A statewide grand jury has indicted two out-of-state canvassers accused of forging signatures to help put a school-choice amendment on Colorado’s 2024 ballot. The indictment names Cherell Long of Nevada and Martin Arellano of Texas and notes that arrest warrants are active for both. Prosecutors say some of the signatures they turned in belonged to deceased voters or people who no longer lived in Colorado.
The grand jury returned the indictment on April 16, bringing multiple felony counts and a misdemeanor against each defendant, with the case filed in Denver District Court. Attorney General Phil Weiser said petition circulators who submit fraudulent signatures must be held accountable, according to the Denver Gazette.
What the indictment alleges
The court filing lists counts of Attempt to Influence a Public Servant (C.R.S. §18-8-306), multiple forgery counts, and a perjury count for each defendant, along with class levels and statutory citations. The document, filed as Grand Jury Case No. 25CR0001 in Denver District Court, lays out the alleged conduct and seeks arrest warrants, according to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.
Signature review and the vote
Backers of the school-choice campaign submitted more than 190,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State. A post-review found roughly 131,000 that appeared valid, while organizers needed 124,238 to qualify the initiative. That review flagged signatures that did not match voter files, names tied to deceased people, and names of voters no longer living in Colorado, and state investigators traced some problematic petition sections to the two indicted circulators. As reported by the Denver Gazette, the amendment ultimately received about 49.3% of the vote and fell short of the 55% threshold required to amend the state constitution.
Who collected the petitions
Prosecutors say Long and Arellano were working for Victor’s Canvassing, a Colorado Springs firm that was one of three companies hired by the campaign to circulate petitions. The indictment and its cover sheet identify the defendants and list the charges filed against them as part of the statewide grand jury action, according to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.
Next steps and legal implications
With arrest warrants still active, prosecutors have asked anyone with information about Long’s or Arellano’s whereabouts to contact local law enforcement, and criminal proceedings will continue in Denver District Court. The forgery and related counts are felonies that carry potential prison exposure under Colorado law, but for now, the filings remain allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty at trial.
