Coloradans can count on Jena Griswold. They can count on the secretary of state to put left-wing political activism above the free, fair and open elections that comprise the Democratic component of Colorado governance.

Griswold last week lost another federal court case resulting from her propensity to put political outcomes above straight service to the public.

As secretary of state, Griswold oversees business and gaming licensure and administers the Department of State. By far, the secretary’s most important role is managing the state’s elections.

As the top person in charge of elections, Griswold oversees campaign finance and petition compliance. We count on Griswold to maintain voter registration records and ensure only qualified voters participate in elections.

The single greatest means of policing public records — such as voter registrations — involves keeping them open for public scrutiny. If average voters can see voter registrations, they can determine whether a neighbor who died 10 years ago still manages to vote.

We have seen no alarming and credible evidence of widespread voter fraud in Colorado.

The potential of significant voter fraud is precisely why we leave voting records open to public scrutiny by anyone. It is also the reason our state contracts with a partner known as ERIC — the Electronic Registration Information Center.

“ERIC’s mission is to help states improve the accuracy of America’s voter rolls, increase access to voter registration for all eligible citizens, reduce election costs, and increase efficiencies in elections,” explains ERIC’s mission statement.

The organization uses official death data from the Social Security Administration and subscribes to change-of-address data from the U.S. Postal Service. Using ERIC data, former Secretary of State Wayne Williams found dozens of votes he referred for investigation.

Coloradans have two options for taking comfort in the service provided by ERIC: 1. See the information ERIC provides to expose ballots cast by dead or former residents; or 2. Simply trust Griswold with the information.

Our trust in election integrity cannot rely on the word of a single politician, especially when that person first and foremost uses her job to promote preferred political outcomes.

When the Public Interest Legal Foundation asked to see ERIC’s reports of dead people possibly voting in Colorado, Griswold refused to release them. She did so in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which says each state shall facilitate public inspection of “all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.”

We have no reason to believe Griswold is hiding anything, aside from her refusal to obey a law that demands public access to her records.

Her refusal to facilitate a simple request for information only enhances concerns about her inability to remain fair and neutral in managing elections and voting files.

This is the same public servant who told public employees to boycott Alabama because she didn’t like that state’s abortion regulations. This is the same election official who moved heaven and earth to keep Donald Trump off Colorado’s November ballot — never mind that 556,000 of her constituents voted to have him on it.

Griswold has never given the public any good reason to trust her. By trying to hide what belongs to the public, she has again proven herself a radical political activist using a state office for leverage. Give thanks for the courts and the public’s right to know — two essential elements of election integrity.