{"id":2344665,"date":"2024-09-23T07:23:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T11:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colorado-secretary-of-state-loses-another-election-integrity-battle\/"},"modified":"2024-09-23T07:25:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T11:25:50","slug":"colorado-secretary-of-state-loses-another-election-integrity-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colorado-secretary-of-state-loses-another-election-integrity-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Secretary Of State Loses Another Election Integrity Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcolorado-secretary-of-state-loses-another-election-integrity-battle%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2344665&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Jena Griswold, Colorado&#8217;s\u200b Secretary of State, known for her leftist stance and \u200defforts to disqualify \u2064former\u200d President Donald Trump from the\u200d ballot, recently faced a setback in \u200bfederal court regarding\u2062 election law. The U.S. \u200cDistrict Court for Colorado ordered\u200b her to release \u200breports \u200cfrom the \u2062Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) that \u2064may include deceased individuals on the state&#8217;s voter rolls. This ruling signifies another triumph for the Public Interest Legal\u200b Foundation (PILF), which\u200b seeks greater transparency\u200c in\u200c voter registration processes. Judge Philip Brimmer mandated that Griswold disclose the requested records by November\u200d 1, 2023. <\/p>\n<p>The case highlighted concerns about \u200bERIC&#8217;s secrecy surrounding voter \u2062registration data and its potential violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which mandates that states make voter roll information \u200baccessible to the public. This court order represents the third successful legal challenge to ERIC&#8217;s confidentiality rules,\u200d following similar victories in Alaska and Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n<p>Griswold&#8217;s reputation has \u200dbeen marred by past controversies, including mistakenly \u200cencouraging foreign nationals to vote and her support for attempts to remove Trump from \u2062the ballot, which failed at the Supreme \u2064Court level. The court emphasized\u2063 that states lack the authority to disqualify candidates based\u200d on accusations of insurrection.\u2064 the developments underscore ongoing debates over election integrity and transparency within the electoral system.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.state.co.us\/pubs\/info_center\/biography.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jena Griswold<\/a>, Colorado&rsquo;s rabidly leftist Secretary of State who will forever be known for her anti-democratic drive to knock former President Donald Trump off the ballot, has suffered another election law loss in federal court.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. District Court for the Colorado District last week issued an <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/62-Order-Approving-Settlement-Agreement.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">order<\/a> demanding the Democrat secretary of state release <a href=\"https:\/\/ericstates.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)<\/a> reports suspected of containing dead registrants on the state&rsquo;s voter rolls. The reports, according to a settlement, include individuals who may have died within the past three years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s another significant election integrity victory for the <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Public Interest Legal Foundation<\/a> (PILF), and another stunning loss for election transparency-stifling Griswold and ERIC.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;PILF has knocked down ERIC&rsquo;s wall of secrecy in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-d-c-must-fork-over-data-about-deceased-people-on-voter-rolls-from-leftist-linked-maintenance-group\/\" title=\"Court orders D.C. to provide data on &#039;deceased&#039; voters from leftist-linked group\">voter list maintenance process<\/a>,&rdquo; J. Christian Adams, president of the election integrity watchdog organization, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/press\/win-for-transparency-in-colorado-court-orders-the-state-to-disclose-eric-data-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a>. &ldquo;States cannot use third parties to hide election records that the public has a right to see.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Griswold ultimately signed the stipulation after the court denied her original request to dismiss the case. Judge Philip Brimmer ordered the secretary of state&rsquo;s office to disclose the requested 2021 ERIC Reports by Nov. 1. Brimmer did allow minimal redactions to the ERIC Report Key. With the agreement reached, the judge dismissed PILF&rsquo;s claim that Griswold violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Lifting ERIC&rsquo;s Veil of Secrecy&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p>Among the many reasons <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/31\/if-erics-voter-roll-maintenance-is-so-popular-why-do-democrats-feel-a-need-to-force-states-to-join\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">states have left the voter registration data sharing partnership in droves<\/a> is that ERIC&rsquo;s membership agreement bars states from sharing some records with the public. PILF argues such a veil of secrecy violates the NVRA, which protects the public&rsquo;s right to see voter rolls and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colorado-wont-name-31000-foreign-citizens-it-sent-voter-registration-info-so-no-one-knows-if-they-voted\/\" title=\"Colorado Won\u2019t Name 31,000 Foreign Citizens It Sent Voter Registration Info So No One Knows If They Voted\">voter list maintenance records<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/crt\/national-voter-registration-act-1993-nvra\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">act<\/a> provides that each &ldquo;State shall maintain for at least 2 years and shall make available for public inspection &hellip; all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.&rdquo; Exceptions include confidentiality of individuals who decline to register to vote and &ldquo;the identity of a voter registration agency through which any particular voter is registered.