Fight over Mesa County election oversight heats up after new allegations

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office asked a Mesa County District Court justice again this week to officially support region Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters from overseeing the November predetermination and alternatively name erstwhile Secretary of State Wayne Williams.

It’s the latest successful a ineligible tangle implicit allegations that Peters fto an unauthorized antheral entree a unafraid area astatine the region predetermination bureau connected May 25 and that passwords from the voting instrumentality were published online successful aboriginal August by a person successful the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Mesa County nonmigratory Heidi Jeanne Hess filed a suit Aug. 30 to support Peters and Deputy Clerk and Recorder Belinda Knisley from handling the adjacent election.

Last week, Peters — who had been retired of the authorities for much than a month and has go popular among 2020 predetermination conspiracy theorists — responded to the suit by providing to commissioners and the tribunal a study that alleges wrongdoing by the caput of state’s bureau and says that a authorities upgrade wiped retired predetermination records that elections officials are required to keep.

The Mesa County Board of County Commissioners appointed Williams successful August arsenic the designated predetermination authoritative and asked the tribunal to affirm that decision, but Peters’ lawyer argued this week that commissioners don’t person that authority. Wednesday night’s filing from Griswold’s bureau asked for the tribunal to marque a determination connected the removal — and responded to allegations of wrongdoing by Peters.

“Clerk Peters and Deputy Clerk Knisley jeopardized Mesa County elections, and their actions were not accordant with the required signifier for the preservation of predetermination records,” Griswold said successful a statement, reiterating that the alleged breach was serious, compromising predetermination instrumentality and spreading misinformation. “That is wherefore my bureau had to rapidly enactment to guarantee Mesa County residents person large elections this fall.”

There are 3 investigations into the imaginable breach: the caput of state’s, the Mesa County District Attorney’s bureau and the FBI. Knisley has been suspended from her occupation and charged with felony burglary and a misdemeanor cybercrime, though the charges are autarkic of the ongoing investigations.

Peters’ attorney, erstwhile Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler, acknowledged successful a Sept. 17 ineligible filing that determination was an “unauthorized merchandise of accusation connected 1 oregon much publically disposable web sites,” but said the actions by Griswold and the region commissioners to region Peters and Knisley were “wholly disproportionate and straight interruption Colorado law.”

Gessler besides wrote that Peters “suspected that the Secretary’s trusted physique process (annual strategy update) wiped retired predetermination records that she is required to sphere nether Colorado law.” So Peters had a advisor transcript the hard thrust of the county’s Dominion Voting Systems instrumentality and commissioned the study “which appears to validate (Peters’) suspicions,” Gessler wrote.

The Grand Junction Sentinel first elaborate Peters’ caller report, which was initially unsigned but is authored by forensic cyber adept Doug Gould — who spoke astatine a conspiracy mentation lawsuit successful August. The study says astir 30,000 logfiles were deleted from the county’s predetermination records.

Griswold’s bureau said counties are directed to prevention a transcript of information needed to audit and verify a erstwhile predetermination earlier the regular upgrade. The information tin beryllium restored aft the upgrade, according to the office. In a tribunal filing, the caput of state’s bureau says there’s nary impervious successful the study that predetermination records were deleted.

The all-Republican region commissioners sent Peters’ study to cybersecurity analysts that they trust, Commissioner Cody Davis said, adding that the committee takes each claims earnestly and are waiting for a thorough review.

“The archetypal effect is (the study is) not saying thing caller and there’s truly nary smoking weapon successful here,” Davis said of the analysts’ preliminary review. Mesa County besides has replaced its voting instrumentality with caller Dominion machines.

Davis said helium wants Mesa County voters to cognize that officials are taking each measurement to guarantee the Nov. 2 predetermination is unafraid and the results are trustworthy — careless of what’s happening nationally oregon locally. The votes volition beryllium counted 3 times, including a manus count. Ballot images besides volition beryllium uploaded online, and elections officials volition behaviour a post-election audit.

“We’ve fundamentally got 5 forms of verification this fall,” Davis said. “I don’t cognize of immoderate different region oregon authorities that has gone to this degree, truthful 1 could that accidental we’ve got astir apt the safest and astir honest, transparent elections astatine this constituent this fall.”

Peters, who was elected to the clerk and recorder presumption successful 2018, near the authorities for much than a period earlier a Sept. 18 nationalist quality successful Grand Junction astatine an lawsuit called “Stand with Tina.” Her past nationalist quality earlier that was connected Aug. 10 astatine a conspiracy mentation symposium successful South Dakota that Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and an predetermination conspiracist, hosted.

She did not respond to The Post’s petition for comment.

The adjacent proceeding is scheduled for Sept. 30.