EXCLUSIVE: Colorado Caucus Volunteers: Ballot Errors Hurt Trump Delegate Candidates, Could Have Violated State Rules - Breitbart

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by Patrick Howley15 Apr 20160

15 Apr, 201615 Apr, 2016 Volunteers at the Colorado Republican Assembly are coming forward with evidence to indicate that their state’s delegate selection process was riddled with errors that disadvantaged some Donald Trump supporters who were running to become national delegates.

The errors could have violated state bylaws significantly enough that some of the results could be contested, according to the volunteers.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) took all 34 of Colorado’s delegates last week in a process that closed down traditional caucus voting to the public.

A handful of volunteers spoke to Breitbart News about the process.

“I’m the former Chairman of the Pueblo County Republican Party and the person who developed the Slates for National Delegates for the Trump team. The Colorado GOP website was filled with errors posted about the National Delegates,” Nancy Mizel told Breitbart News.

Mizel took a photograph of a ballot in Congressional District 7 that included ONLY the ballot numbers of delegate candidates, NOT the names of the candidates as required by state bylaws.

(Photo: Becky Mizel)

But Article Xiii of the Colorado Republican Convention bylaws (Assemblies and Conventions Section A) show that a delegate candidate must be identified alongside the name of the presidential candidate that he or she is pledged to support, so long as the delegate candidate discloses that information:

Candidates for national convention delegate need not identify the presidential candidate they are pledged to support, but may do so at their option. The ballot shall include the presidential candidate each candidate for national delegate is pledged to support, or shall indicate that the candidate for national delegate is unpledged. CRC Bylaws, Art. XIII, § A(5)(c).

Here are stories of three of the volunteers in their own words:

Kimberly JaJack:

JaJack, a Trump supporter, tells Breitbart News that she was not allowed to vote at the State Assembly:

I was a delegate. I pledged support for Donald Trump. In the Arapahoe County section they had designated seating areas for your last name. When it came time to pass the ballots out, someone from the Colorado GOP came around and started calling out names. When you received your ballot you received a mark on your name.

She went directly from K to I and skipped the Js. She said she didn’t have the Js….

…I asked a few people, no one seemed to have the ballots for my last name. At that particular time, I had to do my ten-second speech because I was running for national delegate. I came back and said I don’t have a ballot and I went to Andie, the president of the Cherry Creek Republican Women in Colorado, and she looked at her board. She had my name on this page and it had a check mark next to it. She looked at it and said “this is a check mark.” I said “This is my badge, you do NOT see a mark on it, do you?”

I approached a representative of Donald Trump’s campaign and I went to Steve House, chairman of the Colorado GOP. He took my name and telephone number.

JaJack said that she found out that another woman in Arapahoe County later told her that she had her ballot, but by then it was too late to vote. JaJack said that she has not heard back from the Colorado GOP. She says her case represents a “serious injustice.”

JaJack told her story at the time in a video obtained by Breitbart News:

Becky Mizel:

Mizel told Breitbart News about the extent of the errors she observed:

While I was putting together the National Delegate Slates for Mr. Trump on April 5th or 6th, copied and pasted from the Colorado GOP website – I noticed my name was missing from the website as being a national  delegate candidate. Even though I had submitted timely paperwork.  I called the GOP HQ. They said it was an error and they would correct it. Gave me ballot number 602 over the phone.  I assumed my delegate name was corrected and added although even as ofThursday my name was still not on the website as a delegate.

I don’t know if it was ever added to the website.  If I had not checked the website, which probably few do, I would never have even known the mistake and would have been completely missed as a delegate candidate.  This may have happened to others who thought they were delegate candidates and were not. Only a guess. I have never implied my number was deliberately changed nor claimed I was deliberately left off the lists. If  names were left off possibly numbers were also confused. I have no idea regarding their process,  A series of errors that appeared to happen to myself and  others and  were not unique to only Trump candidates.

Folks with ballots numbered higher  than 588 –  those people I assume we’re errors in entry – were not published as national delegate candidates in the GOP program- nor listed in the voting booklet. Disappointing, since candidates were only allowed 10 second speeches. Being left off both informational programs was disheartening.

