Tens of thousands of dollars have been spent in the little town of Palmer Lake to influence the direction of this week’s special election.

Tuesday’s election will have implications for the makeup of the town’s leadership and process for approving annexations — including the controversial request from Texas travel chain Buc-ee’s for what would be its second Colorado location.

The name of a major donor source behind one group involved, called Keep Palmer Lake Independent, has been changed in recent days, with the former listed donor saying his name was added by mistake to the filing documents for the committee.

The Palmer Lake resident said the attachment has prompted harassment — from phone calls to people driving by his house.

“It’s turned out to be one of the most divisive, derisive communities I’ve ever lived in,” said Tim Bennett, whose name was attached to $8,500 in donations until filings were updated after The Gazette reached out.

Keep Palmer Lake Independent, in its official filings, opposes the recall of town Trustees Shana Ball and Kevin Dreher. The committee has circulated fliers accusing “outsiders” of attempting to exert influence in the town. The group’s registered agent, Gleb Berkez, has not responded to requests for comment.

According to previous campaign contribution reports retrieved Thursday afternoon, Bennett was the sole donor for the committee. By Friday, the donor form was amended to show an organization, Freedom First Colorado, with a Palmer Lake address.

According to a website for the group, Freedom First Colorado conducts “voter analytics to a level of granularity not commonly found today.” It professes support for parental rights in education, affordable housing and the local economy, while opposing illegal immigration.

Public records show the nonprofit was formed in March. The registered agent for Freedom First Colorado is listed as Bennett.

He said on Friday that he was not involved in the donations and feared for his family’s safety.

“You know what my concern with Buc-ee’s is? Zero,” he said.

Bennett is not the only person concerned about their name being attached to the special election. Another committee, Protect Palmer Lake, has listed $15,500 in contributions through a proxy group called “Support Local Control” with a Colorado Springs address.

Committee registered agent Kyle Blakely said the contributions are aggregated from local residents who don’t want to be named for “safety … and security reasons.”

“It’s set up that way so our donors are protected,” he said.

He said donors to Protect Palmer Lake are concerned about threats and harassment. The group funds the services of professional political consultants Blakely and Sarah Brittain Jack, who is also an El Paso County planning commissioner.

Jack has not responded to comment requests from The Gazette.

The group opposes a ballot measure in the special election that would require all approved annexations to go to a vote of the town. The proposed ordinance would apply to Buc-ee’s, which is set to go to the Palmer Lake Board of Trustees for a vote on Oct. 2.

In content posted on social media, the group has published interviews with former mayors of the town and other citizens talking about opposing the ballot measure.

Blakely said the group has reached potential voters through direct mail and social media, while the focus of the final push before the election is text messaging.

“We feel like we’ve done a good job getting the message out there,” he said.

The major opposition committee in the election is Integrity Matters, a Colorado Springs-based political group that has a continuing lawsuit against Palmer Lake over its handling of Buc-ee’s and public meetings.

The group has reported about $2,000 from over a dozen individuals, none of whom contributed more than $250. Most of the donors listed Monument addresses.

Dana Duggan, Integrity Matters organizer, pushed back on what she perceived as a lack of transparency in the filing information released by other committees in the race.

“We don’t have some nefarious dark donor,” she said.

The town of Palmer Lake intends to post preliminary results of the mail-in ballot count after 7 p.m. Tuesday. . On Election Day, ballots can be dropped off from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

The town probably will release official election results more than a week later, after election officials have counted uniformed and overseas ballots, which have a later deadline.