DENVER — Colorado’s Secretary of State filed a lawsuit Monday to remove a rural county’s election clerk who is accused of allowing a security breach of the county’s voting equipment which is currently being investigated by the FBI.
The lawsuit filed in Mesa County district court by Secretary of State Jena Griswold seeks to formally remove Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters as the designated election official. The suit also calls for the appointment of former Secretary of State Wayne Williams to replace Peters and Sheila Reiner, former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder, to serve as the elections supervisor for the county’s upcoming November elections.
The board of Mesa County commissioners’ praised the changes in a statement Monday, saying that Mesa County will have “arguably the most secure and transparent election system in the United States.”
Peters has claimed that the investigation led by Griswold — who is a Democrat — is an attempt to take over one of the few remaining conservative counties in Colorado.
Griswold said initial investigation findings show images of election management software used by the county’s elections equipment were obtained by conspiracy theorists and posted on far-right blogs. Griswold’s office also said it believes one of the images was taken on May 23 from a secure room where the equipment was stored and accessed by Peters, who allowed a non-employee into the office.
Nieberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
