COLORADO SPRINGS – Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has apologized after asking the national media on Thursday not to report results or make projections on Election night in November.

“Attention national media executives: Our democracy cannot be held hostage to a ratings rate,” Griswold said in a Twitter post on Thursday. “If you care about our democracy, you will protect it.”

Griswold, a Democrat, said later that the tweet was “misinterpreted,” The Gazette reported.

She posted an edited version of the tweet several hours later calling on the media to refrain from declaring the presidential race “until the millions of outstanding mail ballots are counted.”

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis told The Gazette he “strongly” disagreed with the unprecedented request.

“I have a tremendous amount of faith in the incredible, safe and secure Colorado election system,” Polis said. “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.”

Griswold issued her apology after the governor’s comments.

“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,” Griswold said. “A free press is a key pillar of our democracy, and I have full confidence the media will handle this professionally and accurately.”