Nancy McKiernan:

Trump volunteer Nancy McKiernan described the chaos to Breitbart News:

Jan Herron and I and another friend were volunteers at the Trump table at the Colorado Republican State Assembly on Saturday, 4/9/2016 and witnessed a lot of confusion regarding these numbers.

When I arrived at the table at around noon, I was told by other volunteers that some of the numbers that were printed on the official Trump slates (Exhibit A) were wrong and needed to be changed.  My understanding from speaking with Becky is the numbers on the slate were taken directly off of the Colorado GOP website.  In trying to ascertain what the correct numbers should be, I looked in the Assembly & Convention program (Exhibit B, Paid for by the Colorado Republican Committee, www.cologop.org) and noticed that the numbers only went up to 588, yet for 4 of the delegates on the slate, their numbers were higher than 588, and therefore not listed in the program:

#589 Kimberly Jajack

#598 Rheba Massay

#602 Becky Mizel

#610 Gabriel Schwartz

I started asking around to try to figure out what the delegates were using as a reference to vote with; what was the “official” guide to match names to numbers?  I was given a “Delegates to the Republican National Convention Ballot Supplement” (Exhibit C) and cross referenced numbers and names on the slate with this.  Inserted into it was a blue sheet of paper containing names of delegates with numbers from 596 – 619 (Exhibit D). This sheet of paper included names for Unpledged, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and John Kasich delegates.  When cross checking the slate with this “supplement”, I found these discrepancies between the Official Trump slate and the Ballot Supplement:

Name                          Number on Slate         Number on Ballot Supplement

Robert Jenkins            #257                            #259

William Lambert          #289                            #298

Jerome Parks             #379                            #401

Becky Mizel                #602                            #606  (from blue sheet insert)

I witnessed several Trump delegates coming to the volunteer table, confused and frustrated, asking what numbers they should be using to vote for people on the Trump slate.  While I was helping one gentleman fill out his ballot, I noticed errors/misprints on the ballots themselves (Exhibit E-1, E-2), e.g. two number 523’s but no 513, two 378’s, but no 379.  I also noticed there were 948 numbers on the ballot, but as far as I could tell delegate numbers only went up to 619.

One woman reported that she was very angry that numbers corresponding to Trump delegates were left off the ballot. I do not have specifics on this, other than #379, Nicolas Robert Neitzel…

…Another woman/Trump supporter, reported that she was an alternate delegate and was elevated to delegate, and then was told they made a mistake and the delegate credential she had been given was ripped up. She said she was elevated again and then dropped back down to alternate a 2nd time.  She was visibly upset, said I feel like I’m in a third world country and left without filling out her ballot…

When I left at approximately 5:00 pm, delegates were still walking up to the Trump volunteer table, confused, upset and asking questions.  Shortly before I left, a gentleman, who was very upset, asked if he should go talk to Colorado GOP State Chairman Steve House to report the issues he encountered and set off to do just that.

Overall, what I witnessed appeared to be very chaotic, confusing and lacking in integrity.  I saw delegates walking around with ballots and wondered if anyone was keeping track of them.  Was there anything to stop someone from getting some extra ballots as they were roaming about and putting them in the ballot boxes?  I don’t know, as I didn’t go into the arena itself, where ballots were being turned in.  However, I got a general feeling of uneasiness in how things were being run.

From what I understand, mistakes were also made for Cruz delegates. However I did not track those.

The Colorado Republican Party did not immediately return a request for comment for this report.

COMMENTS

Cruz snaring Trump's Arizona delegates

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Sen. Ted Cruz is out-hustling Donald Trump and looks set to ensure many Arizona delegates will defect to him in a convention floor fight.

The Texas senator, who ever since Iowa has played a stealthy ground game in contrast to Trump's chaotic populism, is taking steps to snatch the Republican presidential nomination from The Donald at the convention in July.

