Passwords for El Paso voting tabulation machines among those compromised in online leak
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - After speaking with the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, KRDO13 has learned eight of the county's machines have been affected by an online password leak.
Earlier this week, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced there was a hidden section of voting machine passwords included on the state website.
According to the Associated Press, the passwords were only one of two that are needed to access any component of Colorado’s voting systems. Jack Todd, spokesperson for the Secretary of State's Office, told the Associated Press that they are part of a layered security system.
Steve Schleiker, El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, says eight of the county's machines are affected in the leak.
"I was just not very happy with the release of the passwords from the Secretary of State's Office. El Paso County was one of the counties that were affected," said Schleiker.
Luckily El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Shlieker says those passwords are outdated.
"So here in El Paso County this past year, 2023, we removed all of the equipment in our tabulation room so that equipment does not have any kind of ISP modem network interface card or wireless card. AT&T, Verizon, all of it has been stripped, and we have replaced it with all brand new equipment that has zero network capability. So when we're talking about people having access, you know, hacking into the network, that doesn't happen here in El Paso County, because we have completely cleaned all that out," Schleiker explained.
He says the county can not get hacked. Even so, Schleiker’s taking the extra steps to be safe.
The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder's Office says a state official is coming down to change those passwords.
He says a team of two democrats and two republicans will watch as those passwords are reset.
The ballots will also be completely removed from the tabulation room before anyone is allowed in. When KRDO13 spoke with Schleiker he explained the process of securing the ballots before the state representative came to change the passwords.
"We are in the process of removing the ballots that are currently being processed out. We are securing them in another room. So when that person comes down to do that, there are no ballots in that room. We reset the passwords witnessed by bipartisan judges and we are back to work," shared Schleiker.
Schleiker and his team of election workers say they have been working for over the past year and a half to ensure election safety and security.
"So here in El Paso County, we are good," said Schleiker, "Everybody's vote is safe."
"This does not pose an immediate security threat to Colorado’s elections. Out of an abundance of caution, our team has been in the field updating passwords. For their security, we do not have further comment on specifics at this time."
Jack Todd, Secretary of State's Office
RELATED: El Paso County Clerk & Recorder joins KRDO13 to discuss election security
Schleiker also asks that voters turn in their ballots ahead of time, for election results to be processed quickly. If you would like to see an active map of El Paso County voting data click here.
