Current:Home > NewsFormer Denver elections worker’s lawsuit says she was fired for speaking out about threats -BeyondWealth Learning
Former Denver elections worker’s lawsuit says she was fired for speaking out about threats
View
Date:2025-04-14 09:11:19
Follow live: Updates from AP’s coverage of the presidential election.
DENVER (AP) — A former Denver elections worker who says she was fired for speaking out about her safety concerns on comedian Jon Stewart’s show filed a federal lawsuit Monday, alleging election officials wanted to silence her and violated her First Amendment rights.
Virginia Chau, a lawyer who worked as a polling center supervisor during elections, spoke in 2022 about threats made 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.”
Nationally, election officials have increased security in the lead-up to Election Day both to protect their workers and to protect voting procedures and ballots. Election offices and workers have been the target of harassment and threats since the 2020 presidential election, mainly by people supporting former President Donald Trump’s lies that the election was stolen from him because of fraud.
According to Chau’s lawsuit, the Denver elections division director R. Todd Davidson 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 recognize her in that job. 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 did not respond to Chau’s request to reconsider her termination.
“Instead of heeding Ms. Chau’s call for more resources and training for election officials facing threats to their personal safety, Defendants decided instead to retaliate against one of their best, and most passionate, election workers,” the lawsuit says.
The suit was filed against the city, its elections director and clerk and recorder. It asks for Chau to be reinstated and for unspecified damages.
A spokesperson for Lopez’s office, Mikayla Ortega, and a representative of the city attorney’s office, Melissa Sisneros, said their offices do not comment on pending litigation.
veryGood! (41)
Related
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- On the Wisconsin-Iowa Border, the Mississippi River Is Eroding Sacred Indigenous Mounds
- Competing Visions for U.S. Auto Industry Clash in Presidential Election, With the EV Future Pressing at the Border
- 2 Ohio officers charged with reckless homicide in death of man in custody after crash arrest
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Biden declares major disaster area in southeast New Mexico due to historic flooding
- I went to the 'Today' show and Hoda Kotb's wellness weekend. It changed me.
- Debate over abortion rights leads to expensive campaigns for high-stakes state Supreme Court seats
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Harris won’t say how she voted on California measure that would reverse criminal justice reforms
Ranking
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Reba McEntire finds a new on-screen family in NBC’s ‘Happy’s Place’
- Instagram video blurry? Company heads admits quality is degraded if views are low
- AP Top 25: Oregon a unanimous No. 1 ahead of 1st CFP rankings, followed by Georgia, Ohio State
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- 'Unless you've been through it, you can't understand': Helene recovery continues in NC
- Can you freeze deli meat? Here’s how to safely extend the shelf life of this lunch staple.
- Holding Out Hope On the Drying Rio Grande
Recommendation
Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
Harris assails Trump for saying Liz Cheney should have rifles ‘shooting at her’
Hurricane-Related Deaths Keep Happening Long After a Storm Ends
Getting Out the Native Vote Counters a Long History of Keeping Tribal Members from the Ballot Box
'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
Dak Prescott injury update: Cowboys QB shares outlook for next week vs. Eagles
Reba McEntire finds a new on-screen family in NBC’s ‘Happy’s Place’
Holding Out Hope On the Drying Rio Grande