Denver elections worker claims she was fired for sharing security concerns on television

DENVER — A former Denver election supervisor has filed a lawsuit alleging she was fired in retaliation for raising concerns about the safety of poll workers on a show hosted by Jon Stewart in 2022.

Virginia Chau said that as a first-generation American, working as a poll director in Denver meant everything to her.

“I will train election commission workers. I will make sure I have safety plans in place,” Chau said. “I’m so passionate about this because I want more people like me in the room—people like us, right? “So that other people who see us would want to come and vote.”

Chau said she has participated in eight different elections and has never shied away from speaking out about security concerns.

During the pandemic, Chau faced aggressive constituents who called her the “Chinese virus” and blamed her for COVID, according to the lawsuit. She said some constituents were also hostile to the mask policy, and when she asked for increased security, her concerns were not addressed.

Chau shared her personal experience when she was invited to perform on the show hosted by Jon Stewart in 2022.

She said the city of Denver retaliated against her because of her participation in the show. She was working on the election when a city employee called her and asked why she went on the show and why she didn’t ask permission first.

“Like, why do you feel this way?,” she said the caller asked her. “I was like, ‘I actually mentioned this before. You knew this firsthand. I actually asked for help from our centers to make sure we were protected.”

Chau filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging that her First Amendment right was violated. She is represented by Denver attorney David Lane.

“This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment to freedom of speech,” Lane said. “Any government employee has the absolute right to speak publicly on an issue of serious public concern, and the safety of election officials is a matter of serious public concern… Virginia did a fantastic job discussing this on national television and she was fired.” So the point of this lawsuit is that Denver needs to admit that they violated the First Amendment, and as Virginia so eloquently said, poll workers everywhere need to know that they can speak up and ask for support.

Chau said her family – refugees and immigrants – came to the United States because they did not have freedom of speech.

“I’m so privileged to be born and raised here, and I have a First Amendment right — I have to take advantage of it,” she said.

A spokesperson for the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office sent Denver7 the following statement:

“We cannot comment on the details of the ongoing litigation. However, Denver Elections officials are trained in security, de-escalation and how to report problems. Our priority is to protect the integrity and security of elections and personnel.”