Court Revives Colorado Voter Intimidation Lawsuit

Colorado Politics reports that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has revived a Colorado voter intimidation lawsuit tied to a post-2020 “election integrity” door-knocking operation. Not because the appeals court decided anyone is guilty. Not because federal judges lit the torches and held a public hanging. Because, according to the panel, the trial judge made a legal error that improperly narrowed the case.

The lawsuit targets leaders connected to the U.S. Election Integrity Plan, or USEIP, after an organized canvassing effort reportedly sent people to more than 9,400 homes to ask voters about their registrations and voting history. The plaintiffs, including the Colorado Montana Wyoming State Area Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters of Colorado, and Mi Familia Vota, claim the effort crossed legal lines under the Ku Klux Klan Act and the Voting Rights Act.

The Bullet Point Brief

• The 10th Circuit ruled 3-0 that U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney wrongly dismissed USEIP itself from the case before trial, which limited the evidence she later considered. Translation: the appeals court said, “Nope, run that back.”
• The underlying allegation is that post-2020 election-fraud crusaders went door to door asking voters about registration and voting behavior. Because nothing restores confidence in democracy like political randos showing up at your house with clipboards and Main Character Syndrome.
• Defendants called the canvassing effort “the equivalent to a high school civics project.” Fine. But most high school civics projects do not involve thousands of home visits, alleged voter intimidation claims, and a federal appellate revival.
• The trial court previously found no evidence of voter intimidation based largely on the evidence it heard, including testimony from one Grand Junction resident who said she did not experience intimidating behavior and could not confirm the canvassers were tied to USEIP.
• The appeals court did not declare guilt. It said the trial was legally flawed because USEIP should not have been kicked out of the case, and it also said a video of defendant Shawn Smith saying people involved in election fraud “deserve to hang” should have been admitted. That is not exactly the bumper sticker for calm civic oversight.

My Bottom Line

Real election integrity is boring, lawful, transparent, and evidence-based. It means competent clerks, clean voter rolls, secure processes, lawful challenges, public oversight, and actual proof. It does not mean cosplay investigators wandering neighborhoods like they were deputized by Facebook and caffeine.

Colorado voters should not have to wonder whether some clipboard warrior is collecting information, implying trouble, or making them feel watched because the 2020 fever swamp needed fresh oxygen. People are tired. They are tired of institutional rot from both parties, tired of bureaucrats dodging accountability, tired of activists dressing up paranoia as virtue, and tired of political theater being sold as patriotism.

And here is the hypocrisy that deserves a cattle prod: some folks claim they are defending voters, then allegedly make voters feel targeted in their own homes. That is not confidence-building. That is civic pest control in a cheap blazer.

The court angle matters, too. Judges matter. Legal standards matter. When a federal appeals panel says the lower court botched the analysis, that is not some nerd footnote for courthouse hobbyists. That is the justice system saying the case got buried too soon. So let the facts come out properly. Let the defendants defend themselves. Let the plaintiffs prove what they can prove. But Colorado should learn the larger lesson now: if your plan to restore faith in elections involves frightening regular voters at their homes, maybe the problem is not just the ballot system. Maybe it is you.

Source: Colorado Politics