A statewide grand jury has indicted two petition circulators on allegations that they forged signatures while gathering support for a proposed constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot.

According to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the circulators — Cherell Long of Nevada and Martin Arellano of Texas — were working for a Colorado Springs–based canvassing firm hired to collect signatures for a measure seeking to establish a “right to school choice.” The proposal ultimately qualified for the ballot but was later rejected by voters.

A warrant has been issued for the arrests of Long and Arellano, but authorities have not yet located either individual. Anyone with information about their whereabouts is encouraged to contact local law enforcement.

The indictment states both Long and Arellano submitted the signatures to a notary and swore under penalty of perjury that they were valid.

Following the election, the Secretary of State’s Office conducted an internal post-review of the petitions and found that several signatures did not match voter files.

Some of the signatures were found to belong to voters who had died or no longer lived in Colorado. Investigators ultimately concluded that, even with the fraudulent entries removed, the petition still contained enough valid signatures to qualify the amendment for the ballot.

Long and Arellano are charged with one count each of attempting to influence a public servant, election forgery, forgery, and perjury; three of which are felonies. The cases have been filed in the Denver District Court, and warrants have been issued for their arrests.

“Petition circulators who submit fraudulent signatures to the state to put a candidate or initiative on the ballot must be held accountable for their unlawful conduct,” Weiser said. “We are committed to protecting our elections and safeguarding the process for petitioning onto the ballot.”