DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold tweeted Thursday night, calling upon the national media to hold back on releasing or projecting results on election night. She has since apologized and deleted her tweets.
In her first tweet, Jena Griswold said, “Our democracy cannot be held hostage to a ratings race.”
She later tweeted, “That is why I am calling the national media networks to pledge to #PressPause for democracy and 1: Make NO projections on election night 2. Announce NO election results on election night.”
After some immediate pushback from critics in Colorado and across the country, Griswold deleted the thread and issued an apology.
Her statement read in part, “Unlike Colorado, some states may not be able to process ballots until Election Day or after. A free press is a key pillar of our democracy, and I have full confidence the media will handle this professionally and accurately.”
Griswold spoke one-on-one FOX31 Friday to walk us through her tweets and deletes.
“I recognize that the tweet was not drafted as artfully as it could have been and misconstrued and I apologize for that,” Griswold said, adding, “What I was trying to underline was that — not even for Colorado — in other states, election administration has been changing very quickly because of the pandemic. There’s going to be an unprecedented number of ballots and I think it’s really important that we recognize as a nation — not in Colorado, nationally — that will affect election night reporting.”
Despite how it may have come off to some, Griswold says she doesn’t want national media to go silent on election night for result reporting.
“One of the miscommunications was on what results mean. I mean, calling a winning or a loser has to be taken into account, how our election administration has changed and I do think the media absolutely can get it right and will get it right,” she said.
FOX31 asked if we can expect results posted from the Secretary of State’s Office shortly after polls close on election night.
“Absolutely,” she said.
Rep. Ken Buck shared the following sentiments on the tweets with FOX31:
“We’ve voted by mail for years here in Colorado and have been able to submit results every election night. Why now has the Secretary of State decided there will be a problem with announcing results? The Secretary of State is calling into question the integrity of our election system with roughly a month until Election Day.”
Ballots will begin to go out to Colorado voters on Oct. 9. The election is Nov. 3.
Griswold’s full statement after deleting her tweets:
“I would like to apologize for a tweet I put out earlier tonight. It was confusing, and the point I was trying to make was made inartfully. My intention was to draw attention to the fact that other states across the nation are drastically adopting new voting procedures, and it is critically important that these changes be taken into account in election night reporting. Unlike Colorado, some states may not be able to process ballots until Election Day or after. A free press is a key pillar of our democracy, and I have full confidence the media will handle this professionally and accurately.”