Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters is under investigation for a breach in election security that could lead to criminal charges, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office announced Monday.
Secretary of State Jena Griswold issued a direct order to Peters early Monday demanding that she disclose surveillance recordings and other documents related to the illegal release of passwords to Mesa County election computers, including detailed information for an unknown employee who may or may not work for her who Peters allowed to have access to sensitive election information.
“We have these security protocols in place for a reason,” Griswold told The Daily Sentinel in an exclusive interview early Monday, a few hours before Peters herself learned of the order.
“This is a very serious breach in chain-of- custody and security protocols, Griswold added. “If the Mesa County clerk cannot show proof in the chain of custody or if the voting equipment after inspection, if there is anything that comes to our attention, the voting equipment will be decertified.”
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