Two GOP primary losers in Colorado fail to pay for recounts

The secretary of state's office in Colorado said it won't conduct a recount of the Republican primary races because the two candidates didn't meet the deadline.

The office informed Tina Peters, who lost her race for the GOP nomination for secretary of state, and Ron Hanks, who fell short in his bid for the party's U.S. Senate nomination, that it was moving forward. The candidates had until July 15 to pay for the recount.

Both wrote to the office saying they wanted a hand recount instead of a machine recount. Voting machines have been distrusted in the election conspiracy theory.

The false claim that President Joe Biden did not win the election against Donald Trump in 2020 has been promoted by Peters and Hanks. Deniers of the outcome of the 2020 election are questioning their own losses.

The candidates' concerns about possible fraud were dismissed by the secretary of state's letter. They have one more chance to pay for a recount.

According to Annie Orloff, the Secretary of State followed all statutes and rules when it came to requests for recounts. Coloradans made their voices known and candidates should accept the results of a fair election.

There was no response to the email that was sent to both candidates.

Peters sent an email to clerks early Tuesday saying she would be requesting a hand recount in certain counties. According to Matt Crane, the executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, state law does not allow for such requests to be made directly to individual counties.

He said that Peters' request was part of a larger effort to create chaos, disrupt, and cause doubt in the elections.

Peters lost the GOP primary to a former local clerk by a wide margin.

The deadline for counties to certify the election results was just a few hours away.

The normally routine verification of election results was subject to controversy in Nevada and New Mexico.

There have been no issues reported in Colorado. Jack Todd, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office, said that all of the state's 64 counties have completed their certifications.

The certification reports must be reviewed by the office by Monday in order to sign off on the results.