, Falcon Fire District’s chief, said he was at the station some of the time during the election, but was not aware of firefighters who were in line with voters. “[It’s] the first I’ve heard about it,” Harwig said. “Our firefighters were directed, all of them, that they were not to do any electioneering within that area.”Harwig said some of the firefighters did hand out flyers by the road near the area where Bruce was handing out flyers. “And again, it was reiterated to them that they were not to be beyond that point – closer to the building,” he said.The election proceduresDonnell’s affidavit not only states that Bruce violated the state statute of the 100-foot rule outside the polling place, but that he also violated it when he entered the polling place and was “interfering with one or more election judge in the discharge of their duties during the election.”Bruce said he did enter the fire station but only after several voters complained to him that the voting process was not a secret ballot. “People didn’t just get to vote and then drop their ballot in the ballot box,” Bruce said. “They had to hand it back to a government official who opened up the alleged secrecy sleeve that really didn’t work. I saw that these people’s complaint was justified.”Donnell said Bruce should not have been inside the polling place. Donnell also said that Bruce continued to violate a state statute when he came around the election judges’ table and began handling unused ballots and asking questions about the number of ballots. He also accused Bruce of using his commissioner status as a reason to ask questions.”Unused. That’s a blank piece of paper. It’s not a ballot cast by anyone,” Bruce said, adding that he wanted to see the ballot form and how it had to be torn off. “That’s not interfering. Nobody objected,” Bruce said. “If he (Donnell) was the election official responsible for conducting an election with integrity according to the law and he says he saw me … why didn’t he do something about it?”Donnell said he did take action. “I escorted him out of polling place No. 2, and one of my election judges escorted him out of polling place No. 1,” Donnell said. “This is interference with an election official when you have to have an election official escort someone out the door that is failing to do their duty that they have sworn to do. So he has freely admitted he has violated two state statutes.”But Bruce said it’s a two-way street. He said Donnell, as a fire district board member, should not have been involved in the election process.”Mr. Donnell is an interested party. It may be legal, but I don’t think it’s right,” Bruce said. “I had probably a dozen people complain to me about the (fire district) asking for money (while they also) get to count the votes and run the election. That’s not the way it should operate.”Donnell said his primary task, as the fire district’s designated election official, was to help select the election judges and direct them when to show up. “I don’t count the ballots. I don’t see the ballots,” he said. “I have nothing to do with it.”Secret polling place?On the day of the election, Bruce called a press conference around 10 a.m. regarding the fire district’s “secret” polling place. He said the fire district sent out a paper notice with a falsified polling place. “The polling place information said it was going to be on the southeast corner of Constitution and Marksheffel,” Bruce said. (The location, Bruce said, is a vacant lot.) “Then they sent it out and they never told the people … (who had received the notice) that they had canceled that location and put in a secret polling place. They didn’t mail out any subsequent notice.”Publishing proper notification of polling places in the local newspaper is a requirement of the election process, Bruce said. “They claim, (and) let’s assume for now that it’s true, that they put a little classified ad in the Gazette or something, which is not really equivalent notice or notice at all.”Bruce’s secret polling place charge is not true, Donnell said. “On or about April 12, the final election polling places were filed with the El Paso County Elections Department with the numerical addresses of both polling places,” Donnell said. “For two days, a Saturday and a Sunday, in the legal section of the Gazette were the notice of elections with the correct polling places as indicated. Also as part of that, several thousands of handouts were given to people throughout the Claremont Ranch and Marksheffel area. As well as a huge sign saying ‘Polling Place.’ So to say that it was not announced or not advertised or not a convenient location is not correct.”Speedy complaintThe election occurred May 2, and Donnell filed the affidavit July 20 – a period of more than 11 weeks. In Bruce’s opinion, too much time has been wasted if there were violations made during the election, but there is enough time to come up with a “bogus complaint,” he said.”They were mad that I was frankly proud of and even bragging about my having saved my constituents over a million dollars a year in property taxes that were not needed. So they wanted to retaliate.”Donnell’s answer: “State statutes state that we have up to 180 days to file after the election.”The affidavit is now in the hands of John Suthers, Colorado’s attorney general. His office will investigate the allegations of “illegal conduct” against Bruce.Meanwhile, Bruce’s own alarm has not sounded. “I have done nothing wrong,” he said.
