Former GOP Chairman, Radio Host Sentenced for Voter Fraud and Forgery
Published on January 26, 2018
A former KLZ radio talk show host and one-time chairman of the Colorado GOP will spend the next four years on supervised probation and will spend hundreds of hours doing community service.
In December of 2017, a jury found Steve Curtis guilty of Forgery and Voter Fraud for signing his ex-wife’s ballot during the 2016 election.
He was charged in February of 2017 after the Weld County District Attorney’s Office used DNA evidence from the ballot envelope and handwriting analysis to link him to Kelly Curtis’ ballot.
According to court testimony, Kelly Curtis left the couples’ Firestone home in December 2015 and later moved to Charleston, South Carolina.
In October 2016, Ms. Curtis called the Weld County Clerk and Recorder’s Office to obtain her mail-in ballot but was told she already voted.
The Weld County District Attorney’s Office investigated the case and determined Steve Curtis forged his wife’s name on her ballot and mailed it to the clerk’s office.
Throughout the trial, Mr. Curtis testified that he was suffering from a diabetic episode in the middle of the night when he signed the ballot. He claimed he unknowingly mailed the ballot the following day.
During the sentencing hearing Friday morning, Curtis shared a lengthy history of mental and physical ailments and continued to claim he still doesn’t remember signing his ex-wife’s ballot.
Curtis went on to tell the court he would never do anything to hurt his ex-wife or the community. However, Weld Deputy District Attorney Tate Costin told the judge she disagreed.
“He committed a selfish and arrogant crime,” Costin said. “This was not a product of a diabetic blackout. He did this out of spite and thought he’d get away with this. He not only took away his ex-wife’s right to vote in the 2016 election, but this affected the nation. His one fraudulent vote created an insecurity in our system and created discomfort throughout the country. He is educated, successful and intelligent, yet he has never once taken responsibility for what he did and has blamed everything and everyone, including the system. Bottom line, he has absolutely no respect for the law.”
At the sentencing hearing, Ms. Costin asked Weld District Judge Julie Hoskins to impose jail time, five years of probation and 500 hours of community service.
However, Judge Hoskins sentenced Mr. Curtis to four years of supervised probation and 300 hours of community service with no additional jail time.