Grand County Clerk Sara Rosene was recognized Friday by the Colorado Secretary of State for her work during the 2020 election.
During a virtual ceremony, Secretary Jena Griswold bestowed five National Association of Secretaries of State Medallion Awards to individuals and groups who made significant contributions to the success of the 2020 general election in Colorado.
Rosene led the Grand County election through not only a pandemic, but the devastating East Troublesome Fire as well.
Less than two weeks before election day, Rosene and her team collected ballots from Grand Lake after the town had already been evacuated due to the sudden growth of the fire on Oct. 21. The team was also able to keep Granby’s ballot location open despite a constant threat of evacuation.
“Clerk Rosene’s leadership ensured that Grand County voters could cast ballots during unprecedented natural disaster,” Griswold said.
During her remarks, Rosene directed her praise toward the election judges who continued to work toward a fair ballot process even as their lives were uprooted by the fire.
“We had election judges who evacuated their homes and continued to work in our office that was subject to pre-evacuation,” Rosene said. “We had firefighters who fought in the fires in our county and came to work during the election. We had election judges who lost their homes and continued to work through the election.”
Rosene also highlighted the support of first responders, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office, numerous county departments and other organizations that helped her team provide the election.
“The election workers in Grand County are among the finest,” Rosene said. “I’m proud to work with them and appreciate this opportunity to thank them by receiving this NASS Medallion.”
Griswold added that she herself was also evacuated during the wildfire season and that some of her staff based in Grand County were uprooted by the East Troublesome Fire.
“We really appreciate everybody in Grand County who made the election a success through tremendous stress and personal loss,” Griswold said.
The Gunnison County Clerk, Adams County Clerk, former director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, and the Colorado Chapter of the League of Women Voters also received a NASS Medallion.
This content was originally published here.
