Scott Gessler

Photos: Black voter turns white in campaign flier opposing bill NAACP supports

At 4 p.m. today, the Senate's State Affairs committee is scheduled to consider House Bill 13-1303, a measure intended to make it easier to vote in Colorado. The NAACP Colorado Montana Wyoming State Area Conference has endorsed the proposal even as it decries one particular attempt to rally oppositi ... More >>

When it comes to threats against officials, does Denver have a double standard?

Scott Gessler is off the hook from Westword, but not from everybody

We won't be pressing charges against Scott Gessler for taking more than five copies of Westword -- although there have certainly been hints that we should call the Denver District Attorney's office to see if Colorado's controversial Secretary of State could be prosecuted for violating the state's ne ... More >>

Scott Gessler improperly takes piles of Westwords...so he can autograph their covers?

As if Scott Gessler didn't have enough trouble. The Secretary of State is already being investigated by theIndependent Ethics Commission to determine whether he violated the law by using office funds on a trip to Florida. (Gessler has sued the commission; a hearing is set for Thursday). Meanwhile, ... More >>

Scott Gessler's suit against Ethics Commission about protecting his rights, spokesman says

Welcome to another round of the back-and-forth between Secretary of State Scott Gessler and the Independent Ethics Commission. In response to an IEC investigation launched in November, Gessler, as represented by attorney David Lane, is seeking a temporary restraining order; see it below. Gessler spo ... More >>

Reader: Scott Gessler's partisan actions disqualify him from office

Scott Gessler: Ten politicos weigh in on Secretary of State's first years in office

We recently profiled Colorado's Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who has received a great deal of attention due to allegations of corruption and accusations that he has suppressed voters. In our reporting, we got perspectives from many local politicians and elected officials on Gessler's first ye ... More >>

Scott Gessler grilled at Capitol about immigrant letters, website glitches

At the Capitol yesterday, Secretary of State Scott Gessler had lots to discuss at a State Affairs briefing -- but only a few minutes into his presentation, he was interrupted by critical questions from lawmakers. The immediate criticisms, which were put on hold until after he finished his prepared r ... More >>

Scott Gessler investigation: John Suthers offers support, accused of conflict-of-interest

When Secretary of State Scott Gessler needs legal help, the office of Attorney General John Suthers typically represents him. But in the case of ethics and criminal investigations into Gessler's alleged misuse of public funds, Suthers has stayed out of it due to a potential conflict-of-interest. Sut ... More >>

Scott Gessler pushes new bill that would allow him to remove non-citizen voters from the rolls

This week in print, we take an in-depth look at Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who has faced ongoing accusations of suppressing voters. We published the story the same day that Republican lawmakers at the start of the new legislative session put forth a bill they crafted with Gessler that would ... More >>

Scott Gessler is always right...right?

Scott Gessler: Inside Colorado's charges and prosecutions of voter fraud

This week's cover story on Scott Gessler delves into two of the Republican Secretary of State's biggest controversies -- allegations that he misused public dollars for partisan travels and accusations that he has suppressed voters. Gessler earned the latter criticisms for his initiatives to prevent ... More >>

Scott Gessler investigation: Secretary of State wants "legal defense fund" to help pay attorneys

Secretary of State Scott Gessler is the subject of this week's cover story in part because he's facing criminal and ethics investigations for his alleged misuse of funds. On Monday, the state's Independent Ethics Commission voted unanimously to continue its investigation despite his requests for dis ... More >>

Scott Gessler investigation: Ethics Commission denies dismissal request, pushes forward

The attorneys for Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who is accused of misusing state funds, have said there are many reasons why the case should be dismissed. The Independent Ethics Commission disagrees, voting yesterday to reject the dismissal requests. That means the investigation will continue -- ... More >>

Scott Gessler responds to ethics complaint with new details on death threats, his spending

On Wednesday, we reported on a disturbing phone call made to Secretary of State Scott Gessler, in which a man said he knew where the Republican lived and wanted to kill him. We now have information about a second violent threat -- specific details of which are outlined in Gessler's formal response t ... More >>

CBI homes in on death-threat calls to Scott Gessler

Scott Gessler death threats: Man says he wants to shoot the Secretary, knows where he lives

Secretary of State Scott Gessler has faced a lot of pushback for his efforts to identify immigrants who are illegally on Colorado's voter rolls. But over the summer, those criticisms escalated to a new level when he received multiple violent threats, some targeting his family. Through an Open Record ... More >>

Scott Gessler: Legislators ask state to take first step in potential spending audit

Secretary of State Scott Gessler is facing criminal and ethics investigations into his alleged misuse of public dollars. Now, he could face an additional review from the state auditor's office, with legislators yesterday approving the first step of the process.

