RNC Sues Colorado Secretary of State Over Voter Registration Guidance

The suit, joined by Rep. Jeff Crank and Douglas County Clerk and Recorder Sheri Davis, seeks an injunction barring the guidance and removal of certain overseas voters from state rolls.

The complaint states that Griswold’s Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act guidance permits individuals who have never lived in Colorado, or even the United States, to register and vote based solely on a parent’s, guardian’s, or spouse’s prior residency. ” Griswold’s guidance implements Colo.

Stat. § 1-8.3-102(2)(d).

The law defers to states on substantive eligibility rules. The RNC lawsuit contends Colorado’s implementation exceeds those limits. The complaint also references similar RNC actions in Nebraska and a recent North Carolina court ruling that found the state’s Board of Elections violated its constitution by allowing the same category of voters to register for federal elections.

"Yet again, Democrats are trying to let people vote in a state where they’ve never lived," Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement. Davis, as county clerk, stated she cannot reconcile the guidance with the constitution and faces a choice between following state law or the secretary’s instructions.

Crank, running for re-election in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District, claims the policy injures his electoral interests by allowing participation of voters he alleges are ineligible.