Colorado NAACP, League of Women Voters of Colorado, and Mi Familia Vota v. United States Election Integrity Plan

In this lawsuit, plaintiffs Colorado Montana Wyoming State Conference of the NAACP (NAACP Colorado), League of Women Voters of Colorado (LWV Colorado) and Mi Familia Vota (MFV) are suing to protect themselves and the voters in their communities from illegal voter intimidation and harassment.

The United States Election Integrity Plan (USEIP), an extremist organization with ties to the January 6 Capitol insurrection, purchased and used voter lists to identify and target voters for their door-to-door campaign. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, USEIP and its leaders organized, participated in, and/or publicized an effort to go to voters’ homes in multiple counties throughout Colorado, intimidating voters on their own doorsteps for having voted in the 2020 election. USEIP agents questioned voters about their method of vote, interrogated them about so-called fraudulent ballots, levied baseless accusations of fraud against voters, took photographs of voters’ homes, and reported their purported findings to local prosecutors. USEIP made efforts to coordinate its armed and unarmed agents to increase the likelihood that armed members would be part of their teams.

The organization maintains a “County & Local Organizing Playbook,” setting forth its principles, goals, and instructions for its volunteers, which made it clear that USEIP tactics include violent and intimidating behavior in an attempt to find support for their baseless and disproven claims of election fraud.

USEIP’s campaign means that Coloradans who vote will do so knowing that they risk experiencing future intimidation at their own homes. It particularly harms communities of color, which have historically faced institutionalized barriers, violent threats, and intimidation for exercising their right to vote, and costs the plaintiff organizations significant resources, which they have to divert from their critical Get Out The Vote efforts and other programs to support voters at risk of intimidation.

The plaintiffs asked the federal court for immediate relief, declaring that USEIP’s voter intimidation campaign is unlawful under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Klu Klux Klan Act of 1871, and ordering USEIP and its leaders to cease and desist their intimidation campaign.

In early 2023, the district court dismissed the Plaintiffs’ claims against USEIP as an organization, concluding that unincorporated associations cannot be sued under either the Voting Rights Act or the KKK Act. Then, after a partial trial, the district court granted the remaining defendants’ motion to dismiss, leaving Colorado voters vulnerable to USEIP undertaking a renewed campaign leading up to or after the 2024 election.

Plaintiffs are appealing both of these decisions. In the interim, NAACP Colorado, LWV Colorado, and Mi Familia Vota will continue to divert their scant resources away from voter education and their other important programs in order to prepare, educate, and protect their members and voters within their community from intimidation.

Free Speech For People is honored to represent NAACP Colorado, LWV Colorado, and MFV. It was pleased to partner with the law firm of Lathrop GPM in this litigation before the district court, and is now partnering with Attorney Bryan Sells on the appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Read the Press Release