In the early hours of Friday, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold walked back her unprecedented request asking the national media to not report results or make projections on election night.

 Reaction to the move, made on Twitter on Thursday was met with criticism. Gov. Jared Polis told The Gazette he “strongly” disagrees with the notion.

“I would like to apologize for a tweet I put out earlier tonight. It was confusing, and the point I was trying to make was made inartfully,” Griswold said in a statement. “My intention was to draw attention to the fact that other states across the nation are drastically adopting new voting procedures, and it is critically important that these changes be taken into account in election night reporting.

“Unlike Colorado, some states may not be able to process ballots until Election Day or after. A free press is a key pillar of our democracy, and I have full confidence the media will handle this professionally and accurately.”

While her initial thread requested that media not make projections or announce results on election night, her edited tweet, posted several hours later, only called on the media to refrain from declaring a presidential winner or loser “until the millions of outstanding mail ballots are counted.”

“Attention national media executives: Our democracy cannot be held hostage to a ratings rate,” Griswold, a Democrat, initially tweeted Thursday afternoon. “If you care about our democracy, you will protect it.”

The country is “in the middle of a pandemic and the president of the United States has telegraphed that he may claim victory on election night, even when millions of ballots will not have been counted,” she added. “This is no normal election. A record number of Americans will be voting by mail. We need an unprecedented plan for the media for how they will cover an unprecedented election.” 

In a statement late Thursday regarding the initial thread, Polis said he opposed Griswold’s request.

“I strongly disagree with this notion,” said Polis, also a Democrat. “I have a tremendous amount of faith in the incredible, safe and secure Colorado election system. Our election officers have a duty to be transparent and report the results as they’re available, and I encourage every person to vote no matter their political affiliation.”

President Trump has made no secret of his disdain for mail-in voting, claiming that the process facilitates voter fraud.

“Mail ballots, they cheat,” Trump said Tuesday afternoon, The New York Times reported. “Mail ballots are very dangerous for this country because of cheaters. They go collect them. They are fraudulent in many cases.”

Gazette news partner 9News and Gazette reporters O’Dell Isaac and Ernest Luning contributed to this report.