BUCKLEY LIED ON RECOUNT, HER OWN WORKERS ALLEGE

DENVER - Employees of Secretary of State Vikki Buckley say they never
completed a line-by-line recount of 88,815 signatures on a proposal to
legalize the medicinal use of marijuana - contrary to what Buckley told the
Colorado Supreme Court.

About 50 people - temporary workers and employees pulled from other
divisions of the office - worked to meet a court-ordered deadline to verify
the signatures, sources in the office told The Gazette on Tuesday.

Two employees paint a picture of an office in turmoil as the computer
system kept crashing. Apparently, the computer was not designed to handle
the mass data entry being performed, say the employees, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity. One employee said a few thousand signatures
remained unchecked just two hours before time ran out Friday, Oct. 16.

Another employee returned a list of about 50 signatures that were not
verified because time ran out. And that employee knew other workers who did
the same.

It's unclear exactly how many signatures may have gone unchecked. Or if
there were enough to give the medicinal marijuana proponents the 54,242
signatures they needed to qualify for the ballot.

Still, the employees' allegations led Democrat Ric Bainter to accuse
Buckley of lying when she issued a statement on Oct. 16 invalidating the
measure known as Amendment 19. Bainter is trying to unseat Buckley in next
Tuesday's election.

In her disputed announcement, Buckley said she had "completed a
line-by-line review of the signatures" and proponents of the marijuana
proposal were 2,338 signatures short of getting on the ballot.

But Bainter questions the veracity of that statement.

"Amendment 19 proponents have evidence that the secretary of state lied
when she told the Supreme Court and the people of Colorado that she had
actually recounted all of the signatures," Bainter said. "They also have
very strong evidence that their initiative was improperly disqualified from
the ballot a second time."

Buckley did not return telephone calls from The Gazette seeking comment.
Nor were calls returned by her attorney, Maurice Knaizer, a deputy attorney
general representing her on the medical marijuana challenge.

Solicitor General Richard Westfall of the attorney general's office also
declined comment, saying it was Buckley's decision whether to respond.

"She's going to have to make that call," Westfall said. "These are just
allegations. We don't have the facts."

Lying by a public official is a serious charge, according to attorneys
familiar with Colorado law, ranging from a misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony,
punishable by a fine or up to three years in jail.

Buckley's office has been under constant fire since June. She has
mistakenly disqualified candidates from the statewide ballot, failed to
meet initiative deadlines and mailed an error-ridden ballot to county clerk.

Earlier this month, she blamed the media for the barrage of negative
stories, calling them half-truths and lies.

Medicinal pot proponents have been fighting Buckley since they submitted
their signatures in August.

First, Buckley ruled they lacked the required minimum of 54,242 signatures
to make the ballot. Martin Chilcutt, the chief sponsor of the measure,
challenged her in court and a Denver district court judge ruled the measure
back onto the ballot.

Shortly after, the Colorado Supreme Court intervened, ordering Buckley to
complete a line-by-line recount of the signatures within 10 days.

At that point, election ballots had already been printed and they included
Amendment 19. So if Buckley found a sufficient number of signatures, votes
cast for and against the measure would be tallied. If not, the issue would
be moot.

After getting a one-day extension on her deadline, Buckley reported that
Chilcutt had 36,911 invalid signatures and 51,904 valid signatures, 2,338
short of making the ballot.

However, when Chilcutt requested a list of the invalid signatures, it had
only 35,151 names. Bainter claims that 1,760 signatures were never
reviewed. In addition, Chilcutt says he found 2,000 signatures Buckley
incorrectly disqualified.

Bainter says Buckley could face a civil rights lawsuit from the proponents
if it is found she lied or incorrectly kept them off the ballot.

Attorney Ed Ramey, who is representing Chilcutt and his group, Coloradans
for Medical Rights, said it would be premature to comment on a possible
lawsuit.

He said much depends on whether the issue is ultimately counted in
Tuesday's election.

"If in fact we can get votes counted, everything resolves itself," Ramey
said. "If not, I agree with Bainter."

Chilcutt plans to be in Denver District Court today to challenge Buckley's
ruling once again.

Mary Boyle may be reached at (303) 837-0697 or bureau@gazette.com.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski