According to records detailing internal communications amongst officials, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s (D) Office “focused on damage control” after assisting more than 31,000 noncitizens in registering to vote.
Griswold’s office reportedly acknowledged in October 2022 sending mail to over 31,000 foreign immigrants across Colorado, encouraging them to register to vote, as reported by Breitbart News. Just a few weeks before the midterms, this occurred.
According to internal records obtained by the Public Interest Legal Foundation, Griswold’s office was concerned about public relations with local media and damage control after the mistake was found (PILF).
PILF’s review of chat logs shows that the Secretary of State’s office was more concerned about limiting the fallout than calming down worried local election officials.
According to the documents, Griswold’s office issued a second mailing to the 31,000 noncitizens as part of a four-pronged damage management operation to remind them that they were still required to fulfill voting eligibility standards and block them from accessing the voter registration system.
The petition claims that when asked by county election authorities, Griswold’s office refuses to reveal the names of the foreign people who received the initial mailing.
Moffat County, Colorado, for example, got the mailer and subsequently became interested in the 54 foreign people residing there. Acting in Secretary Beall’s place, Christopher Beall denied their request, citing “possible legal issues.”
The PILF investigation offered various reasonable justifications for why Griswold’s office may have hidden the couriers’ names from the rest of the world.
There may be “possible legal difficulties” if Beall’s office sends voter registration materials to noncitizens, but he did not clarify that to the public. Some noncitizens may have violated election law by registering to vote or voting in an election. Foreign nationals who attempt to vote in the 2022 election will face criminal charges. By not releasing the names of foreign nationals to county election officials to whom her office had provided voter registration materials, Colorado’s Secretary of State prevented the public and law enforcement from learning whether or not any foreign nationals had registered to vote after being encouraged to do so by her office. [Italics mine]
Voter registration information for noncitizens should be kept private, according to Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) president J. Christian Adams. To hold election officials accountable, voters must have access to all relevant information.
He said, “Electoral transparency is crucial.” Only after the national election will this performance be possible. For future problems to be avoided, it is crucial to understand what went wrong and who is to blame.
As expected, Griswold easily defeated his Republican opponent Pam Anderson in 2016, securing his second term.