Suspect found tampering with elections
The Pueblo Police Department has caught a suspect in association with a suspected case of voter machine tampering that happened at Pueblo Country election headquarters around one hour prior to the polls closing on June 28, 2022.
31-year-old Richard Patton from Pueblo was arrested Thursday morning on account of election tampering and cybercrimes.
As per state records, Patton is a registered Democrat. Pueblo Police Department has assured the community that all voter security measures were followed to protect the voting process and make it successful.
Police Department assures no inform
No information has been compromised, and the investigation is ongoing.
"Colorado law requires that tamper-evident seals are affixed to voting equipment under strict security requirements, including a chain of custody of election officials. Nobody else used the machine after Patton. The voting machine was taken into evidence, as well as security camera footage from that evening," said Pueblo Chieftain.
What does the law enforcement report say?
Pueblo PD and the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office reports suggest that at 6 pm on election night, Patten went to the downtown office of the elections department to vote in person.
All the registered Colorado voters are sent ballots in the mail however, one can also put a vote on in-person machines at registered sites.
Election workers informed the police department that Patten asked them about the security situation before casting a ballot.
Patton dropped off his ballot before he left the office, but the records prove that his ballot was cast.
Soon after he left, an election worker went to clean the machine as per the covid protocols.
The worker found an error code on the display of the machine that Patton used and informed supervisors.
An error code was displayed on the screen. The Pueblo Chieftain reports:
"Drake Rambke, the election supervisor dispatched to Pueblo County after thousands of incorrect primary ballots were mailed to some Pueblo voters, told law enforcement that evening that he wasn’t sure if a USB device had been plugged into the machine, but multiple election workers said the seals on the voting machines had been tampered with."