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Tag: Jena Griswold

Polis commutes Tina Peters sentence before resentencing begins
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Polis commutes Tina Peters sentence before resentencing begins

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Two weeks ago, the judge who first sent Tina Peters to prison called her resentencing “inevitable.” Friday afternoon, Gov. Jared Polis stopped it before it could happen. In an executive order issued May 15, Polis commuted Peters’ sentence to 4 years and 4.5 months and ordered her released on parole effective June 1. The Colorado Parole Board will determine the terms of her release. Peters had served 591 days of the nearly nine-year sentence imposed in October 2024 after a Mesa County jury convicted her on seven election-related counts. The Colorado Court of Appeals vacated that sentence April 2, ruling the trial court improperly considered Peters’ protected speech regarding election fraud claims during sentencing while still upholding ...
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Three GOP candidates take aim at Colorado’s open primary law—and bring the math
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Three GOP candidates take aim at Colorado’s open primary law—and bring the math

By Candice Strutzreim | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Republican candidates Ron Hanks (CD-3), David Willson (attorney general) and Scott Bottoms (governor) have filed a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of CRS 1-7-201. Also known as the Open Primary statute, the law was created through Proposition 108 in 2016. The hearing will be held in Denver District Court this Thursday at 1:30 pm, one day before primary ballots are scheduled to be sent to overseas and military voters for the June 30 election. How is this lawsuit any different than all the other challenges to “Prop 108” that have been previously brought before the courts? Counsel for the plaintiffs, Gary D. Fielder, intends to prove that Governor Jared Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold are promulg...
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Federal Judge Keeps Unaffiliated Voters In Colorado GOP Primaries
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Federal Judge Keeps Unaffiliated Voters In Colorado GOP Primaries

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer said excluding unaffiliated voters days before the state’s ballot certification deadline, and just weeks before ballots start being mailed out, would create too much confusion. A federal judge Tuesday rejected the Colorado GOP’s last-ditch effort to block unaffiliated voters from participating in the party’s June 30 primaries.  U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer said excluding unaffiliated voters days before the state’s ballot certification deadline, and just weeks before ballots start being mailed out, would create too much confusion.  The Republican Party asked Brimmer on April 20 to issue an emergency order preventing state elections officials from mailing Republican primary ball...
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Colorado fought scrutiny—until a lawsuit forced a cleanup
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado fought scrutiny—until a lawsuit forced a cleanup

By RMV Editorial Board | Rocky Mountain Voice Back in 2019, Colorado’s voter rolls were already showing the problem—if anyone in charge had been willing to look at them. Forty counties had more registered voters than eligible citizens. Call it whatever you want—but it’s not normal. That wasn’t a partisan claim. It wasn’t a social media theory. It was data. And for a long time, it just sat there. No press conference. No urgency. No statewide fix. Then something happened. Someone sued. The lawsuit no one was supposed to take seriously Eventually, someone stopped waiting for the state to act. By October 2020, it had crossed a line. Judicial Watch took it to federal court, filing suit against Jena Griswold under the National Voter Registration Act. An...
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What Sets J.J. McKinzie Apart in Colorado’s Secretary of State Race
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

What Sets J.J. McKinzie Apart in Colorado’s Secretary of State Race

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice J.J. McKinzie is one of four Republicans running for the open Secretary of State seat,  and he is not running on name recognition. He is running on a resume that looks nothing like most politicians'. McKinzie spent more than 25 years inside some of the largest companies in the world, advising on regulatory compliance and operational efficiency. He has owned small businesses, led nonprofits, and homeschooled his children for over two decades.  He holds degrees from Colorado State University, the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and Charis Bible College, with training in psychology, business, technology, futures studies, and biblical studies, including five master’s degrees. "In consulting, I had to deliver...
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A system under scrutiny: Colorado’s election system faces clash over how it’s verified
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

A system under scrutiny: Colorado’s election system faces clash over how it’s verified

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to compile a nationwide citizenship list and share it with state election officials, it set off a debate in Colorado that hasn’t slowed. So what does that actually mean for Colorado? RMV asked two people on opposite sides of the issue—and got two very different answers. Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association (CCCA), says Colorado’s system is strong, continuously maintained and already uses the federal tools referenced in the order. Bob Cooper, a director with the Colorado Institute for Fair Elections, argues the system cannot be independently audited for accuracy—and that’s the problem. The divide isn’t about whether the system w...
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The numbers didn’t add up: A judge says Colorado’s elections office didn’t either
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The numbers didn’t add up: A judge says Colorado’s elections office didn’t either

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Jonathan Ambler read the article more than once. Republicans in Pueblo County had reported tens of thousands in contributions. Democrats—who had controlled local politics for generations and operated out of their own headquarters—had reported barely a few thousand. It didn’t square. So he started digging. What he found led to two formal complaints, a dismissal by Colorado’s top elections office, and now, a Denver judge ordering that same office to go back and do the work again. A court steps in where the state stepped away On March 26, Denver District Court Judge Bruce Jones ruled that the Colorado Secretary of State’s office improperly dismissed Ambler’s campaign finance complaints against the Pueblo County Democratic Party. The...
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“Single most insecure person I’ve ever encountered”: Former Griswold aide breaks silence ahead of AG race
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

“Single most insecure person I’ve ever encountered”: Former Griswold aide breaks silence ahead of AG race

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Reese Edwards didn’t plan to speak out. He spent less than a year inside Colorado’s Secretary of State’s office before leaving in 2020, frustrated and burned out enough to walk away. He wasn’t looking to revisit any of it. Now, with Jena Griswold running for attorney general, he’s speaking up—and doing it on the record. “I love democracy with an almost religious belief,” he told RMV. “The idea of people deciding for themselves how they will govern themselves. That’s why I took the job.” Edwards, who served as Director of Government and Public Affairs, is now going on record with a warning. He says what he witnessed inside the Secretary of State’s office—erratic leadership, blurred lines between political ambition and public duty ...
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Colorado Officials Say Trump Election Order Oversteps Constitutional Limits
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Officials Say Trump Election Order Oversteps Constitutional Limits

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Colorado leaders criticized President Donald Trump’s new executive order issued Tuesday, arguing that its creation of a national voter‑eligibility list and new limits on mail voting violate states’ constitutional authority to run their own elections. President Donald Trump has frequently criticized mail-in voting, calling it “mail-in cheating.” Through the SAVE Act in Congress, the president has sought to require voters to show an ID before casting a ballot. The measure, approved by the U.S. House, has stalled in the U.S. Senate. “The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. It’s horrible what’s going on,” Trump said a news conference, repeating allegations about the security of mail ballots as he signed the order. “I thi...
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Federal order puts Colorado’s mail ballot system on a collision course
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Federal order puts Colorado’s mail ballot system on a collision course

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The way Colorado runs elections hasn’t changed—but a new federal order could force it to. The order would have federal agencies assemble a nationwide list of verified U.S. citizens and share it with state election officials. States could then choose to send their own voter lists to the U.S. Postal Service about 60 days before an election. If they do, ballots would be limited to the names on those lists. In Colorado, that framework could fundamentally change how elections work. Colorado’s system leaves very little room to miss your chance. Ballots go out to every active voter—even those who register just days before Election Day. And for anyone who doesn’t, same-day registration still allows them to walk in and vote right up until po...
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