DENVER — A former elections supervisor who prosecutors say assisted in a safety breach of voting tools in a Colorado county pleaded responsible on Wednesday underneath a plea settlement that requires her to testify in opposition to her former boss.
Sandra Brown is one among two staff accused of serving to Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters permit a duplicate of a tough drive to be made throughout an replace of election tools final 12 months in quest of proof of the false conspiracy theories spun by former President Donald Trump.
Brown, 45, pleaded responsible to making an attempt to affect a public servant, a felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor, however won’t be sentenced till proper after she testifies at Peters’ trial subsequent 12 months so her efficiency on the witness stand may be thought of.
“There have been issues happening that I ought to have questioned and I didn’t,” Brown advised Decide Matthew Barrett.
In August, Peters’ chief deputy, Belinda Knisley, additionally pleaded responsible underneath a deal that required her to testify in opposition to Peters. She solely pleaded responsible to misdemeanor counts and was instantly sentenced to 2 years of unsupervised probation.
Peters gained nationwide prominence by selling conspiracy theories about voting machines and misplaced a bid to turn into the Republican candidate for Colorado’s secretary of state, who oversees elections, earlier this 12 months. She is charged with three counts of making an attempt to affect a public servant, legal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit legal impersonation, one depend of identification theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of obligation and failing to adjust to the secretary of state.
She has dismissed the allegations, calling them politically motivated, and has pleaded not responsible.
Based on Brown’s arrest affidavit, Knisley labored to get a safety badge for a person Peters mentioned she was hiring within the clerk’s workplace. Peters then used it to permit one other, unauthorized particular person contained in the room to make a duplicate of the election tools arduous drive throughout the Might 2021 election tools replace, it mentioned. Brown was current when the copy was made and conspired to misrepresent the identification of the particular person utilizing the badge, it mentioned.
Brown contacted the secretary of state’s workplace asking for permission for an administrative assistant to be allowed to attend the replace however knew that particular person was actually a pc professional who wouldn’t have been allowed to attend, District Lawyer Dan Rubinstein advised Decide Matthew Barrett throughout Brown’s plea listening to. The credential for that professional was then utilized by one other particular person to get within the room and make a duplicate of the arduous drive, he mentioned. That particular person has not been charged.
“She knew she was establishing a sham,” Rubinstein mentioned of Brown.
State election officers turned conscious of the safety breach when a photograph and video of confidential voting system passwords had been posted on social media and a conservative web site.
Brown’s deal, which Barrett won’t resolve whether or not to simply accept till sentencing, would permit her to serve as much as 30 days in jail for the misdemeanor. It will permit the felony conviction to be erased after two years if she complies with situations he units, comparable to requiring neighborhood service, for these two years. If Barrett rejects the plea deal, Brown may withdraw her responsible pleas.