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Rep. Diana DeGette Takes Shot At Secretary Of State Scott Gessler

DENVER (CBS4) - Rep. Diana DeGette took a shot at Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler on Saturday. She says he's turned Colorado into Ground Zero for voter rights suppression.

Gessler fired back, accusing DeGette of taking a political cheap shot.

DeGette was speaking at the state Capitol and taking part in a global effort to promote human rights. As part of that effort, the Denver Democrat accused Gessler of seeking to remove inactive voters by not mailing ballots to minorities who might not have the means or time to go to the polls.

"It's clear, sadly, that these efforts are being funded and driven by a blatant desire for electoral gain by those who believe that the voters might stand in the way of their political ends," DeGette said.

"I have no idea where our votes do or don't come from along those lines. It's a political cheap shot and she's trying to avoid accountability for the economic failures going on in Congress right now," Gessler said.

Gessler says there should be nothing to prevent inactive voters from getting a mail-in ballot. All they'd have to do is ask for one. Gessler also says he will appeal a court ruling that prevented him from keeping county clerks from mailing ballots to inactive voters.

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