Colorado Judge Dismisses Defamation Claims in Voter Intimidation Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, Jan. 23, a Colorado judge dismissed counterclaims of defamation made by a right-wing group, the United States Election Integrity Plan (USEIP), after voting rights groups sued USEIP for voter intimidation.
In March 2022, the Colorado Montana Wyoming State Area Conference of the NAACP, League of Women Voters of Colorado and Mi Familia Vota filed a lawsuit claiming that USEIP was engaging in illegal voter intimidation in Colorado. The complaint alleges that USEIP used public voter lists “to target and intimidate voters,” including by showing up at their houses (sometimes armed), taking pictures of their residence, asking how they voted in the 2020 election and questioning them about fraudulent ballots. The plaintiffs argue that USEIP’s scheme of “deploying armed agents to knock on doors throughout the state of Colorado” possibly dissuades voters from casting ballots in future elections and violates the Voting Rights Act and Ku Klux Klan Act.
USEIP denied the intimidation allegations and filed counterclaims arguing that the civil rights groups defamed USEIP and abused the court system by filing this lawsuit. Those counterclaims were dismissed. Litigation over the voter intimidation claims is ongoing.