Ron Hanks is running for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional seat currently occupied by Jeff Hurd, but who is he?
Ron Hanks is a former member of the Colorado state House of Representatives who won office in 2020.
One of Hanks’ biggest boasts is that he participated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. In his response to RTB’s questionnaire (pdf), Hanks writes that “I was in Washington DC on Jan 6, 2021, and I attended the rally at the White House and at the Capitol. It was a peaceful assembly of concerned Americans…” and “Jan 6th was a large gathering of Americans who wanted to be present during an important event.”
Hanks is a strong supporter of Tina Peters, even now after she’s been convicted and imprisoned for multiple felonies. In response to RTB’s questionnaire, Hanks wrote, “I believe the information Tina Peters backed up before a ‘trusted build’ would have erased it was a duty upon her as a clerk and given the persecution of her, it became a powerful act in the face of weaponized government.” [Original language from RTB questionnaire.]
Speaking at a rally in support of Peters on Saturday, August 21, 2021, Hanks called Peters a “gold star mom and public servant,” even though Peters’ own family members have pointed out she is not a gold star parent.
Without any evidence or substantiation, Hanks called the criminal investigation into the election equipment breach at the Mesa County Clerk’s office a “false-flag operation.” He added that it was merely a tactic “for [Colorado Secretary of State] Jena Griswold “to divert attention from her own derelict criminal actions.”
In keeping with his staunch support of Peters, Hanks is also an election denier. He wrote in his RTB questionnaire,
“I believe the 2020 election was fraudulent,” and “I ran and won in 2020 – and was immediately alarmed by the rampant election fraud that we witnessed across the nation…The nation is being torn asunder by its well-founded distrust of the election systems.”
Hanks also repeats and amplifies Trump’s Big Lie about massive election fraud in 2020, a claim disproven many, many times over through multiple investigations and over 60 court cases. Hanks also makes it a point to bolster Trump’s effort to sow doubt about the accuracy and fairness of U.S. elections. Hanks also
- wants all votes to be cast in person only, strictly on Election Day and only at precinct polling places.
- He wants to abolish use of voting machines and require hand-counting of ballots;
- He wants to mandate that all counting of votes be completed within 24 hours after the polls close.
Hanks also targets interstate election security by saying he wants to direct the Colorado Secretary of State to “withdraw Colorado from ERIC,” the Electronic Registration Information Center.
What is ERIC?
ERIC is a multi-state partnership formed by seven states in 2012 to address problems posed by voters moving out of state or dying, and the voter rolls not being updated to reflect these changes. The states formed ERIC after a study published by Pew Trusts in 2012 found that approximately 1 out of 8 voter registrations in the U.S. were no longer valid or were significantly inaccurate, and that “voter registration has not kept pace with advancing technology and a mobile society.” The study also found that over 1.8 million deceased people were listed as voters, and approximately 2.75 million people had registrations in more than one state. The Pew report also estimated that at least 51 million eligible U.S. citizens were not registered to vote — roughly 24 percent of the eligible population. The seven states that started ERIC created it to share information about voters who move or die, so their voter rolls can be kept more up to date and be more accurate. The number of states that belong to ERIC and share voter data has increased since the partnership started, and currently 27 states and the District of Columbia belong to the system. While ERIC has vastly improved the accuracy of member states’ voting rolls and led to smoother elections, it has recently come under attack by election deniers and conspiracy theorists. These attacks are the result of years of politically-motivated disinformation and outright lies about the country’s election systems, with much of it coming from Trump.
- Hanks is pro-voucher and opposes public schools: “I fought for education tax credits for parents looking for options for their children outside the floundering public school system.” (From RTB Questionnaire.)
- Regarding energy prices, Hanks thinks the current high price of gas and diesel will be short term: “The current high prices will be short-term, and I expect them to decline as ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz begins to flow. ” (From RTB Questionnaire.)
- Hanks thinks fraud is rampant in government-run healthcare programs and says Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered only a “small portion of the fraud.” (From RTB Questionnaire.)