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to PILF&rsquo;s lawsuits, ERIC, founded by left-wing election law advocate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/david-becker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">David Becker<\/a>, has altered its secrecy demands.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Brimmer&rsquo;s order marks the third time a court has demanded ERIC disclose the records. PILF has won similar legal battles in <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/press\/pilf-breaks-down-erics-wall-of-secrecy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alaska <\/a>and the <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/press\/pilf-continues-to-break-down-erics-wall-of-secrecy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">District of Columbia,<\/a> with each victory nullifying ERIC&rsquo;s secrecy agreement with member states that made them immune to public scrutiny. The Alaska case opened the door to the subsequent orders demanding ERIC follow the law and release its data reports to the public.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;States that are members of ERIC should take note of these three victories and disclose their ERIC data reports,&rdquo; Adams said.<\/p>\n<p>PILF has a similar <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1-Complaint-LA-ERIC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">case<\/a> pending in federal court in Louisiana. That case has been ongoing since 2022.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;The Real Threat&rsquo;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p>Griswold has compiled a troubling record as Colorado&rsquo;s secretary of state since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.state.co.us\/pubs\/info_center\/biography.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first being elected in 2018<\/a>. In 2022, Griswold&rsquo;s office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/colorado\/news\/colorado-30000-noncitizens-vote-registration-mailer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;mistakenly&rdquo; mailed<\/a> postcards to some 30,000 foreign nationals encouraging them to vote. She blamed a glitch in the database tied to Colorado&rsquo;s driver&rsquo;s license list. The incident understandably raised red flags among election integrity activists about the potential for noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections, a concern that has only <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/18\/arizona-finds-100000-voters-lacking-citizenship-proof-on-wrong-list-after-catching-noncitizen-on-voter-rolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">escalated in the 2024 election cycle<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As the Republican National Lawyers Association noted at the time of Griswold&rsquo;s admission, a <a href=\"https:\/\/electionacademy.lib.umn.edu\/2017\/10\/12\/pennsylvania-sos-pedro-cortes-resigns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">similar issue<\/a> dogged Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes, a fellow Democrat who resigned in the wake of a &ldquo;glitch&rdquo; that &ldquo;may&nbsp;have allowed thousands of ineligible immigrants statewide to vote.&rdquo; Griswold, on the other hand, was rewarded with an <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Colorado_Secretary_of_State_election,_2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">easy re-election victory <\/a>not long after her election integrity fiasco.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She delighted her fellow leftists last year when she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/01\/31\/politics\/colorado-secretary-of-state-tells-supreme-court-to-keep-trump-off-ballot\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">argued in favor<\/a> of the plaintiffs in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/10\/21\/politics\/colorado-lawsuit-trump-ballot\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a> that sought to remove Trump from Colorado&rsquo;s presidential ballot. The left-led Colorado Supreme Court agreed with the Democrat lawfare argument that Trump somehow disqualified himself to run for president because he is accused by his political enemies of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The U.S. Supreme Court sternly disagreed, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/04\/unanimous-scotus-smacks-down-colorado-lawfare-states-have-no-power-to-kick-trump-off-ballot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruling 9-0<\/a> that states lack the constitutional authority to remove Trump from the primary ballot. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The ruling was an embarrassing repudiation of the Democrat Party, Trump-hating media outlets, and legal &ldquo;experts&rdquo; that bought into the false argument that the states had power to enforce <a href=\"https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/browse\/amendment-14\/section-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Section 3<\/a> of the 14th Amendment. Only Congress has enforcement authority over the section, written following the Civil War, that disqualifies officeholders and candidates that have &ldquo;engaged in insurrection or rebellion against&rdquo; the United States from running for office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As the high court noted, the campaign to boot Trump from the ballot in Colorado and elsewhere would have opened the door to retaliatory efforts by red states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;An evolving electoral map could dramatically change the behavior of voters, parties, and States across the county, in different ways and at different times,&rdquo; the court held. &ldquo;Nothing in the Constitution requires that we endure such chaos &mdash; arriving at any time or different times, up to and perhaps beyond the Inauguration,&rdquo; the ruling states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While she has attempted to distance herself from the case, Griswold vigorously a<a href=\"https:\/\/coloradonewsline.com\/briefs\/colorado-secretary-of-state-asks-us-supreme-court-to-uphold-trump-disqualification-ruling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rgued for Trump&rsquo;s removal<\/a> from the ballot before the U.S Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Just as Colorado cannot be forced to place on its presidential primary ballot a naturalized citizen, a minor, or someone twice elected to the presidency, it also should not be forced to include a candidate found by its courts to have violated his oath to support the Constitution by engaging in insurrection,&rdquo; Griswold <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/23\/23-719\/299372\/20240131133707445_23-719%20Griswold%20Repondent%20Brief%20on%20the%20Merits.