DENVER (AP) — Voting system passwords were mistakenly put on the Colorado Secretary of State's website before being spotted and taken down, but the lapse did not pose an immediate threat to the upcoming election , said state election officials Tuesday. The passwords were one of two that are needed to access Colorado's voting systems, and are just one part of a layered security system, said Jack Todd, spokesperson for the the Secretary of State's office, in a statement. Those passwords alone wouldn't allow someone access to a voting system.
Colorado’s top elections official, Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold, frequently calls Colorado the gold standard for election security. However, she has been criticized by the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party amid heightened scrutiny over election systems in the United States. Election officials learned last week that the spreadsheet, which held the passwords in a hidden tab, was available online, just days out from the Nov.
5 election. Once the lapse was discovered, Todd said, the department took immediate action, informed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and is working to remedy the situation where necessary. The executive director of the Colorado Clerks Association, Matt Crane, told 9News that while the lapse was concerning, the association was satisfied with the Colorado Secretary of State's response.
“The truth is, is this a concern? Yes,” Crane said. “Is it being mitigated? Yes.” Th.