The New York businessman easily won last month's Arizona primary taking 47 percent to Cruz's 25 percent, scooping up all 58 of the state's delegates. That's nearly 5 percent of the 1,237 Trump needs for the nomination, and they're tied are to him on the first ballot.

But Cruz, exploiting deep opposition to Trump among grassroots Republicans, has been far more active in Arizona than Trump, insiders say. He's recruiting candidates for the available 55 delegate slots, that along with the other three delegate positions filled by party leaders, would be allowed to vote for him in a multi-ballot contested convention.

"Cruz, out of all the campaigns, has the most folks on the ground and has been the most organized," Michael Noble, a Republican consultant in Arizona who is neutral, told the Washington Examiner on Friday.

"Trump has no real organization in Arizona," added GOP strategist Sean Noble (no relation) in an email exchange. "Cruz will get most/all Arizona delegates on second ballot."

The Cruz campaign has been exceptionally skilled at grassroots organizing, a talent that lends itself to winning delegate elections in precincts, counties and states across the country. That was on display in North Dakota over the weekend, where Cruz topped Trump to win 18 out of 25 available slots in elections held at the state GOP convention in Fargo.

In a telephone interview, Cruz's top Arizona organizer, Constantine Querard, was cautiously optimistic about the progress his team was making in fielding delegate candidates that would be loyal to Cruz. That team includes Republican legislator David Livingston, the majority whip in the state House of Representatives.

Livingston said team Cruz is engaged in a furious round of phone calls, texts, emails and meetings as it attempts to place loyal delegates. The Phoenix-area Republican indicated that he would be thrilled with Cruz candidates winning 55 percent of the available delegate slots, but said the final results might be closer to splitting the delegation 50-50 with Trump. Flipping 29 of delegates out of 58, Livingston suggested, would be a major victory for Cruz.

"We have a better ground game than [Trump does] in Arizona," he said. "They have some good people too, but we have some really, really good people and I'm hoping that when we get to the state convention that gives us a real competitive advantage."

Querard said the Cruz campaign's Arizona strategy includes expanding the senator's reach beyond loyalists.

Cruz aims to recruit delegate candidates that support Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who has since suspended his presidential campaign — basically anyone who opposes Trump. That might include Trump supporters who are having second thoughts after observing recent missteps and reviewing the latest polls that show him getting shellacked by Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

"We're looking for either Cruz supporters or those who recognize that, to win in November, we need Sen. Cruz," said Querard, who is based near Phoenix. "The effort is there, the organization is there, the support team is there. We're not quite to halftime yet; call me back after next Saturday."

The state GOP chairman, and the Republican National Committee man and woman lead the Arizona convention delegation. The remaining 55 delegates will be elected by grassroots Republicans from around the state in a series of local elections scheduled to occur over the next several days. Activists will formalize the slate in an election to be held on April 30 at the state GOP convention in Mesa.

Trump led Cruz in the overall delegate hunt 736 to 463 ahead of Tuesday's Wisconsin primary. Cruz is favored to win there, and could cut Trump's lead by 42 delegates. In doing so, Cruz would make it more likely that July's nominating convention would be contested, as it would become harder for Trump to win a decisive majority of delegates before the primary season concludes in early June.

Kasich trails with 143 delegates, but might yet be a factor in Cleveland.

In Arizona, Trump has the support of state Treasurer Jeff DeWit and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, among other well known Republicans. Trump's delegate operation is being led on the ground by Thayer Verschoor, an ex-legislator and former executive director of the state party.

Reached by phone on Friday, Verschoor referred inquiries to another Trump campaign leader in Arizona, Charles Munoz, who did not return an email requesting comment.

COMMENTS

EXCLUSIVE–1st and 2nd Voicemails: ‘Ben Carson Suspending Campaigning’; Cruz: ‘Accurate Report’

Chris Carlson / Associated Press

by ALEX SWOYER4 Feb 20164,975

New audio obtained exclusively by Breitbart News indicates that as the Iowa caucuses began on Monday night, the Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) campaign called precinct captains informing them that Dr. Ben Carson was suspending campaigning, and instructing them to tell voters they should “not waste a vote on Ben Carson and vote for Ted Cruz.”

