When The Gazette editorial board endorsed 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen for Colorado attorney general in the June 30 Republican primary, it did so because of his extensive legal experience and deep commitment to the law as well as to public service.

Leave it to his opponent in the AG’s race, Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold, to make our case. Once again, her basic competence has come into question — serving as a potent reminder as to why Allen is the right choice on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Last week, news broke of the second serious security lapse by Griswold’s office in as many years. More than 130,000 confidential Colorado voters had their information exposed online. Fifty-nine of those profiles were actually accessed.

As The Gazette reports, the compromised database includes a voter’s full name, party affiliation and residential address.

These records are confidential by law for a reason. The list includes crime victims, first responders and public officials with protective orders or security concerns — people whose safety depends on an address staying secret.

Allen was among the confidential voters whose information was compromised. He said Griswold notified him by phone last Thursday evening. “My protected information was apparently accessed twice,” Allen said.

Eight confidential voters within the 4th Judicial District — El Paso and Teller counties —were among those who had their information accessed.

“Thankfully, it does not appear that any of them are victims of crime, but it only reduces one avenue of concern,” Allen said.

That’s a worthy and appropriate response for a prosecutor. Griswold’s reaction was the opposite.

Her office discovered the problem Aug. 25 and fixed the software issue that had caused it. But when it came to assessing the danger and acting on the risks, local law enforcement and prosecutors were shut out by the politically ambitious secretary of state.

Writing in The Gazette last week, 23rd Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler noted Griswold’s office “refused to provide any of the list of 59 and the IP addresses to any DA.” When he requested that information, as required under Colorado law, “Griswold’s office refused.”

Instead, the office turned to the Colorado State Patrol on Aug. 29 — four days later.

Yet the State Patrol, Brauchler points out, isn’t equipped to address these particular risks “in the timely and comprehensive manner needed.”

While Griswold stonewalled, Allen assigned two investigators to track down exposed voters in his jurisdiction.

Griswold says she takes the breach “seriously” yet brushed it off as an 11-day software glitch.

With Griswold, this is par for the course. Two years ago, her office inadvertently exposed passwords for voting equipment throughout the state. They remained visible online for months. Her office notified affected county clerks and changed the passwords only after the lapse went public.

If Griswold can’t secure her office as secretary of state — and fails the basic transparency test over and over — what if she becomes our state’s top cop?

Allen has been a career prosecutor for more than two decades. He worked in the Kansas Attorney General’s Office before moving to Colorado. He was elected DA in 2020 and reelected in 2024.

As DA, Allen oversees more than 250 employees, including nearly 100 prosecutors. He’s ready-made to oversee the state’s largest law office.

Griswold, nominally a lawyer, never has tried a case in Colorado. 

Allen has spent his career preparing for the job of attorney general.

Coloradans should give the job to the qualified candidate — not to mention the candidate who takes election security seriously. That’s Michael Allen.