Former Denver elections worker’s lawsuit says she was fired for speaking out about threats
DENVER — A former Denver election worker who says she was fired for speaking out about her concerns about comedian safety by Jon Stewart show filed a federal lawsuit on Monday, alleging that election officials sought to silence her and violated her First Amendment rights.
Virginia Chau, an attorney who worked as a polling place supervisor during elections, spoke in 2022 about the threats against election workers and the lack of training for them during a panel discussion on the short-lived streaming show “The Problem with Jon Stewart.”
National, election officials have increased safety in the run-up to Election Day, both to protect their employees and to protect voting procedures and ballots. Election offices and employees have been targets of intimidation and threats since the 2020 presidential election, mainly by people supporting the former president Donald Trump’s lies that the election was stolen from him due to fraud.
According to Chau’s lawsuit, R. Todd Davidson, director of the Denver Division of Elections, told her she was being removed as a supervisor because of her comments on the show and said she could be a hotline representative instead because no one from the public would put her on it recognize. function. The move would have been a demotion, the lawsuit said, and Chau refused to accept the new position.
The lawsuit alleges that Denver clerk and recorder Paul Lopez failed to respond to Chau’s request to reconsider her termination.
“Rather than heed Ms. Chau’s call for more resources and training for election officials facing threats to their personal safety, Defendants instead decided to retaliate against one of their best and most passionate election workers,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit was filed against the city, its elections director, clerk and recorder. It asks for Chau reinstatement and unspecified damages.
A spokesperson for Lopez’s office, Mikayla Ortega, and a representative for the city attorney’s office, Melissa Sisneros, said their offices do not comment on pending litigation.