Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold met with members of the Archuleta County Democratic Party and independent voters on April 16 at the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association office as part of her campaign for re-election.
"Make no mistake about it. Democracy is on the ballot in 2022," Griswold told the group. “Colorado sets the national standard for safe, secure, and accessible voting. While other states have actively worked to strip away voting rights from their constituents, I am dedicated to ensuring that we expand access to voting for every eligible Colorado voter.”
During Griswold's first term the state has implemented automatic voter registration, put in place a system allowing voters to track their ballots as they're processed, and increased the number of ballot drop-boxes and in-person polling locations. She worked with the Southern Ute and Mountain Ute tribes to add drop boxes and provided training to tribal staff for conducting elections. She is supporting a bill now under consideration to stop insider threats to the election system.
Griswold, the first Democrat elected to the office since the early 1960s, is opposed by indicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, Pam Anderson, a former Jefferson County Clerk, and election conspiracy theorist Mike O'Donnell of Yuma County.
The event was not publicized in advance because of ongoing death threats to Griswold. Colorado Public Radio reported in March:
At a meeting in Castle Rock called by the right-wing group FEC United last month, Shawn Smith, a prominent proponent of election conspiracy theories, claimed he had evidence of criminal conduct by Griswold.
“And I think if you’re involved in election fraud, then you deserve to hang,” he said to loud cheers and applause in a video of the event obtained by Colorado Newsline. He added, “sometimes the old ways are the best ways.”
Smith then claimed he was not endorsing violence, but “when you put your hand on that hot stove, you get burned and you ought to see it coming.”
Peters received 62% of the delegates attending the Republican State Assembly early in April. She has the backing of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindel, who says he has donated $800,000 to her campaign and legal defense fund. He often makes his private jet available for Peters' use.
Because of the financial backing Peters is receiving from out-of-state donors like Lindel, Griswold says she needs to raise four times as much money as in her first campaign. Contributions can be made at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jenapagosa414.