Scott Gessler gets extension for response to ethics investigation -- but only eleven days

Secretary of State Scott Gessler is touring the state this week, soliciting feedback from voters on the election. But in the meantime, attorneys for Gessler, who is facing both criminal and ethics investigations into the alleged misuse of public funds, are asking for more time to respond to the com ... More >>

Scott Gessler didn't do enough to stop voter fraud, say critics at Arapahoe County event

Pre-election news coverage about Secretary of State Scott Gessler often focused on his efforts to weed out non-citizen voters and prevent fraud through an initiative some activists called a wild goose chase. But at an event in Arapahoe County, where Gessler invited public feedback, most took the opp ... More >>

Scott Gessler says Boulder election results not certified yet, city says they are

Yesterday, the Boulder County Clerk's office announced that its election results are finally certified. However, a spokesman for Secretary of State Scott Gessler says just the opposite -- a final decision has not been made yet, although one could come soon. The conflicting statements have further i ... More >>

Scott Gessler calls for fewer limits on campaign finance -- to protect free speech

Restrictions on campaign finance are ultimately violations of free speech rights and do little to foster fair elections. At least that's the argument of Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who, in a speech yesterday, said he would like to see fewer limitations on campaign finance, arguing ... More >>

New public murals cause the wrong kind of awe

Colorado's economy making gains in income, wealth and jobs, Scott Gessler reports

Secretary of State Scott Gessler told us last week that he supported Mitt Romney because he is very worried about the state of the economy. But a quarterly report released this morning by his office shows that at least in Colorado, there has been slow but positive improvement in several key areas, i ... More >>

Scott Gessler says he's innocent as Ethics Commission begins investigation

Amid the chaos of election-day preparation this week, news broke that Secretary of State Scott Gessler, Colorado's chief election officer, is facing both criminal and ethics investigations for allegedly misusing public dollars for personal trips. We now have more details on the process of the Indepe ... More >>

Scott Gessler, Colorado's chief election officer, facing criminal and ethics investigations

Election day is finally here -- and with it comes the news that Secretary of State Scott Gessler, Colorado's chief election officer, is facing both criminal and ethics investigations. Last month, a watchdog group accused Gessler of misusing state funds for his personal travels, and now it appears th ... More >>

Scott Gessler touts smooth voting in Colorado, predicts Mitt Romney will take state

This afternoon, we stopped by the office of Secretary of State Scott Gessler to get a status report on the elections, and he tells us they are going well -- and much better than some other swing states. He also dismissed news that he's facing both criminal and ethics investigations for allegedly mi ... More >>

Scott Gessler: Database used to find illegal voters can have "lag time," feds say

Since August, Secretary of State Scott Gessler has been working with the federal government to try and identify voters illegally registered in Colorado in an effort to prevent voter fraud on election day. As of last Friday, 44 voters have been removed. His critics argue that the data he's using is n ... More >>

Scott Gessler voter checks: 44 removed from rolls, four of them Republicans

Last week, Secretary of State Scott Gessler said his office had identified 300 more non-citizens illegally registered to vote who would be committing fraud if they did so. Gessler admitted that the timing of results from this second round of checks wasn't ideal. But county clerks were able to act be ... More >>

Scott Gessler calls effort to remove 300 more from voter rolls "good government"

Though Colorado residents have already begun voting, Secretary of State Scott Gessler says it's not too late for officials across the state to work together to try and remove potential non-citizens from the voter rolls. Two days after early voting began, he announced that a new round of checks has r ... More >>

Immigration advocate, legal citizen gets Scott Gessler's non-citizen letter

In the final weeks of the campaign, as we reported earlier today, Secretary of State Scott Gessler has continued his controversial anti-fraud campaign by tracking down individuals he believes are illegally registered to vote, because they are immigrants. Gessler sent them letters to 300 people askin ... More >>

Scott Gessler: Top Democratic officials silent about potential spending investigation

While Secretary of State Scott Gessler continues to face backlash for his efforts to remove potentially illegal voters from the rolls, his communications team last week was also forced to respond to more serious allegations -- that the Republican official misused public dollars for his private, poli ... More >>

Videos: Rachel Maddow pummels Scott Gessler, fears Florida-style voting disaster in Colorado

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow has paid lots of attention to Colorado this campaign season -- note a segment about the state being the key to an Obama victory and her efforts to make Mike Coffman a national laughingstock after his birther comments earlier this year. Her local target last night? Secretary of ... More >>

Michael Hancock: Scott Gessler's actions similar to nationwide voter-suppression efforts

Even though Mayor Michael Hancock says he likes to give people the benefit of the doubt, he believes Secretary of State Scott Gessler's actions echo a concerted nationwide effort to suppress votes. The mayor weighed in on this topic last week, and while he declined to directly slam Gessler, he still ... More >>

Reader: Scott Gessler's critics don't seem to mind voter fraud when it benefits them

Sam Levin's recent post in which Scott Gessler's office shared evidence of voter fraud brought out a supporter of the frequently attacked Colorado Secretary of State. The reader believes those most apt to bash Gessler would be happy to look the other way if cheating gave their candidates a boost.

