Jena Griswold

Jena Marie Griswold is Colorado's 39th Secretary of State, serving since January 8, 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party and was elected in 2018 as the youngest elected Secretary of State in the United States. She was reelected to the office in 2022. Griswold was the first Democratic Secretary of State in Colorado in 60 years and the first Democratic woman Secretary of State in Colorado's history.

Griswold grew up in a working-class family in rural Colorado and was the first person in her family to attend a four-year college and then law school. She is currently 41 years old, having been born on October 2, 1984.

Education

Griswold earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Political Experience

Early Career
After law school, Griswold moved to Washington, D.C., where she practiced international anti-corruption law. She worked as a voter protection attorney for President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign. In 2013, Governor John Hickenlooper appointed her as Director of the Governor of Colorado's D.C. Office, where she served as a liaison to the federal government. During this role, she was instrumental in securing hundreds of millions of dollars in relief funds for Colorado communities affected by the 2013 flood.

Before her election as Secretary of State, Griswold opened her own small legal practice in Louisville, Colorado.

Secretary of State Achievements
Since taking office, Griswold has overseen 10 statewide elections and implemented significant election reforms. Her notable accomplishments include:

• Launching statewide systems allowing every Colorado voter to track their ballot and fix signature or ID discrepancies
• Increasing the number of secure drop boxes and expanding in-person voting access
• Guaranteeing voting access on college campuses and tribal lands
• Implementing Automatic Voter Registration
• Successfully overseeing the 2020 general election, the largest in Colorado state history, with 94% of voters casting ballots by mail or drop box
• Spearheading legislation to protect election security and election workers, including criminalizing threats to election workers, making it illegal to bring guns near voting centers, and making it a felony to compromise voting equipment
• Leading one of the largest democracy reform packages in the nation

Griswold has been a national leader in defending democracy, notably following the Colorado Supreme Court's determination that Trump engaged in insurrection by arguing for his removal from the ballot despite receiving threats.