Voter Fraud Convictions in Colorado, 2016-2020

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	A. Conviction Details	B. Background	C. Potential Election Impact
1.	Election Year: 2020 Name: Barry Morphew Party Affiliation: Republican[1]VoterRecords.com, “Barry Lee Morphew’s Colorado Voter Registration,” voterrecords.com, accessed on August 18, 2022 Offense and Sentencing: Barry Morphew pleaded guilty on 7/21/2022 to one felony count of forgery after illegally casting the mail-in ballot of his missing wife during the 2020 presidential election. [2]Neil Vigdor, “Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Casting Missing Wife’s Ballot for Trump,” nytimes.com, July 22, 2022 Morphew was sentenced to one year of probation and 32 hours of community service.[3]Stephane Pagones, “Barry Morphew Gets Probation After Pleading Guilty to Forgery for Voting on Missing Wife’s Behalf: Reports,” foxnews.com, July 21, 2022	“The husband of a Colorado woman who has been missing for more than two years pleaded guilty on Thursday [7/21/2022] to casting her mail-in ballot for Donald J. Trump during the 2020 election, telling F.B.I. agents, ‘I figured all these other guys are cheating.’ The man, Barry Morphew, 54, was given a sentence of one year of supervised probation but avoided jail time after pleading guilty to one count of forgery, a felony, in district court in Chaffee County, according to court records.”[4]Neil Vigdor, “Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Casting Missing Wife’s Ballot for Trump,” nytimes.com, July 22, 2022 Case Notes: Case Number: Not Found Case heard at Chaffee County Court	Type of Election: Presidential Party Affiliation: Republican Theoretical Election Effect: 1 illegal Republican vote
2.	Election Year: 2020 Name: Janis M. Cummer, also known as Jan Wilson Party Affiliation: Republican (at the time of the offense)[5]Records from ColoradoVoters.info show that Janis M. Cummer regularly switches party affiliation between the Republicans and the Democrats – ColoradoVoters.info, “Registered Voters in the … Continue reading Offense and Sentencing: Janis M. Cummer pleaded not guilty in July 2020 to one misdemeanor charge of voting twice in a primary election.[6]Pat Hill, “Corrected: Woodland Park Resident Found Guilty of Voting Twice in April Primary,” gazette.com, February 16, 2021 Cummer was found guilty on 2/10/2021 and fined $500 plus costs.[7]Pat Hill, “Corrected: Woodland Park Resident Found Guilty of Voting Twice in April Primary,” gazette.com, February 16, 2021	“In Colorado’s all-mail ballot election, Wilson [Cummer] received a first ballot but then changed her party affiliation and received a second ballot. ‘She voted twice, and turned them both in,’ [Teller County Clerk & Recorder Krystal] Brown said … Brown caught the double vote the night of the election … adding that she halted the vote count to correct the error.”[8]Pat Hill, “Corrected: Woodland Park Resident Found Guilty of Voting Twice in April Primary,” gazette.com, February 16, 2021 Case Notes: State of Colorado vs. Janis M. Cummer Case heard at the Teller County Combined Court, CO Case Number: Not Found	Type of Election: Primary Party Affiliation: Republican Theoretical Election Effect: 1 illegal Republican vote in the primary / No effect on Congressional or Presidential elections
3.	Election Year: 2016 Name: Angelo Felix Abad Party Affiliation: Democrat[9]ColoradoVoters.info, “Registered Voters in the State of Colorado, U.S.A., as of 1 January 2022, in Alphabetical Order,” coloradovoters.info, accessed on March 31, 2022 Offense and Sentencing: Angelo Felix Abad pleaded guilty on 1/12/2017 to one felony count of forgery; one further misdemeanor charge was dismissed.[10]Peter Marcus, “Campaign Worker Pleads Guilty to Felony Forgery on Minimum Wage Petition,” coloradopolitics.com, January 20, 2017 Sentencing was set for 4/7/2017.[11]Peter Marcus, “Campaign Worker Pleads Guilty to Felony Forgery on Minimum Wage Petition,” coloradopolitics.com, January 20, 2017 No sentencing details found.	“A Denver man has pled guilty in connection with collecting fraudulent signatures to place the successful minimum wage increase on the November ballot. Angelo Felix Abad, 61, pled guilty on Jan. 12 … [he] worked for the Washington, D.C.-based canvassing firm Fieldworks, which was hired by proponents to collect signatures. News reports over the summer showed that Abad had previous criminal convictions.”[12]Peter Marcus, “Campaign Worker Pleads Guilty to Felony Forgery on Minimum Wage Petition,” coloradopolitics.com, January 20, 2017 “In 2017, Angelo Felix Abad pleaded guilty to forging signatures on a petition to qualify a ballot initiative on the 2016 general election ballot.”[13]Wayne W. Williams, Secretary of State, Letter “Re: Colorado’s Response to Your Request for Information” to Hon. Kris W. Kobach, Vice Chair, Presidential Advisory Commission on … Continue reading Case Notes: Case heard at the Denver District Court, CO Case Number: Not Found	Type of Election: Referendum Petition Party Affiliation: Democrat Theoretical Election Effect: No effect on Congressional or Presidential elections
