Secretary of State Wayne Williams refers dead voter's signature to district attorney

DENVER, May 17, 2016 -- Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams has notified the Denver district attorney that a petition circulator turned in the signature of a deceased voter.

Williams learned about the deceased voter when he was informed today that an elections staffer had been notified in mid-April there might be problems with petitions collected by circulator Maureen Moss, who turned in signatures some voters now say were forged.

The company that initially reviews candidate petition signatures for the secretary of state informed the staffer that the handwriting of signatures on a certain petition section gathered by Moss appeared similar. In addition, Moss turned in a signature for a voter who was dead. The staffer concluded the signature of the deceased voter was properly rejected, but neither he nor the ballot-access manager could definitively confirm forgery.

The administration was unaware of the communication, and first learned about alleged forgeries on Moss' petitions through news reports.

"As soon as I was made aware of this, I directed my staff to refer the matter of the deceased voter to the district attorney," Williams said Tuesday.

The Denver and Arapahoe district attorneys already are reviewing complaints concerning forged signatures.

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