Public commenter alleges improper voter registration; clerk says office referred matter to city and Secretary of State attorneys

PUEBLO, Colo. — At a Pueblo County Board of Commissioners meeting, public commenter Elvis Martinez alleged that the husband of Pueblo's mayor is registered to vote at a commercial address and called for the county to act; Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder Candace Rivera responded in the meeting that her office reviewed the record, contacted the voter and that further enforcement would be handled by the city or by a complainant filing a dispute.

Elvis Martinez said: "The individual I'm speaking about is the mayor Graham's husband, Danny. He is registered to vote at 58 Glenroyal, the address of the gym PAC pack, which he owns. This has to be some sort of voter fraud. Pueblo County needs to to do a clean out of voters like this or any or I may inform the AG office and the news. This is not right." He also raised a question about campaign signs that he said remained after the election and cited "chapter 17.116 advertising devices and signs" regarding removal timelines.

Clerk Candace Rivera provided a written response read into the record by staff member Mestas. Rivera said the clerk's office had discussed the specific record with attorneys in the Colorado Secretary of State's office (naming Judd Choate, Jeffrey Mustin and Caleb Thornton) on Nov. 13, 2024, and that those attorneys recommended the dispute be handled by the city under its charter or referred to the district attorney. Rivera's letter, read aloud by staff, said the office had sent a letter to the voter informing them "that the commercial address may not be used as a residential address for voter registration purposes unless you identify as a homeless, and the commercial address is a location that you regularly return to is your home base." The letter added: "Outside of notifying the voter and requesting an updated address, actions which our office has already taken, the powers of the office of the clerk and recorder are limited as pertains to enforcement." Rivera encouraged any complainant to file a formal dispute and suggested engaging as an election judge to learn more about election procedures.

Commissioners responded to the exchange by thanking clerk's office staff and reiterating that some matters related to city officials fall to city authorities. One commissioner noted that the city of Pueblo manages campaign signage and said, in effect, that candidates have 15 days after an election to remove signs. No county enforcement action or directive was taken during the meeting; commissioners instead encouraged the complainant to pursue remedies with the city or file a formal dispute as advised by the clerk's office.