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote <\/a>in a brief.<\/p>\n<p>The Democrats&rsquo; drive to disenfranchise millions of voters also served as a reminder of just who truly is imperiling democracy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They talk about Trump being a threat to democracy, but you never saw him trying to force his opponents off ballots,&rdquo; Lauren Bis, PILF&rsquo;s communications director, told The Federalist. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not the threat. People taking unprecedented actions to have people removed from the ballot so voters can&rsquo;t vote for their candidate of choice, that&rsquo;s the real threat.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jena Griswold, Colorado&#8217;s strongly left-leaning Secretary of State, infamous for her efforts to remove former President Donald Trump from the ballot, has faced another setback in federal court regarding election law. Recently, the U.S. District Court for Colorado ordered her to release reports from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) that are suspected of containing names of deceased individuals on the state&#8217;s voter rolls. These reports include data on people who may have passed away within the last three years, as outlined in a settlement agreement.<\/p>\n<p>This ruling represents a significant win for election integrity advocates at the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) and another defeat for Griswold and ERIC, which have been criticized for lacking transparency. J. Christian Adams, president of PILF, stated in a press release that they have successfully challenged ERIC\u2019s secrecy surrounding voter list maintenance processes and emphasized that states cannot use third-party organizations to conceal public election records.<\/p>\n<p>Griswold ultimately agreed to comply after her initial request to dismiss the case was denied by Judge Philip Brimmer. The judge mandated that she disclose the requested 2021 ERIC Reports by November 1 but allowed some minor redactions. With this agreement reached, PILF&#8217;s claim against Griswold regarding violations of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) was dismissed.<\/p>\n<p>Many states have withdrawn from participating in ERIC due to its membership rules preventing them from sharing certain records with the public. PILF contends that this lack of transparency violates NVRA provisions designed to ensure public access to voter registration information and maintenance records.<\/p>\n<p>Brimmer\u2019s order marks yet another instance where courts have compelled ERIC to reveal its records; similar legal victories were achieved by PILF in Alaska and Washington D.C., challenging ERIC&#8217;s confidentiality agreements with member states.<\/p>\n<p>Adams urged other states involved with ERIC to take note of these legal victories and make their data reports available publicly while noting an ongoing case in Louisiana since 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Griswold has had a controversial tenure as Colorado\u2019s Secretary of State since her election in 2018; notably, her office mistakenly sent postcards encouraging around 30,000 foreign nationals to vote due to a database error linked with driver\u2019s license information\u2014raising concerns about noncitizen voting ahead of upcoming elections.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these issues leading some officials like Pennsylvania&#8217;s Secretary Pedro Cortes\u2014who resigned over similar problems\u2014to step down amid scrutiny over potential voting irregularities involving noncitizens, Griswold was re-elected without significant repercussions following her own controversies.<\/p>\n<p>Last year she supported efforts aimed at removing Trump from Colorado&#8217;s presidential ballot based on claims he disqualified himself due to alleged actions related to overturning the results of the 2020 election\u2014a stance later rejected unanimously by the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that states do not possess constitutional authority for such removals under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment concerning insurrection or rebellion against America.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court highlighted concerns about potential chaos resulting from allowing individual states discretion over candidate eligibility based on evolving electoral maps across different jurisdictions\u2014a situation they deemed unnecessary under constitutional guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>While attempting distance herself from this issue now, Griswold previously argued vigorously against Trump&#8217;s inclusion on ballots before high court proceedings stating it would be inappropriate for Colorado voters if candidates were found guilty by state courts regarding constitutional violations related insurrection activities.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue that attempts made by Democrats\u2014including those led by figures like Griswold\u2014to disenfranchise voters reflect true threats toward democracy rather than any actions taken during Trump&#8217;s presidency aimed at undermining electoral processes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2344666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-22-at-5.58.42-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[6024,32644,32869,5894,35945],"class_list":["post-2344665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-colorado","tag-election-integrity","tag-legal-battle","tag-politics","tag-secretary-of-state"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-22-at-5.58.42-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2344665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2344666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2344665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2344665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2344665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}