AP: “A judge has ruled that a Colorado county elections clerk cannot be involved in the November elections after multiple investigations, including a criminal probe by the FBI, were opened into a security breach of the county’s voting machines. Judge Valerie Robison issued an injunction Wednesday prohibiting Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and her deputy, Belinda Knisley, from acting as designated election officials for the upcoming elections. Robison ruled that Peters and Knisley ‘committed a breach and neglect of duty and other wrongful acts’ making them ‘unable or unwilling to appropriately perform’ their duties as election officials.”

“Secretary of State Jena Griswold sued to remove Peters as clerk and recorder after she said images of election equipment management software from Mesa County were obtained by elections conspiracy theorists and posted on far-right blogs. Her office says one of the images was taken May 23 from a secure room in Mesa County where the voting equipment was stored and was accessed that day by Peters, who allowed a non-employee into the room. The secretary of state’s office has identified the person it says was allowed into the secure room but has refused to say anything more about who he is or why he was there. The Associated Press isn’t naming him until more information becomes available. He has not been charged with a crime. In a statement issued after the ruling, Griswold praised the judge’s order which granted her requests for the appointment of Wayne Williams as the designated election official and Sheila Reiner as the election supervisor for Mesa County. ‘The Court’s decision today bars Peters from further threatening the integrity of Mesa’s elections and ensures Mesa County residents have the secure and accessible election they deserve,’ she said.”