Colorado’s Chief Election Official Confirms Employee Responsible for Posting Voting Passwords Has Been Removed
The employee, described as a ‘civil servant,’ no longer works in the office, as stated by the secretary of state.
According to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, the individual responsible for a voting security breach that resulted in passwords being posted online is no longer employed, and she reassured residents that there is no need to worry about the election’s integrity.
During an interview with Colorado Public Radio, Griswold stated that the employee, identified as a “civil servant,” does not work for her office anymore following the incident.
“A civil servant made an accidental error. As a precaution, we are actively resetting passwords and reviewing access logs for affected counties,” Griswold explained. “The employee responsible for the hidden tabs on the spreadsheet is no longer part of the department, and we are taking all necessary steps to reassure the public and collaborate with the counties.
“This is solely a precautionary measure. We have no reason to believe there is a security threat to Colorado’s elections.”
It remains unclear whether the employee was fired or resigned, as the individual’s identity was not disclosed. The Epoch Times reached out to the secretary’s office for a statement but received no response at the time of publication.
Griswold affirmed that her office is actively working to resolve the issue. She noted that misinformation, conspiracy theories, and threats against election workers have led to significant turnover among county clerks tasked with conducting elections.
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On Tuesday, Griswold revealed that the passwords had been accessible on a spreadsheet online for several months. She confirmed that local, state, and federal agencies are collaborating to modify the passwords and scrutinize logs for any irregular activities.
The Colorado County Clerks Association released a statement asserting that due to the multiple protective measures in place within Colorado’s voting systems and with the remedial plan underway, “county clerks have confidence in the security of Colorado elections.”
The former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign sent a letter to Griswold expressing concern, following a similar letter from the chairman of the Colorado GOP. In response, Griswold stated in a letter on Thursday evening that due to the system’s numerous security layers, no single error can compromise its integrity, and the leak poses “no immediate threat.”
According to a letter from the Trump campaign’s legal counsel, Griswold’s office must take corrective actions to ensure the security of election systems in areas where counties’ passwords were made public.
Those responsible for changing the compromised passwords are working in pairs under the supervision of local election officials, as per a statement from Colorado Governor Jared Polis’s office.
“We are committed to providing assurances that all votes are counted accurately and fairly, not just for this election but for all future elections,” Polis remarked.
Griswold emphasized that “Colorado has numerous layers of security to guarantee that voters’ voices are heard.”
“I appreciate the governor’s assistance in quickly rectifying this unfortunate error,” she added.
Despite the reassurances, a former Colorado secretary of state cautioned that the security incident represents a “serious breach.”
“This is concerning. We have additional safeguards in place, but the occurrence of such a significant breach is troubling,” former Republican Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams told 9News.
Political forecasters, including the Cook Political Report, do not anticipate Colorado to be a competitive state for Trump. The state favored then-presidential candidate Joe Biden by approximately 14 percentage points in the 2020 election, while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won by around 5 points in 2016.
A recent poll conducted in Colorado shows that Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris holds a 12-point lead over Trump.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
