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Tag: Jena Griswold

Same Colorado law, different outcomes: Probation in Denver, prison in Mesa County
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Same Colorado law, different outcomes: Probation in Denver, prison in Mesa County

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice In Colorado, the same felony statute led to two very different courtroom outcomes. One walked away with probation. Peters is now serving a prison sentence that stretches close to a decade. The case against Peters unfolded under Colorado’s statute on attempting to influence a public servant—§ 18-8-306, the same law used in the prosecution of former Colorado state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis. In Denver District Court, jurors convicted Lewis on four felony counts tied to forged letters submitted during a Senate ethics investigation. The Mesa County verdict came with far steeper consequences. Peters received a prison sentence totaling nine years. Gov. Jared Polis referenced the Lewis sentencing this week while ...
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Griswold Makes Contingency Plans for “A Bunch of Election Deniers” Interfering in Colorado Elections
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Griswold Makes Contingency Plans for “A Bunch of Election Deniers” Interfering in Colorado Elections

By: Jessica Porter | Denver7 The relationship between state elections officials and the Trump Administration is strained. DENVER — The FBI has invited state election officials to an unexpected meeting about the midterm elections, but Colorado officials are skeptical of the federal government’s intentions. "To prepare for the 2026 US midterm elections, your election partners at the FBI, DOJ, DHS, USPIS, and the EAC would like to invite you to a call where we can discuss our preparations for the cycle, as well as updates and resources we can provide to you and your staff… We look forward to speaking with you in support of the 2026 midterm elections,” wrote FBI staffer Kellie Hardiman in the email obtained by ABC News. The invitation, sent last week, comes as the...
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Griswold blocks DOJ voter roll review while data flows elsewhere
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Griswold blocks DOJ voter roll review while data flows elsewhere

By Linda Good | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold wants the public to believe that a lawful voter-roll records request from the U.S. Department of Justice is an unprecedented threat to voter privacy. That framing is not principled. It’s strategic. When the DOJ asked Colorado to provide unredacted voter data, including full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers, Griswold didn’t offer a sober legal analysis—she offered a slogan.  In her office’s statement she said, “The DOJ can take a hike; it does not have a legal right to the information. Colorado will not help Donald Trump undermine our elections and hurt the American people.”  ...
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Griswold, county clerks urge Polis to reject clemency for Tina Peters ahead of appellate arguments
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Griswold, county clerks urge Polis to reject clemency for Tina Peters ahead of appellate arguments

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice With Peters’ appeal heading into oral arguments, Griswold and the Colorado County Clerks Association put it in writing for Gov. Jared Polis: don’t step in. The Jan. 13 letter carries three signatures: Griswold’s, Jackson County Clerk & Recorder Hayle Johnson’s and Colorado County Clerks Association executive director Matt Crane’s. In it, the group asks Polis not to grant clemency, warning that doing so would have consequences beyond Peters’ case. “In 2021, then-Clerk Tina Peters coordinated the breach of her own election equipment in the nation’s first public elections insider threat,” the letter states, asserting that her conduct placed the security of Mesa County elections and public confidence in democracy at risk. The a...
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The RMV stories readers didn’t scroll past in 2025
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The RMV stories readers didn’t scroll past in 2025

By RMV Editorial Board This list wasn’t built in a meeting. It formed over time, story by story, as readers decided what was worth stopping for. What follows are the 25 RMV stories that held attention in 2025—and didn’t let go. Looking across the year’s top 25 stories revealed patterns, which we reflect on at the end. 1. School unions gave $11K to Jeffco candidate who admitted to a sealed juvenile sexual offense RMV reported that a Jefferson County school board candidate privately acknowledged a sealed juvenile sexual offense while receiving financial support from education unions. The story documented information voters did not have before ballots were cast and raised questions about disclosure, trust, and institutional accountability in school leade...
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Rocky Mountain Voice: Boots on the Ground, Uncovering Colorado’s Hidden Truths
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Rocky Mountain Voice: Boots on the Ground, Uncovering Colorado’s Hidden Truths

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Rocky Mountain Voice has spent the last two years covering stories that don’t fit neatly into a news cycle. We’ve reported on fraud, government overreach, and policy failures by doing the unglamorous work — pulling records, talking to whistleblowers, and sticking with stories long after other outlets lost interest. Our commitment isn’t just to report. It’s to make sure Coloradans have access to information that challenges the official narrative. Looking back, it’s hard to ignore how much of this would have stayed buried if no one had been willing to stick with it. Take Tina Peters, then Mesa County Clerk, who found herself in the crosshairs after preserving election records. Much of the media responded by framing her a...
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From question to confrontation: Peters’ legal team forces Colorado courts to choose
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From question to confrontation: Peters’ legal team forces Colorado courts to choose

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice One day after the constitutional question facing Colorado courts came into focus, attorneys for former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters moved to force an answer. Late Tuesday, Peters’ legal team filed an urgent motion asking the Colorado Court of Appeals to determine whether it still has jurisdiction to proceed at all, given a presidential pardon and what her attorneys argue are unresolved violations of federal election law. The filing marks a shift from explanation to escalation. Yesterday’s reporting centered on the unresolved authority question now hanging over the case. This motion is the defense’s attempt to compel the court to decide it. It follows a Dec. 8 federal court order that declined to resolve Peters’ constitutional cla...
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Colorado Faces Federal Lawsuit as Griswold Refuses to Release Voter Data
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Faces Federal Lawsuit as Griswold Refuses to Release Voter Data

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold after she refused to provide the agency with certain voter information. Last week, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division asked Griswold’s office to provide unredacted voter data, including full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, and driver’s license numbers. Federal authorities have sought voter data from more than 20 states, saying it’s part of project to ensure election security. The DOJ lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges that Griswold violated the federal Civil Rights Act by refusing to provide the records. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Kansas case and new immigration report deepen scrutiny of Colorado’s stance on SAVE
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Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

Kansas case and new immigration report deepen scrutiny of Colorado’s stance on SAVE

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A Kansas mayor’s felony voting case is renewing national attention on how noncitizens end up registered to vote and what states can do to prevent it. The issue is gaining urgency as federal agencies expand the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, known as SAVE, while Colorado and several other states reject federal data-sharing efforts even as federal law requires them to maintain accurate voter rolls. A Kansas case shows the stakes of mistaken registration The case driving the discussion is unfolding in Coldwater, Kansas, where Mayor Jose “Joe” Ceballos-Armendariz, a noncitizen, has been charged with voting in at least three elections. The state’s case rests on Kansas election statutes that classify noncitizen voting as...
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Secretary Griswold’s Reckless Assault on Election Integrity
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Secretary Griswold’s Reckless Assault on Election Integrity

By Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB” | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold's recent statement rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice's request for voter registration data is not just misguided; it is a blatant act of partisan obstruction that undermines the very foundation of the American Republic. By declaring that the DOJ "can take a hike" and lacks any "legal right" to this information, Griswold has elevated political theater over her sworn duty to uphold federal law. Her rhetoric, laced with unfounded accusations of election subversion, dismisses a straightforward federal effort to verify citizenship and ensure only eligible Americans vote. This is not about "sensitive" data or federal overreach. It is about enforcing the law to p...
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