Colorado Secretary of State updates voting passwords after they are accidentally posted online, says election system safe

Colorado officials said on Friday that the state’s elections are secure after a spreadsheet including a list of passwords used to access voting systems was inadvertently posted on the Secretary of State’s website.

The spreadsheet included a list of one of the two passwords needed to make any changes to voting systems, according to Secretary of State Jena Griswold. The passwords for affected equipment have since been changed. 

“Colorado has countless layers of security to ensure our elections are free and fair, and every eligible voter should know their ballot will be counted as cast,” Griswold said in a news release.

To use the passwords, someone would also have to have physical access to the voting machines. Voting equipment in Colorado is stored in secure rooms that require an ID badge to access, and anyone who enters has to have authorization or be supervised by an authorized and background-checked employee. Those rooms are surveilled 24/7 with video cameras. 

Gov. Jared Polis announced on Friday morning that his office had deployed resources to help the Secretary of State’s office to secure any affected systems and verify that no settings were changed in any election equipment. The state staff members worked in pairs and were observed by county election officials. 

Griswold has fielded questions during several media interviews since the discovery, which was made public earlier this week by the state Republican Party. She has said multiple times that the password disclosure doesn’t pose any security threat to Colorado’s elections. 

In an interview with Colorado Public Radio, she said the civil servant who was responsible for the error is no longer with their office.

Republicans locally and nationally have heaped criticism on Griswold over the error. 

After Republican members of the Colorado House called on her to retire, she said she wouldn’t consider it.

“Absolutely not,” she said in a Wednesday interview with 9News’ Kyle Clark.

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is also demanding that the counties whose voting equipment passwords were posted start over on processing all ballots. Griswold responded to this request on Thursday evening, saying the error presented “no immediate threat to the security of Colorado’s voting systems or the 2024 General Election.”

Election Day is Nov. 5. Any ballots not yet mailed must be dropped off directly at ballot boxes to ensure they are counted by next Tuesday.