Colorado’s secretary of state filed a lawsuit Monday to stop Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters from having an oversight role in the November election, citing allegations the clerk is responsible for multiple security breaches that have spawned criminal investigations.

In the lawsuit, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, is also asking the Mesa County District Court to appoint former Secretary of State Wayne Williams, the Republican she unseated three years ago, as the county’s designated election official and to name Mesa County Treasurer Sheila Reiner, Peters’ Republican predecessor as county clerk, as elections director.

“My priority is ensuring that the voters of Mesa County have accessible and secure elections,” Griswold said in a written statement. “With the quickly approaching election, I am taking action to ensure that the county’s election office can provide great elections for Mesa voters. As secretary of state, I will continue to provide the support and oversight needed to ensure the integrity of Colorado’s elections.”

The announcement that Griswold wants Williams to run the election defuses a potential conflict with the Western Slope county’s commissioners, who had already voted to hire the Colorado Springs councilman to take over for Peters and on Monday approved a contract paying Williams $180 an hour to do the job.

Griswold announced earlier this month that she had appointed Reiner and a three-member advisory team to run the county’s upcoming election after determining Peters was involved in leaking sensitive election data, including voting system passwords and copies of the software used to manage elections in 62 of Colorado’s 64 counties.

At the same time, Griswold decertified Mesa County’s Dominion Voting Systems equipment, saying its security couldn’t be guaranteed after the passwords and copies of the system’s hard drive were posted online. Last week, Mesa County commissioners approved a deal to replace the equipment, which is leased.

“Given the quickly approaching deadlines for the November 2021 Coordinated Election, it is paramount that a structure is in place to give Mesa County residents the secure and accessible election they deserve,” Griswold’s office said in a release. “The legal action outlines the structure and roles under which Treasurer Reiner and Councilor Williams can operate.”

Colorado Politics reported earlier this month that Williams and Reiner were working together in order to make sure the county could meet deadlines to send the certified ballot to the printer and start getting ballots mailed to military and overseas voters by mid-September.

Williams told Colorado Politics on Monday that preparations are on track ahead of the election.

“I appreciate the confidence the commissioners, the secretary, and the attorney general have shown,” Williams said in a text message. “The Mesa Elections team, Treasurer Reiner, and I will be working hard to deliver a transparent and fair election this fall for the citizens of Mesa County.”

In addition to an administrative probe conducted by the secretary of state’s office, Peters and her office are under investigation by the Mesa County district attorney, the FBI and the Colorado attorney general’s office.

Peters hasn’t responded to multiple requests for comment from Colorado Politics.

According to Mesa County employees, Peters hasn’t returned to the office since departing on Aug. 9 for South Dakota, where she appeared at a symposium sponsored by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a prominent supporter of the unfounded theory that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. Lindell has said he is helping Peters hide out in undisclosed locations due to purported threats.