Scoop: Colorado pauses campaign finance database after Minnesota shootings
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Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024. Photo: Julia Nikhinson/Getty Images
The Colorado Secretary of State temporarily removed its public campaign finance database from the internet Saturday amid concerns it could reveal home addresses and other personal information about state lawmakers and other officials.
Why it matters: The unannounced decision — first learned by Axios Denver — comes after a gunman targeted at least four Minnesota state lawmakers at their homes over the weekend, killing one Democratic representative and her husband and injuring another and his wife.
Driving the news: The state's Transparency in Contribution and Expenditure Reporting database, known as TRACER, posts candidate filings that often include home addresses and personal phone numbers. Elsewhere in the system, it lists campaign contribution data that requires donors — including lawmakers — to list their names, full addresses and occupations.
- Secretary of State Jena Griswold ordered the removal after consultation with state and legislative leadership, a spokesperson said.
- The database went offline Saturday afternoon. The site currently states that it's "down for maintenance."
- It is expected to return after interested lawmakers file a request for the redaction of personal information, which is currently permitted in law.
What they're saying: "In light of the weekend's tragic events in Minnesota and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of Colorado's elected leaders, the Department of State made a determination to take the public-facing campaign finance reporting website (TRACER) down briefly," spokesperson Jack Todd told Axios Denver in a statement.
The big picture: The Minnesota shootings exposed the delicate balance between public safety and the personal privacy of state lawmakers and other top officials.
- Other states moved quickly to increase security by adding patrols near the homes of state lawmakers and removing online personal information, according to multiple media reports.
- The Minnesota state representative who was killed Saturday listed her home address on her campaign website. The other lawmaker who was injured put his home address on an official legislative web page.
Flashback: In 2013, a parolee assassinated Colorado corrections chief Tom Clements at his home in Monument.
Zoom in: The home addresses and contact information for Colorado lawmakers are not listed on the Legislature's website, which only discloses official phone numbers and email addresses.
- And many don't list home addresses on their campaign sites.
Yes, but: Most Colorado lawmakers' personal information is possible to find, particularly in election records that require the disclosure.
The intrigue: Senate President James Coleman (D-Denver) said lawmakers often get threatening emails, phone calls and letters. On Sunday, as he participated in the Juneteenth celebration, he had a protection detail from the Colorado State Patrol as a precaution.
- "I think everyone is on higher alert than we typically would be," he said in an interview.
- Coleman is open to legislation next session to protect lawmakers. "Given what's happening in our country right now, [lawmaker safety] definitely has been a topic of discussion," he told Axios.