Mesa County Clerk & Recorder Tina Peters opposing Colorado Election Security Act

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) -Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters was on the steps of the state capitol in Denver Monday, to oppose the Election Security Act.

Senate Bill 153, also known as the Election Security Act, is being praised by Secretary of State Jena Griswold, which she says increases safeguards against potential insider threats to voting equipment and election systems.

“Colorado leads the nation in election security and access, and we must continue to innovate,” said Secretary Griswold. “The Colorado Election Security Act will strengthen the laws that protect voting equipment and election systems from insider threats and will expand the physical security requirements around voting systems equipment. I thank Senate President Fenberg and Representative Lontine for championing this important bill in the legislature and look forward to working together to ensure Colorado continues to deliver the best elections in the nation for Republican, Democrat, and Unaffiliated voters across the state.”

Peters was at the state capitol Monday and called the bill a power grab by Sec. Griswold.

“Senate Bill 153 should chill every citizen to the bone, because it is a blatant power grab by Secretary of State Jena Griswald,” said Peters. “Senate Bill 22153 is clearly a knee-jerk response to elections investigations in Mesa County and the multiple damning reports that the investigation has produced.”

The secretary of state’s office says the bill is aimed at heightening security requirements around voting equipment, by requiring continuous video surveillance of voting systems.

It’s supposed to prohibit taking unauthorized photos of equipment. Whistleblower protections will be added for those reporting a breach of election laws.

The bill would create a timeline for expedited judicial review of 30 days for enforcement actions by the Secretary of State. It’s also supposed to bar anyone from serving as a designated election official who has been convicted of an election offense in Colorado.

It prohibits any elected official or candidate for office in a political subdivision with a population of 100,000 or more from having access to, or being present in a room with voting equipment or devices without accompaniment by one or more authorized people. And it’s supposed to create a grant program to support counties in upgrading physical security surrounding voting equipment.

According to the Colorado legislature website, the bill is currently under consideration.

For more on the contents of Bill 153 click here.

You can read Tina Peters’ statement in full on her website by clicking here.

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