Governor Polis, Secretary of State Griswold issue statement regarding voting machine password leak
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) - Amid a tumultuous week for election officials in Colorado, Governor Jared Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold are announcing the deployment of more state resources to ensure election security.
Approximately one week before the presidential election, Secretary of State Griswold announced that a spreadsheet located on the department's website improperly included a hidden tab that contained partial passwords to certain Colorado voting machines. Among those impacted were eight machines in El Paso County.
Governor Polis announced the executive branch is providing the Secretary of State with more human capital, air and ground assets, and other support to complete changes to impacted passwords and review logins to ensure that no tampering has occurred.
According to the Secretary of State, certain state employees who have cybersecurity training and have undergone appropriate background checks will be deputized. Employees will enter badged-access areas in pairs to update the passwords for election equipment with the goal of completing all necessary updates and changes by the night of November 4, 2024.
“We are deploying additional state resources to address this unfortunate leak. We want to resolve the current situation quickly by lending resources to help get the necessary passwords changed as quickly as possible with minimal impact on county clerk operations. We are dedicated to process improvements to instill confidence in our elections. We want to be able to provide assurances that all votes are counted fairly and accurately for this election and all elections, and are grateful for the work of the county clerks for overseeing this process with the state’s support.”
Colorado Governor, Jared Polis
“Colorado has countless layers of security to ensure voter’s voices are heard. I’m thankful to the Governor for his support to quickly resolve this unfortunate mistake."
Colorado Secretary of State, Jena Griswold
If you see something suspicious near an election site or experience election intimidation, please report it to the CIAC through their online Community Member Suspicious Activity Report Form.
