Colorado secretary of state claims Americans could 'lose right to vote within months' if GOP wins election

 Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold says Republicans plan to attack Americans' right to vote if they are able to win this year's midterm elections.

"What we can expect from the extreme Republicans running across this country is to undermine free and fair elections for the American people, strip Americans of the right to vote, refuse to address security breaches and, unfortunately, be more beholden to Mar-a-Lago than the American people," the Colorado Democrat said during an interview with the Guardian.

Griswold pointed out that many Republicans in competitive elections have echoed claims made by former President Donald Trump that the 2020 election was fraudulent, while the 27 races for secretary of state around the country have become key showdowns for who will control the 2024 presidential election.

"For us, we are trying to save democracy," Griswold said.

PROMINENT CONSERVATIVES SAY ELECTION WAS LOST, NOT STOLEN

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold holds a news conference about 2022 legislative plans at the office in Denver.(Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/Denver Post)

But some have accused the secretary of state of trying to reform election laws to benefit her defense of her seat. Her opponent, Republican nominee Pam Anderson, has made getting politics out of elections administration her campaign's top pledge.

"We must reject that it is partisan to protect the right to vote. It’s not," Griswold said in response to the accusations. "It’s the 

most American and democratic thing you can do."

Griswold touted her record since entering office, saying she worked to make sure "democracy survived" the threat of a global pandemic and "a President of the United States trying to steal an election."

Former President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

She argued that the battle over voting rights will be "a long-term fight" that will extend beyond the 2022 election, but she said that so far the experience has strengthened her resolve to "not let people willing to destroy the country to win."

"The fight to try to take Americans’ freedoms, it won’t be over after the election — it won’t," she said, warning that if Republicans were able to win this round, the "country could lose the right to vote in less than three months."