Ohio man sentenced for election fraud in city councilor’s failed El Paso County Commissioner’s race
Celeste Springer
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has announced sentencing for a man who forged signatures in a 2024 El Paso County Commissioner race.
According to the D.A.’s office, 29-year-old Juan Pichardo was working for a petition signature gathering company subcontracted to support David Leinweber’s campaign for El Paso County Commissioner.
In El Paso County, candidates’ names can be placed on the ballot through a petition. It’s one of three ways that a candidate can get on the primary ballot.
According to the D.A.’s office, the El Paso Clerk and Recorder’s Office noticed something seemed off about his campaign’s petition signatures. Prosecutors say Pichardo forged signatures before submitting the petition.
“The detection of fraudulent petition signatures by my office demonstrates the effectiveness of the safeguards and verification processes we have in place,” a statement from El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker read in part.
Schleiker said his office noticed several anomalies in the petitions. The ink colors and font styles were similar. Most damming of all, the signatures made it appear the petitioner went criss-crossing around town to get his signatures. There was one signature from Manitou Springs, then one from Monument, then another one from Cascade, unlike what a legitimate canvassing effort would look like.
“In addition to that, the majority of these signatures were taken was during the snowstorm, where we received over 35in of snow in 2024,” Schleiker said the petition papers themselves didn’t look as if they had been carried through a snowstorm.
At that point, the clerk and recorder’s office contacted the DA’s Office and the candidate, David Leinweber.
“The candidate, Mr. Leinweber, and his campaign at that time, for commissioner of District three, as the clerk recorder, they did everything correctly,” Schleiker said in a sit-down interview with KRDO13. Schleiker said the campaign expressed some of their own concerns about the signatures, too.
The district attorney’s office says there was no evidence uncovered that Leinweber was involved in any of the fraudulent activity. In a statement, David Leinweber added that his campaign notified elections officials that they thought something was off about the signatures as well.
“When my campaign submitted our petitions, we proactively notified election officials about several packets we believed had been improperly completed by a petition circulator. Protecting the integrity of our elections is paramount, and we took immediate action to ensure full transparency,” the statement read. “I’m glad to see this matter resolved and that the individual responsible has been held accountable by the courts. Voters deserve confidence in the process, and I will always act to uphold that trust.”
“They were in full transparency. The candidate was absolutely in the right. He paid for a service that was not provided,” Schleiker said.
Even after the investigation, Leinweber still garnered enough verified petition signatures to get his name on the Republican primary ballot, records show. However, he ultimately lost that primary for El Paso County Commissioner District 3. Leinweber is currently serving out a term on the Colorado Springs City Council.