4.	Election Year: 2016 Name: Steven Curtis Party Affiliation: Republican[14]Jesse Paul, “Former Colorado GOP Chairman Sentenced to Four Years Probation, Community Service in Voter Fraud Case,” denverpost.com, January 26, 2018 Offense and Sentencing: Steven Curtis pleaded not guilty on 8/9/2017 to one misdemenor count of voter fraud and one felony count of forgery.[15]Greeley Tribune, “Former Colorado GOP Chairman Pleads Not Guilty to Voter Fraud Charges, Is Headed to Trial ,” denverpost.com, August 10, 2017 and Court of Appeals Opinion, Case Number: … Continue reading A jury found him guilty and Curtis was sentenced on 1/26/2018 to four years probation and 300 hours of community service.[16]Jesse Paul, “Former Colorado GOP Chairman Sentenced to Four Years Probation, Community Service in Voter Fraud Case,” denverpost.com, January 26, 2018 and Court of Appeals Opinion, Case … Continue reading Curtis appealed his felony conviction but the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld his conviction on 8/5/2021.[17]Colorado Court of Appeals Opinion, Case Number: 18CA0480	“Curtis, 61,… filled out, signed and mailed his former wife’s mail-in ballot after doing his own, forging his wife’s signature in the process. Prosecutors became aware of that when his former wife, Kelly Curtis, who had moved to South Carolina a year earlier, contacted the Weld County Clerk’s Office to get her mail-in ballot, and was told that she had already voted. DNA evidence showed that Curtis had sealed the ballot return envelope, and handwriting samples showed he filled out the return address and signed his ex-wife’s name. … Curtis chaired the GOP party in the late 1990s.”[18]Charles Ashby, “Court Upholds Voter Fraud Conviction of Ex-GOP Chair,” gjsentinel.com, August 6, 2021 Case Notes: The People of the State of Colorado v. Steven Curtis Weld County District Court Case Number: 17CR245 / Court of Appeals Case Number: 18CA0480 Court of Appeals Opinion	Type of Election: Presidential Party Affiliation: Republican Theoretical Election Effect: 1 illegal Republican vote
5.	Election Year: 2016 Name: Maureen Marie Moss Party Affiliation: Unaffiliated[19]ColoradoVoters.info, “Registered Voters in the State of Colorado, U.S.A., in Alphabetical Order,” coloradovoters.info, accessed on February 17, 2021[20]According to the Colorado Voter Registration Application Form, registering voters may choose to be affiliated with a political party or choose to register as unaffiliated. Unaffiliated voters are … Continue reading (petition gatherer for a Republican candidate) Offense and Sentencing: Maureen Marie Moss pleaded guilty on 11/17/2016 to two felony counts of forgery in relation to offenses committed in March 2016;[21]Adrian D. Garcia, “Maureen Moss Pleads Guilty to Gathering Forged Signatures for Republican Senate Candidate Jon Keyser,” denverite.com, November 17, 2016 32 further counts were dismissed.[22]Deb Stanley, “Petition Signature Gatherer Maureen Moss Pleads Guilty to Forgery on Jon Keyser Petitions,” thedenverchannel.com, November 17, 2016 and The People of the State of Colorado … Continue reading Moss was sentenced on 1/20/2017 to four years probation and 250 hours of community service.[23]Peter Marcus, “Petition Circulator Gets Probation After Forging Signatures for Senate Candidate,” coloradopolitics.com, Jan. 20, 2017	“A signature collector accused of turning in forged signatures on petitions for a U.S. Senate candidate pleaded guilty Thursday. Maureen Moss pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery. … Investigators with the District Attorney’s Offices in Denver, Arapahoe and Jefferson Counties found a total of 34 people who confirmed they did not sign their names and addresses on the petitions turned in by Moss. Moss was collecting signatures to get former State Rep. Jon Keyser on the Republican primary ballot as a candidate for the U.S. Senate.”[24]Deb Stanley, “Petition Signature Gatherer Maureen Moss Pleads Guilty to Forgery on Jon Keyser Petitions,” thedenverchannel.com, November 17, 2016 Case Notes: The People of the State of Colorado v. Maureen Marie Moss Case Number: 16CRO3658 Complaint and Arrest Warrant	Type of Election: Referendum Petition Party Affiliation: Unaffiliated Theoretical Election Effect: No effect on Congressional or Presidential elections
