Douglas County Elections Clerk Merlin Klotz Cleared In Election Breach Probe
DENVER (AP) — Colorado's secretary of state says a Republican elections clerk has been cleared of accusation that he was involved in a potential security breach of elections equipment and that she is closing her investigation of the case. Secretary Jena Griswold said in a Thursday statement that Merlin Klotz, clerk and recorder of Douglas County, had responded to an order that he disclose information about possible copying of data from an elections server.
The investigation was triggered by a social media post attributed to Klotz, who denied anyone had made images of server hard drives, Griswold said.
Griswold, a Democrat, said her office's investigation also determined no one had unauthorized access to voting equipment in the suburban Denver county.
Klotz, who with others filed a lawsuit against Griswold in November demanding a third-party audit of Colorado's 2020 election, was the third Republican election clerk in Colorado under investigation for alleged breaches of state election systems.
Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters is being investigated by a grand jury in a breach of the system there. Elbert County Clerk and Recorder Dallas Schroeder is under scrutiny for allegedly copying his voting system's hard drive.
All three are associated with former President Donald Trump's lies about widespread election fraud.
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