Pre-election mailers, which meant telling Americans to vote by mail, advise voters to request a vote-by-mail ballot at least 15 days before election day and return the official ballot at least seven days before. That guideline, however, does not align with Colorado’s election policies.
“These false statements will confuse Colorado voters. Probably otherwise eligible voters mistakenly believe they will not run in the next election. This attempt at voter repression violates the United States Constitution and federal laws and must be stopped immediately,” Colorado said. Which was filed by Grisold and in the Federal District Court States.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to stop the delivery of mailers that are yet to be delivered.
The lawsuit states that Colorado “understands that some voters in limited areas of Colorado may have received this official notice, or may receive it on Saturday, September 12.”
Voters in the District of Columbia – which together with Colorado and eight states will hold general elections by mail and automatically send votes to voters when they become available – have begun receiving mailers.
Grisold previously served as USPS. Said he would not put pre-election mailers to voters in his state so as not to cause confusion. In a tweet on Friday, Grisold also said that the Secretary of State had asked Dijoy to preview the mailing but he had refused.
“The Secretary of State asked @ USPS Postmaster General Djoy to review the draft before sending the vote to ensure the accuracy of the election information. But he refused. Now millions of postcards with false information have been printed and mailed to voters,” Griswold said.
In a statement Saturday, Grisold said previous attempts to stop the USPS from sending mailers had not been successful. “My office fee told USPS officials to delay or not send the mailer to Colorado, but they refused to commit to this,” he added, adding that the lawsuit was an attempt to prevent misinformation.
“The significance of this election, combined with the fact that it took place amid a national epidemic, increases the need for Colorado to provide accurate voting information,” he said.
The USPS retorted against Griswold’s claim in a response later Saturday, saying the mailers were meant to help Americans understand the overall mail-in voting process.
USPS “The mail-piece – which has already been delivered to most homes and will arrive at every American residential mailing and POB box address next week – has a set of simple recommendations for voters – where they live,” Dave Partenheimer, a spokesman for And across the country, regardless of where they vote. ”
“The main message of Mail-Peace is that voters should plan ahead, educate themselves about the voting options available in their jurisdiction, and if they choose to vote by mail, they have enough time to get, complete and return the vote. Gives, ”he said.
As outlined in the Constitution, elections are run by state and local governments, and it is not uncommon for the federal government to send election-related information to all Americans.
Marshall Cohen of CNN contributed to this report.