In June, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office inadvertently exposed voting system passwords on the public-facing website. State officials were informed of the issue on Oct. 24, and they promptly informed federal authorities. County clerks were briefed on this urgent matter on Oct. 29. Teller County’s substantial investments in hardware and procedures have ensured it was unaffected by this incident.
Passwords are on the State level and do not affect the County level. The passwords would have to work in conjunction with each other to allow direct access to the voting equipment.
It is important to note that these passwords cannot be used to access the systems remotely. Teller County implemented equipment upgrades to voting equipment, removing the capability for internet, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi access.
The only way these system passwords can be used is by physical access to the equipment. Teller County’s physical security is a priority for all election equipment. Here are the additional security measures that ensure physical access is limited:
• All voting equipment is stored in a room with strict access control.
• All employees authorized to access the equipment have background checks conducted on them.
• Colorado requires all voting equipment to be under 24/7 camera surveillance.
• We also have keycard access for the election room, meaning no one can access the room without being accompanied by a certified election employee.
Although Teller County was not impacted, 31 counties needed to change their passwords following this breach, and the Colorado Secretary of State authorized those to change the passwords for these other counties.
In addition to these equipment security protocols, every Colorado voter votes a paper ballot. This means there is a hardcopy record of how each voter filled out their ballot, which is audited at the end of each election accuracy comparison.
Because of our dedication to election integrity and the substantial investments we’ve made in our technology and systems here in Teller County, our voters can be confident in the security and accuracy of our election results.