Scott Gessler won't intimidate us on election day, Latino groups say

Secretary of State Scott Gessler has a Republican agenda and is trying to prevent Latinos and new citizens from voting on election day. At least that's the charge from a group of left-leaning advocacy organizations working to get Hispanic voters to the polls in Colorado. Gessler's office, however, i ... More >>

Scott Gessler's office shares evidence of voter fraud in Colorado

Secretary of State Scott Gessler has gotten a lot of attention for his effort to weed out illegal voters and frequent clashes with voter rights advocacy groups that complain he is devoting too much time to a wild goose chase. Here, we take you behind the scenes at Gessler's office, where his staff ... More >>

Out of fourteen illegal voters banned after Scott Gessler's campaign, how many voted? Zero

Update: Yesterday, we reported that a total of fourteen people were removed from Colorado voting rolls following an extensive effort by Secretary of State Scott Gessler to potentially illegal voters; see our original post in its entirety below. Since sharing these results, we checked with Gessler's ... More >>

Scott Gessler's office running checks on thousands of more potential non-citizens

In August, Secretary of State Scott Gessler ran the names of 1,416 individuals through a federal database in hopes of weeding out illegal immigrant voters. Months later, a total of fourteens voters have been removed from voting rolls in Colorado. But the story doesn't end there. As it turns out, Ges ... More >>

Scott Gessler to share conservative voter-fraud panel with controversial True the Vote group

Secretary of State Scott Gessler likes to say that it should be easy to vote and tough to cheat, but his critics argue that he is a lot more focused on the latter -- especially when it comes to voters who aren't Republican. While Gessler has tried to disprove those accusations, his appearance this ... More >>

Scott Gessler office's latest glitch: 800 voters who recently registered may not be

Critics of Secretary of State Scott Gessler argue that he spends more time intimidating and suppressing voters than he does registering them. Though Gessler has always denied those claims, he admitted yesterday that nearly 800 voters who legally registered may not have been put into the system due t ... More >>

Scott Gessler's effort to weed out illegal voters finds four in Denver County

In the months leading up to the November election, Secretary of State Scott Gessler has devoted some of his resources to targeting immigrant voters who may be incorrectly registered -- an effort aimed at cleaning up voter rolls. And the results in the state's largest city are likely to fuel critic ... More >>

Reader: Scott Gessler's office removed me from voter rolls, never explained why

Sam Levin has written a number of recent posts about controversial Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler. His latest, about a lawsuit against Gessler by Denver Clerk Debra Johnson, prompted one reader to share his own problems getting and staying registered to vote.

Scott Gessler v. Denver clerk Debra Johnson in latest lawsuit to target Secretary of State

After responding to some negative headlines surrounding a botched voter registration mailing, Secretary of State Scott Gessler is fielding more criticism this week -- this time from a lawsuit that first reached his office via reporters' inquiries. The suit comes from Denver Clerk and Recorder Debra ... More >>

Scott Gessler registration drive errors cause confusion, more voter suppression claims

This is not quite how Scott Gessler's plan was supposed to go. When Colorado's Secretary of State announced an unprecedented voter registration initiative last month, he told reporters that the effort wasn't a direct response to criticisms of voter suppression, though he said it would hopefully di ... More >>

Scott Gessler: 141 registered voters aren't citizens

Last Tuesday, Scott Gessler held a press conference to announce an $850,000 voter registration campaign -- the largest in the state's history. He said he hoped the effort would disprove some of his critics' accusations that Gessler, a Republican, has been trying to intimidate voters. But days late ... More >>

Scott Gessler, two county clerks targeted with lawsuit over "election from hell"

The "election from hell." A "COLOSSAL problem." A "stunning level of incompetence." These are all phrases used to describe a primary race in Teller and Douglas counties that was allegedly so disastrous that one of the candidates, in a new lawsuit, is arguing that the election should be voided. F ... More >>

Initiative 82, supporting campaign-finance limits, joins Amendment 64 on November ballot

As we reported earlier this week, the presidential campaigns and supporting super PACs have already spent a whopping total of $25.7 million on advertisements in Colorado. That number is going to continue to skyrocket in this key swing state -- and experts expect spending to reach $1.1 billion across ... More >>

Scott Gessler says voter registration initiative not a response to critics

On the heels of an initiative designed to weed out immigrants who may be illegally registered to vote in the November election, Colorado Secretary of Scott Gessler has launched a campaign aimed at increasing voter registration in the state. The $850,000 effort unveiled yesterday is not, however, a d ... More >>

Thousands of possible non-citizens Scott Gessler targeted are legal voters

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Scott Gessler asked nearly 4,000 registered voters to prove that they are citizens as part of an effort, he said, to prevent fraud. The results are now in and one in eight voters who showed a non-citizen document to the Division of Motor Vehicles remain ineligi ... More >>