Colorado Democrats look to crack down on insider election threats and misinformation

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/22/ [login to see] /colorado-democrats-look-to-crack-down-on-insider-election-threats-and-misinforma
Eight months after a Colorado clerk allegedly compromised her county's election machines while searching for proof of fraud in the 2020 election, Democratic lawmakers in the state want to make it illegal for those who run elections to do much of what she's accused of.

A new bill in Colorado would add more training requirements for election staff and officials, bar counties from copying voting machine hard drives without state permission, mandate full-time video monitoring of equipment and increase penalties for security breaches.

The legislation would also ban anyone overseeing elections from knowingly or recklessly making false statements about the process.

The attempt to prevent insider threats and misinformation from further eroding public trust in elections has led to concerns about potential First Amendment violations and some to question the motives behind the entire effort.

"I don't think it's too much to ask to say, 'If you're running our elections you can't lie about our elections,' " said Democratic state Senate President Steve Fenberg, who is the main sponsor of the bill.