Votes counted in the two days since Election Day have shifted results to show Charles Johnson now in a thin lead over Jeremiah Johnson (no relation) in the race to win a seat on the Colorado Springs School District 11 School Board.
The top three vote-getters will join the school board. Michelle Ruehl and LeAnn Baca Bartlett remain firmly in first and second place. But while the tally Tuesday night showed Jeremiah Johnson claiming the third seat, the vote currently shows Charles Johnson at 24,065 and Jeremiah Johnson at 24,023 – placing Charles Johnson in a 42 vote lead.
Colorado law states, “A recount of any election contest shall be held if the difference between the highest number of votes cast in that election contest and the next highest number of votes cast in that election contest is less than or equal to one-half of one percent of the highest vote cast in that election contest.”
The current tally shows only a 0.18% difference.
A recount occurs only after the bi-partisan canvass board certifies the original vote count within about three weeks of Election Day.
Charles Johnson was the main subject of a negative campaign funded by dark money portraying him as a dangerous criminal because of his involvement in a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 and another protest in 2021; this campaign also targeted two other candidates, all of whom were endorsed by the local teacher’s union. Jeremiah Johnson was part of a slate of conservative candidates backed by Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO5) targeted by another dark-money group that conflated the conservative candidates with current school board members and their alleged failures, though none were incumbents. The Pikes Peak Bulletin reported on this in “Dark money and negative campaigns in the D11 school board race.”
If Charles Johnson wins, it will mean that two of the three new board members are union-backed. If Jeremiah Johnson is the winner, it will mean two of the three winners will be from the conservative slate.