The calls were placed after the Carson campaign had already clarified that Carson was not suspending his campaign.

Nancy Bliesman, a precinct captain for Cruz in Crawford County, Iowa, told Breitbart News that she received two voice mails–one at 7:07 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST), and one at 7:29 p.m.–on the night of the Iowa caucuses, which began at 7:00 p.m.

The first call came from a woman with a phone number out of Galveston, Texas at 7:07 p.m. (transcript follows audio):

[inaudible]…from the Ted Cruz campaign, calling to get to a precinct captain, and it has just been announced that Ben Carson is taking a leave of absence from the campaign trail, so it is very important that you tell any Ben Carson voters that for tonight, uh, that they not waste a vote on Ben Carson, and vote for Ted Cruz. He is taking a leave of absence from his campaign. All right? Thank you. Bye.

The second voicemail was left at 7:29 p.m. from an Iowa phone number that Breitbart News traced back to a Cruz campaign volunteer hotline.

Hello, this is the Cruz campaign with breaking news: Dr. Ben Carson will be [garbled] suspending campaigning following tonight’s caucuses. Please inform any Carson caucus goers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted instead. Thank you. Good night.

“My precinct people voted” without hearing the rumor that Carson would be suspending his campaign, Bliesman told Breitbart News. “Ben Carson did get his votes in our precinct ’cause I didn’t take the calls.”

Bliesman’s husband, who was also with her on Monday night, told Breitbart News that they were at the precinct labeled “DC-A-B,” which stands for the areas of Dow City, Arion and Buck Grove.

According to Mr. Bliesman, the total vote count in the precinct was as follows:

Donald Trump = 33

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) = 15

Ben Carson = 12

Ted Cruz = 12

Carly Fiorina = 3

Jeb Bush = 2

John Kasich = 1

Chris Christie = 1

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) = 0

Ric Santorum = 0

Mike Huckabee = 0

Bliesman said there was a “huge turnout,” adding, “we had probably at least 100 percent increase from four years ago.”

“Everyone knows the mainstream media says things–whether it’s true or not, check it out,” she urged, saying she wishes the Carson campaign had been consulted before the report was spread.

The revelation about Cruz’s campaign calls and voicemails comes after an email surfaced from Cruz’s deputy Iowa campaign director Spence Rogers, sent at 6:56 p.m.–four minutes before caucuses began–suggesting that Carson would be “taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week.” The email told supporters: “Please inform any caucus goers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz.”

Cruz apologized to Carson on Tuesday, saying his team should also have forwarded a subsequent after Carson clarified that he would not be suspending his campaign.

However, the Carson campaign had already clarified at 6:53 p.m. that he was not dropping out.

The original report by Chris Moody of CNN at 6:44 p.m. had reported explicitly that Carson was not suspending his campaign.

Carson–who accepted Cruz’s apology–held a press conference on Wednesday, saying that he believes the messages sent out by the Cruz campaign damaged his results in Iowa.

On Thursday, he sent a message attacking the Cruz campaign, saying that “no attempts were made to verify the truth” about his departure, and that “no actions have been taken to correct the problem.”

The Cruz campaign referenced a clarifying tweet by CNN’s Chris Moody that was published at 7:30 p.m.

Cruz campaign spokesperson Catherine Frazier told Breitbart News on Thursday (via email):

The senator has already apologized for not more quickly making that clarification, and there is no evidence that our sharing of this news story impacted Carson’s campaign – he well outperformed expectations. The voicemails are in line with the reports that were made at that time. Our campaign shared an accurate report that Carson was suspending campaigning after the caucuses – he went home and he went to D.C. – and these voicemails do not suggest that he would completely drop out of the race.

Lastly, it should surprise no one that Carson’s initial announcement he was taking time off the trail would be a news story. It is highly unusual for candidates to take time off the trail between the first voting states.

Carson modestly out-performed his public poll average in Iowa by 1.6%.

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