The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office posted passwords to statewide voting systems online for anyone to access. The Colorado Republican Party, which uncovered the security breach, is seeking accountability.
The office of Democrat Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who tried but failed to kick former President Donald Trump off the ballot, posted an Excel file online with a “hidden” page of 600 passwords to voting systems in every county but one, according to an email the Colorado GOP sent on Tuesday. Anyone could “unhide” the page and view the passwords.
On Wednesday, the Colorado GOP said it is seeking “legal relief in the courts” and calling on state lawmakers for an emergency audit, saying Griswold engaged in a “cover-up.” Colorado voting is already underway, according to the secretary’s website, with more than 1.27 million votes already cast.
“This does not pose an immediate security threat to Colorado’s elections, nor will it impact how ballots are counted,” Griswold’s office claimed in a press release.
The secretary leaked “BIOS” or “Basic Input/Output System” passwords, which “prevent unauthorized access when the computer is booting.” This violates state election rules, which dictate that “civil servants at the Department of State will securely and confidentially maintain all BIOS passwords for voting system components.”
Griswold’s office claimed passwords can only be used in person and that “every election equipment component” requires two passwords — though the Colorado GOP said “this is not true for the BIOS.”
“We do not see this as a full security threat
