Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: voter rolls

Griswold blocks DOJ voter roll review while data flows elsewhere
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.”  ...
2020 Georgia Election Questions Persist as Fulton County Admits Rule Violations
Just The News, Approved, National

2020 Georgia Election Questions Persist as Fulton County Admits Rule Violations

By Natalia Mittelstadt | Just the News Five years after the 2020 presidential election, GOP-led Georgia is still facing repercussions from Fulton County’s issues, as the state is also under scrutiny by the Justice Department for voter roll maintenance. Georgia continues to face election integrity issues as more information regarding the 2020 election has come to light, while the state pushes back against federal oversight. Last month, Fulton County informed the State Elections Board that tabulator tapes were not properly signed after the 2020 election, in violation of state regulations, Atlanta News First reported. Also, the county explained that it had misplaced other tabulator tapes and documents from that election. "People are taking this very serio...
Colorado Faces Federal Lawsuit as Griswold Refuses to Release Voter Data
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
Kansas case and new immigration report deepen scrutiny of Colorado’s stance on SAVE
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...
Secretary Griswold’s Reckless Assault on Election Integrity
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...
“The DOJ can take a hike”: Jena Griswold rejects federal demand for voter data
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

“The DOJ can take a hike”: Jena Griswold rejects federal demand for voter data

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold escalated her standoff with the Trump administration this week, rejecting a request for the state’s full, unredacted voter file. “We will not comply with the Trump Department of Justice’s request for Coloradans’ sensitive voting information. 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.” On December 1, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division asked the state to enter an agreement to share complete voter data, including names, dates of birth, residential addresses and full driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Griswold said she provided only the publ...
Lawmakers Push Citizenship Requirement After Startling Voter Roll Discoveries
Just The News, Approved, National

Lawmakers Push Citizenship Requirement After Startling Voter Roll Discoveries

By: Amanda Head | Just the News In a state like Texas with stringent voting checks, over 2,700 illegal immigrants slipping through the cracks and onto the voter rolls highlights an issue that is much worse in states with lax laws. The dual revelations that an illegal alien school administrator from Iowa made it onto the voter rolls in Maryland and that over 2,700 noncitizens escaped strict voter ID checks to qualify to vote in Texas are creating new momentum for creating a nationwide citizenship check system for elections. "Many folks that come into my office will tell me, and anyone who will listen, this is the biggest issue in the country. Democrats don't want tightly run elections," Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Just the News on Thursday night. "We al...
Are there too many Grumpy Old Men Voters in Colorado?
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Are there too many Grumpy Old Men Voters in Colorado?

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Every ten years the U.S. Census Bureau organizes a count of all the residents of the United States. This count includes citizens as well as non-citizens, and even those experiencing homelessness. The Census Bureau also provides annual updates to the decennial numbers using surveys as well as by tapping into government information they can easily access like data on births and deaths, federal tax returns, medicare enrollments, and statistics from the Social Security Administration. These annual updates serve many purposes and, in my case, one of them is to provide feedback on how accurate the Colorado voter roll is. Colorado switched to mail-in ballots in 2013 and is one of only eight states that conducts mail-in electio...
When watchdogs reached out, only two clerks answered: Colorado’s election crisis exposed
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

When watchdogs reached out, only two clerks answered: Colorado’s election crisis exposed

By Bill Lehman, Heidi Ganahl | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s election system is facing a crisis of confidence, with voters increasingly skeptical due to incidents like Arapahoe County’s mishandled 2020 Cast Vote Record and the Secretary of State’s office leaking 600 BIOS passwords during the 2024 election. Leaking 600 BIOS passwords is the civic version of leaving the house key under the doormat and then posting a photo of the doormat. These failures, alongside persistent reports of irregularities, undermine the narrative that Colorado's elections are the “gold standard.”  Public trust continues to erode as evidence of vulnerabilities mounts, yet one county’s efforts illustrate how clerks can make important improvements—though systemic issues demand far broader...
Griswold rallies Indivisible activists with anti-Trump speech while overseeing Colorado elections
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories

Griswold rallies Indivisible activists with anti-Trump speech while overseeing Colorado elections

By Jen Schumann and Shaina Cole | Rocky Mountain Voice When Larimer County resident Phoebe McWilliams tuned into an Indivisible Colorado Zoom call on August 6, she expected to hear an update on election policy. Instead, she heard Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold accuse President Donald Trump of “abusing our legal system and undermining the Constitution almost every single day” and rally activists to “stop Trump in the courts, mobilize and beat MAGA.” “She should be neutral,” McWilliams said after listening to the call. “Because all people hear is her so-called professional opinion. She’s not neutral, and that should be a neutral position.” Griswold’s partisan rally cry Speaking to more than 400 attendees, Griswold accused Trump of pardoning January 6 defendants, disman...