Scott Gessler: Ten politicos weigh in on Secretary of State's first years in office

MSNBC screenshot

Debra Johnson discussing her Gessler lawsuit with Rachel Maddow

"To me, it goes back to the interpretation of inactive [voters].... I interpreted that I had the authority to send [ballots].... His is different than mine. He saw it differently than I did. The whole category of inactive...means you have missed voting in one general election. It doesn't mean you've done anything else besides not vote.

About non-citizen efforts, she says, "The Secretary of State can have his priorities.... I think the whole issue has been really overblown.... The biggest issue was the timing of it. Being so close to the election, having that type of attention to the matter made it confusing for everybody."

She adds, "I have a very good working relationship with the Secretary of State's office. I foresee that continuing."

Joy Hoffman, chair of the Arapahoe Republican Party
Hoffman raised her concerns about voter fraud at a December hearing with the Secretary of State's office.

"Feeling such a lack of respect for the process was incredibly saddening.... The question is, what, by definition is [Gessler's] responsibility and what is the county's responsibility?... [Sometimes] to slam the Secretary of State is not fair.... He's tried very, very hard."

Of Gessler's non-citizen project, she says, "It's in my interest to have those people identified. It's in your interest, because if people vote who shouldn't vote, it devalues your vote as much as it devalues my vote... It needs to have integrity. It doesn't matter who the Secretary of State is.

"The question is, do you root out fraud before it happens, or do you play catchup?... Just because the election is over, doesn't mean that it's wrong to...pursue something that's wrong. To say that he's doing something evil or bad is not appropriate, because his job is to safeguard the integrity of the election. And it doesn't just happen the day of the election."

Continue for more commentary from Scott Gessler supporters and critics.