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 towards her former boss.
Sandra Brown is one in every of two workers 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 yr in quest of proof of the false conspiracy theories spun by former President Donald Trump.
Brown, 45, pleaded responsible to trying to affect a public servant, a felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor, however is not going to be sentenced till proper after she testifies at Peters’ trial subsequent yr so her efficiency on the witness stand could be thought of.
“There were things going on that I should have questioned and I didn’t,” Brown advised Judge Matthew Barrett.
Mesa County Sheriff’s Office
In August, Peters’ chief deputy, Belinda Knisley, additionally pleaded responsible underneath a deal that required her to testify towards 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 change into the Republican candidate for Colorado’s secretary of state, who oversees elections, earlier this yr. She is charged with three counts of trying to affect a public servant, prison impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit prison impersonation, one rely of identification theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of responsibility and failing to adjust to the secretary of state.
She has dismissed the allegations, calling them politically motivated, and has pleaded not responsible.
According to Brown’s arrest affidavit, Knisley labored to get a safety badge for a person Peters stated 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 exhausting drive in the course of the May 2021 election tools replace, it stated. Brown was current when the copy was made and conspired to misrepresent the identification of the particular person utilizing the badge, it stated.
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 skilled who wouldn’t have been allowed to attend, District Attorney Dan Rubinstein advised Judge Matthew Barrett throughout Brown’s plea listening to. The credential for that skilled was then utilized by one other particular person to get within the room and make a duplicate of the exhausting drive, he stated. That particular person has not been charged.
“She knew she was setting up a sham,” Rubinstein stated of Brown.
Thomas Peipert/AP
State election officers grew to become conscious of the safety breach when a photograph and video of confidential voting system passwords have been posted on social media and a conservative web site.
Brown’s deal, which Barrett is not going to determine whether or not to just accept till sentencing, would permit her to serve as much as 30 days in jail for the misdemeanor. It would permit the felony conviction to be erased after two years if she complies with circumstances he units, comparable to requiring neighborhood service, for these two years. If Barrett rejects the plea deal, Brown might withdraw her responsible pleas.