Griswold’s latest blunder should force her out | Jimmy Sengenberger | Opinion

On Tuesday, Colorado residents learned that secure BIOS passwords for hundreds of election computers in 63 of 64 counties had been leaked via the secretary of state’s website — buried in a spreadsheet of sensitive passwords, waiting for anyone to to click “Show”.

And this isn’t just a one-off bug; it’s part of a six-year history of blunders and broken promises under Secretary Jena Griswold’s watch.

The document was available online for months before Griswold’s office took it down. The Colorado GOP, not Griswold, brought it to light. When asked on 9News if he had planned to inform the public, the Democrat was evasive. Her office “had not made that decision.”

Come on, Jena: When the current leadership of the Colorado GOP kicks you out because of a security breach in your office, you know you’ve done it very wrong. This reeks of cover-up.

Top Republicans are calling for Griswold to resign. Representative Lauren Boebert accused her of “spending more time promoting herself for a failed future governor” than doing her job. “He should resign.” House GOP Leader Rose Pugliese added: “Enough with her incompetence. The people of Colorado deserve better.” Of course we do.

Griswold dismissed it, saying “no serious threat to our elections” and “no evidence” of compromised equipment. While this seems true, this violation of trust and state election rules is extraordinary – and Griswold always claims to be a stickler for the rules.

In 2021, when Mesa County’s BIOS passwords were leaked by then-Clerk Tina Peters — who is serving nine years behind bars — Griswold called the leak of a single password “a serious breach.” Now, with the shoe on the other foot, shouldn’t the same standard apply to him?

Last week, she rushed to the cameras for a press conference, hastily claiming victory for election integrity. Twelve fraudulent mail-in ballots were intercepted by others and cast illegally in Mesa County. Nine ballots were caught – as the system was designed – but three escaped and were counted due to human error by an election judge who was later reassigned.

Message Clerk Bobbie Gross’s frustration was palpable. “While we understand the Secretary of State’s desire to make public statements, this is our community and our investigation,” Gross warned, noting that “premature release of details” could hinder investigators and justice.

This behavior—taking credit when it suits him and staying silent when it doesn’t—is classic Griswold. It is the latest in a tapestry of failures, hyper-partisanship and a dishonest public image.

Griswold’s brand building began early. When she took office in 2019, she pledged to make sure “everyone can really trust our system.”

However, she quickly replaced her entire leadership team with partisan Democrats. Within 13 months, they had already disappeared – triggering what her first legislative liaison called “200% turnover. The instability was unprecedented. All six immediate predecessors combined had two assistant secretaries for more than 20 years; Griswold is #3 in just six years.

In 2019, she announced a symbolic boycott of travel staff in Alabama to protest … abortion laws — and coordinated with Planned Parenthood, a Griswold donor.

The following year, she used federal pandemic relief funds for a DC PR firm in shameless self-promotion disguised as “voter education.” She also signed a confidentiality agreement with former assistant secretary Jenny Flanagan, complete with a gag order and written talking points.

During the 2020 election, Griswold sued the US Postal Service over an email that simply advised voters to plan ahead for mail-in ballots, somehow claiming “voter suppression” — citing American tragedies such as racial tax voting and poll taxes. The lawsuit didn’t help Colorado voters, but it fueled the national drama over Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Democratic target.

Image over integrity: This is Jena Griswold.

In 2021, as president of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, she became a key player in a dark money network that funneled millions into Democratic campaigns across the country, including her own. The association even directed thousands to her brother’s public relations firm, Hilltop Solutions, personally benefiting Griswold as she railed against “dark money.”

In 2022, Griswold’s office sent voter registration postcards to 30,000 non-citizens for the second time in 2020 — shrugging it off as a “data failure.” Her office also sent voting reminders to voters who had already cast ballots, leaving county officials to clean up their mess.

Let’s face it: Griswold’s repeated falls are not unique. They reflect a deeply ingrained pattern of dysfunction, self-promotion and incompetence.

Griswold has already cycled through at least three deputy secretaries of state, four chiefs of staff and three directors of communications and legislative liaisons — a staggering turnover that is a recipe for mismanagement. And as we reported in April, her office paid $120,000 in 2023 to settle a racial discrimination claim with a career employee.

Griswold is a fixture on MSNBC, billed as a “voting rights” hero fighting Trump’s “Big Lie.” She supported failed efforts to block him from Colorado’s ballot.

But “The Griswold Story” is pure fiction — an unearned reputation supported by the national press and Colorado Democrats.

Her password breach is no exception; it’s the rule. Every blunder, every partisan action, and every unsavory media event erodes public confidence in Colorado’s elections, however safe they may be — proving that she doesn’t belong as secretary of state.

In reality, Griswold is a hyper-partisan operative and documented failure whose record of unethical behavior and staggering incompetence consistently undermines her stated commitment to election security and her duty to the county clerks.

You don’t have to be an “election naysayer” to see the truth: Jena Griswold needs to step down.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker and longtime local radio host. Contact Jimmy online at jimmiesengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.