{"id":38391,"date":"2022-09-16T15:26:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-16T21:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-election-officials-take-physical-security-into-their-own-hands\/"},"modified":"2022-09-16T21:26:07","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T21:26:07","slug":"colorado-election-officials-take-physical-security-into-their-own-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-election-officials-take-physical-security-into-their-own-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado election officials take physical security into their own hands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"El
El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Chuck Broerman speaks in his office in Colorado Springs on Aug. 31 about security at the clerk\u2019s office. \u201cWe\u2019ve had to put measures into place to try to create a buffer for someone wanting to come in and either do harm or threat. We just felt that that was necessary,\u201d he said. (Quentin Young\/Colorado Newsline)<\/span>Quentin Young\/Colorado Newsline<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

You can\u2019t just walk into the El Paso County Clerk\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Not anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt used to be you could come in our front door and talk to our receptionist,\u201d Chuck Broerman, the Republican El Paso County clerk, said during an interview in his second floor office in Colorado Springs. \u201cBut we had to put two-way cameras up, we had to create an electronic latch there so that we could control the ingress and egress into our area. So, yeah, we\u2019ve had to put measures into place to try to create a buffer for someone wanting to come in and either do harm or threat. We just felt that that was necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

About this story<\/h4>\n

This story is part of a project called Democracy Day, in which newsrooms across the country are shining a light on threats to democracy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What made it necessary was the emergence of conspiracy theories after the 2020 election, when former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the vote was rigged. The \u201cbig lie\u201d and lingering stop-the-steal passions persist among MAGA activists around the country, including Colorado counties like El Paso.<\/p>\n

Broerman and his staff members were reminded of this during a recount of the June 28 Colorado primary. Several losing GOP candidates demanded and paid for a recount in the county, and during the tabulation process staff members experienced \u201ca lot of vitriol\u201d from a group of the candidates\u2019 supporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot of people observing from outside our tabulation area, and some of them were chanting and tapping and banging on the glass, they would put notes on the window making some nonspecific claims and accusations,\u201d Broerman said. \u201cTo have people out in the hallway, praying for evil to descend on myself and our election team is quite disconcerting and troubling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The office provided escorts for election judges leaving the building. And for the first time, it hired security personnel to be present for the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever had to do something like that before. Never felt the reason to do so,\u201d Broerman said.<\/p>\n

Such measures are becoming all too familiar in election offices throughout Colorado. County clerks and other election officials and staff members have found it necessary to take their physical security into their own hands. To protect themselves against the threats from election deniers and other MAGA opponents who jeopardize the safe conduct of free and fair elections, officials since 2020 have adopted security measures that are typically more associated with law enforcement than clerks\u2019 offices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really are in uncharted territory here,\u201d said Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association.<\/p>\n

Crane, a Republican, said threats against election officials and staff members often increase after election-related events \u2013 there were upticks after election-denying Republican Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was accused last year of facilitating a security breach in her own election office and when in June she lost her primary election for secretary of state and demanded a recount.<\/p>\n

Upticks also follow major election denial events hosted by Trump ally Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, such as his \u201cMoment of Truth Summit\u201d last month.<\/p>\n

Crane, who has been vocal in denouncing election deniers, receives threats himself. In August 2021, a man from Texas left him a voicemail that said, \u201cHey Crane, you better lay off Mesa County, because they\u2019re going to come after you if you don\u2019t. They don\u2019t like you out there in Colorado, you stupid motherf*****, dirty, crooked motherf*****.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI get the sense that people don\u2019t think that this is real, that it\u2019s been hyped up or overblown, and I can just assure people that it\u2019s not,\u201d Crane said. \u201cThreats against the election officials and against election facilities are very real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multiple clerks told Newsline that they regularly alter their travel routines so they can\u2019t be easily tracked. More than one election official alluded to Second Amendment rights in relation to their work regime.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have clerks that are, if they have concealed carry, they\u2019re making sure that they are exercising their Second Amendment right much more frequently,\u201d Crane said.<\/p>\n

Josh Zygielbaum, the Democratic Adams County clerk, regularly wears a bulletproof vest at work, where election staff members have experienced \u201ca continual flow of really just nastiness from those who don\u2019t believe in the election process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have people that have invited us onto the battlefield before,\u201d he said. \u201cOne recently, a couple days ago, said that if we didn\u2019t acknowledge his grievance, he was going to come to our office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other protective measures the Adams County elections department has adopted include a remodel of the office, so that members of the public no longer can simply walk in. Staff members starting in 2020 have undergone active shooter training with the Adams County Sheriff\u2019s SWAT team. A former Marine, Zygielbaum has drawn on his military training to maintain personal security.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally do take altering routes to and from work every single day,\u201d he said. \u201cI take different routes when I go places in general, just for increased security, and that\u2019s something that I learned while in the Marines. So that training is certainly carried forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold speaks with Denver County Clerk Paul L\u00f3pez, left, and Alton Dillard, the clerk\u2019s communications manager, right, at Denver Elections Division before Griswold and L\u00f3pez spoke to reporters about Colorado\u2019s primary election, on June 28. (Quentin Young\/Colorado Newsline)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Carly Koppes, the Republican clerk for Weld County, said her upbringing with a father who was a sheriff\u2019s deputy taught her to be aware of her surroundings, a practice that has been valuable in light of the recent dangers faced by election workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have kind of a little bit of a random schedule, as far as work goes, not always coming in at the same time or consistent time and leaving the office, not a consistent time as well,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it\u2019s more difficult for anybody to get a pattern from myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Koppes has continued to be the target of harassing and threatening communication, largely emails, since 2020, and she doesn\u2019t expect the pattern to abate. In one recent email, the writer said the military would be coming for her, she\u2019ll be thrown in Guantanamo Bay, and \u201cif I have a husband, I should let him read it because I\u2019m going to be indicted for war crimes and he\u2019ll not be able to save me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has referred several harassers to the FBI.<\/p>\n

The election official in Colorado who almost certainly faces the most troubling threats is Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat who because of her position at the pinnacle of Colorado election administration and her outspoken rejection of election conspiracy theories is a frequent target. In February, the insurrectionist and influential election denier Shawn Smith said during a public gathering, referring to Griswold, that people who are involved in election fraud \u201cdeserve to hang.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the following days, on social media and in emails, Griswold became the target of a raft of execution threats. Her office during this year\u2019s legislative session was able to secure additional state funding to hire private security, though it was less money than the office requested. The office has contracted private security at $85,000 in the fiscal year that ended at the end of June and $32,400 so far during the current fiscal year, according to a spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Larger counties, like El Paso and Adams, have the resources to make substantial election office security improvements. But smaller counties often do not.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard from multiple folks who have said, \u2018You know, we got these physical security assessments that are fantastic, I just can\u2019t afford to do most of it,\u2019\u201d Crane said. \u201cSo funding is a huge issue. Especially for those small and medium-sized counties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local, state and federal governments all have responsibility to ensure such security, Crane said. The need is bigger than ever, and he doesn\u2019t expect the threat level to ease any time soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fully expect that, if certain people lose races in 2022 in the general election, that we\u2019ll see an uptick in it again,\u201d Crane said. \u201cUnfortunately, it seems to be almost the status quo at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Newsline, visit www.coloradonewsline.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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