An election worker sorts ballots for the US midterm election, at Mesa County Central Services in Grand Junction, Colorado, on November 8, 2022. (Photo by JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN Staff Abril Elfi 4:32 PM – Wednesday, October 30, 2024
The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office “mistakenly posted” a spreadsheet to its website with a hidden tab that had the voting system passwords.
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On Wednesday, the department issued a statement acknowledging that they were aware of the leak.
“The Colorado Department of State is aware that a spreadsheet located on the Department’s website improperly included a hidden tab including partial passwords to certain components of Colorado voting systems. This does not pose an immediate security threat to Colorado’s elections, nor will it impact how ballots are counted,” the statement read.
Soon after, a spokesperson for the department spoke with FOX31, claiming that the partial passwords leaked do “not pose an immediate threat to Colorado’s elections, nor will it impact how ballots are counted.”
In Colorado, the state office also noted that elections include “many layers” of security and include two unique passwords for every election equipment component, which are purportedly kept in separate places and held by different parties.
“It goes without saying how significant this is,” the Colorado GOP wrote to the Secretary of State’s Office. “We can only imagine that, since the discovery last week, you and your staff have been working tirelessly to remedy these vulnerabilities.”
They continued, adding that the passwords can only be used with physical in-person access to a voting system.
“Under Colorado law, voting equipment must be stored in secure rooms that require a secure ID badge to access. That ID badge creates an access log that tracks who enters a secure area and when,” the state office said.
There is also a 24/7 video camera recording on all election equipment, they added.
“Clerks are required to maintain restricted access to secure ballot areas, and may only share access information with background-checked individuals. No person may be present in a secure area unless they are authorized to do so or are supervised by an authorized and background-checked employee,” the office explained.
The state’s office continued reassuring the public that there are ways to track when a voting systems component has been accessed and by whom, stating that it is a serious felony to access voting equipment without authorization.
According to the state office, every Colorado voter casts a paper ballot, which is then audited during the Risk Limiting Audit to ensure that votes were counted in accordance with voter intent.
Meanwhile, Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams called the exposure of the election system’s passwords “shocking.”
“We hear all the time in Colorado from Secretary Griswold and Governor Polis that we represent the ‘Gold Standard’ for election integrity, a model for the nation,” Dave Williams, Chairman of the Republican Party of Colorado said in a statement to FOX31. “One can only hope that by the Secretary of State posting our most sensitive passwords online to the world dispels that myth.”
Colorado Republicans also requested confirmation and a plan for how the “exposed systems” will meet the certification requirements of a “trusted build,” noting that a breach by a party with BIOS access could be difficult or impossible to detect.
Lastly, the office highlighted how the department had taken immediate action by informing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, in accordance with the law.
“The Department took immediate action as soon as it was aware of this, and informed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which closely monitors and protects the county’s essential security infrastructure. The Department is working to remedy this situation where necessary,” the state office said.
BREAKING: Colorado voting machine passwords were LEAKED online by the Democrat Secretary of State. Specifically, over 600 passwords for machines in 63 of the state’s 64 counties were posted for anyone to see
