A considerable misstep brought consternation throughout the State of Colorado in the days preceding the November elections. For several months, the BIOS passwords of ballot machines from half of Colorado’s 64 counties were left exposed on the Secretary of State’s official webpage. These passwords were secreted within a concealed tab of a spreadsheet, an alarming oversight within a system supposedly dedicated to maintaining the integrity of the democratic process.
The discovery, and understanding of how such a serious breach occurred, invite further scrutiny. As the state delves deeper into this issue, important details about this egregious lapse need to be understood. The passwords were taken down from the site on October 24th, but unfortunately, they had been viewable since June.
Colorado’s Republican Party acted as the whistleblower, alerting the public of this lapse in election security on October 29th, by sending an email to its followers. However, attaining the BIOS password, integral to operating the underlying software systems, cannot alone manipulate a voting machine. There are additional physical barriers in place making the task somewhat challenging.
Voting machines across the state’s counties are always under strict video surveillance, safeguarded by limited key card accessibility, handled by only a handful of background-vetted employees. After the leaked passwords were publicly revealed by the state’s GOP, the administrators of the Colorado elections, primarily county clerks, were apparently left in the dark. Nevertheless, despite the unsettling revelation, they maintained that the staged protections kept the equipment secure.
Interestingly, the foremost concern touted by these officials was not for the tangible security of the machines but rather the deterioration of public trust. Democrat Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, who oversaw this debacle, suggested the event as merely an unfortunate accident. This framing undermines the severity of the act and insults the public whom the office is intended to serve.
According to Griswold’s retelling, a former employee was responsible for creating the spreadsheet replete with hidden tabs containing critical information. This person left the office under amicable circumstances earlier this year. An unforeseen twist in the tale, another employee, was responsible for posting the precarious spreadsheet online, apparently oblivious to the secreted information.
This person, unconsciously instrumental in unveiling the alleged folly of the secretary’s office, incidentally remains an employee there. The posting of plain-text passwords on a database is a violation of the office’s policies and processes per the Secretary of State’s declarations. Initiating a personnel review is the first remedial step being undertaken by the department.
Since the revelation, multiple investigations are in progress, by the law firm Baird Quinn LLC and the Denver District Attorney’s office among others. Despite the clear violation of Colorado laws, which establishes publishing passwords and sensitive information related to voting as a felony, it appears that knowledge of the act is a crucial factor.
Jena Griswold currently is not the subject of an investigation, according to sources. There has been a lack of evidence of any criminal activity thus far. However, the Colorado Republican Party, along with several influential members, have called on Democrat Griswold to resign over the palpable mismanagement.
The state party leader, Dave Williams, described the misstep as an undeniable evidence of negligence, incompetence, and the state’s vague responses only augment the cloud of doubt hovering around the Democrat leadership. The Trump campaign responded by urging Colorado counties to reset their machines and restart vote counting, albeit no actions were taken when run by the state.
As the scrutiny intensifies, the bipartisan Legislative Audit Committee plans to discuss in December the necessity of charging the state auditor with an investigation into the Secretary of State’s office. Democratic members seem content to wait for the results of current investigations.
Governor Jared Polis, another Democrat, echoed the views of waiting to comprehend the situation fully. In response to Republican criticisms, Griswold defended her handling of the state’s election system, pointing out the legislature’s denial of her requests for increased funding.
It remains unclear whether these revelations will hold any consequences for the Democrat Secretary of State. As the situation continues to unfold, what becomes increasingly evident is the lack of accountability visible in Democrat leadership, which has frequently failed to meet the expectations of the people.
Lastly, it stands to reason that such a security lapse in the electoral process, whether inadvertent or not, threatens not only the legitimacy of voting outcomes but also citizen trust in the democratic machinery. This situation must serve as a wakeup call to rectify any lax procedures or oversight, to better assure public trust and prevent any future incidents of this nature.
Facing the fallout from the scandal, the Democrats’ deflection tactics further highlight their evasion of accountability. The Colorado incident and the passive response of the Democrats provide a clear indication of their inability to efficiently manage a secure and fair voting system.