6.	Election Year: 2016 Name: Elsadig Saeed Merghani Party Affiliation: Not Found[25]According to the Colorado Voter Registration Application Form, registering voters may choose to be affiliated with a political party or choose to register as unaffiliated. Unaffiliated voters are … Continue reading Offense and Sentencing: Elsadig Saeed Merghani pleaded guilty in 2016 to “forging signatures on a petition to qualify a ballot initiative on the 2016 general ballot.[26]Wayne W. Williams, Secretary of State, Letter “Re: Colorado’s Response to Your Request for Information” to Hon. Kris W. Kobach, Vice Chair, Presidential Advisory Commission on … Continue reading No sentencing information found.	“Colorado’s ballot this November won’t include a question about fracking because opponents who want to restrict the practice failed to gather enough valid signatures to put a plan before voters … The review by state officials also raised the possibility that some signatures may have been forged … According to documents provided by the Secretary of State’s office, the signatures in question were gathered by a circulator named Elsadig Saeed Merghani, a Denver resident. At least three of the signatures collected by Merghani were marked as questionable.”[27]Mark K. Matthews and Joey Bunch, “Colorado Anti-Fracking Measures Fail to Make Ballot; Possible Forgery Alleged,” denverpost.com, August 30, 2016 Case Notes: Case Number: Not Found	Type of Election: Referendum Petition Party Affiliation: Not Found Theoretical Election Effect: No effect on Congressional or Presidential elections
7.	Election Year: 2016 Name: Toni Lee Newbill Party Affiliation: Republican (at the time of the offense)[28]According to ColoradoVoters.info, Toni Lee Newbill switches between registering as unaffiliated and as a Republican and was registered as a Republican at the time of the offense. ColoradoVoters.info, … Continue reading[29]According to reporting by CBS4, Newbill has also been a registered Democrat. CBS4, “Dying To Vote: CBS4 Investigation Finds Woman Charged With Casting Dead Father’s Ballot, cbslocal.com, … Continue reading Offense and Sentencing: Toni Lee Newbill pleaded guilty in February 2017 to two felony counts of forgery after twice voting using her deceased father’s ballot.[30]CBS4, “Dying To Vote: CBS4 Investigation Finds Woman Charged With Casting Dead Father’s Ballot, cbslocal.com, November 7, 2016 and Chhun Sun, “Golden Woman Pleads Guilty to Voting Twice … Continue reading Newbill was sentenced on 2/13/2017 to 18 months of unsupervised probation, 30 hours of community service, and a $500 fine.[31]Chhun Sun, “Golden Woman Pleads Guilty to Voting Twice for Deceased Father,” gazette.com, March 8, 2017	“In October prosecutors filed two felony forgery charges against Toni Lee Newbill, charging her with first voting for her father in a 2013 general election and then again casting a ballot for her father in a 2016 Republican primary election. Her father, Ralph Nanninga, died in 2012 in El Paso County at the age of 86. … Toni Newbill — who most recently was registered as a Republican, had previously been registered as a Democrat.”[32]CBS4, “Dying To Vote: CBS4 Investigation Finds Woman Charged With Casting Dead Father’s Ballot, cbslocal.com, November 7, 2016 Case Notes: The People of the State of Colorado v. Toni Lee Newbill Case Number: 16CR005522	Type of Election: Primary Party Affiliation: Republican Theoretical Election Effect: 1 illegal Republican vote in the primary / No effect on Congressional or Presidential elections
8.	Election Year: 2016 Name: Nathan Parks Party Affiliation: Democrat[33]VoterRecords.com, “Nathan Kent Parks’s Colorado Voter Registration,” voterrecords.com, accessed on May 20, 2022 Offense and Sentencing: Nathan Parks pleaded guilty on 5/15/2018 to one misdemeanor charge of voting twice in the 2016 General Election.[34]El Paso County Administration, “Guilty Plea in Voter Fraud Case,” admin.elpasocounty.com, accessed on April 4, 2022 Parks was sentenced to a 12 month suspended sentence and 30 hours of community service, plus associated restitution and court fees.[35]El Paso County Administration, “Guilty Plea in Voter Fraud Case,” admin.elpasocounty.com, accessed on April 4, 2022	“On May 15, 2018, Nathan Parks pled guilty to voting twice in the 2016 General Election. Mr. Parks knowingly cast ballots in Colorado and Washington, resulting in a misdemeanor, according to the Colorado Revised Statute 1-13-710. … Nathan Parks, 54, had registered to vote in Colorado in August 2013, while maintaining his residency and voter registration in Clallam County, Washington. Mr. Parks had not cast any absentee ballots in Colorado until the 2016, General Election, where he also voted in Washington.”[36]El Paso County Administration, “Guilty Plea in Voter Fraud Case,” admin.elpasocounty.com, accessed on April 4, 2022 Case Notes: Case Number: Not Found	Type of Election: Presidential Party Affiliation: Democrat Theoretical Election Effect: 1 illegal Democratic vote

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