Colorado GOP Alleges Griswold Hid Voting Password Leak

The Colorado GOP has released explosive audio implicating Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and her office in a cover-up of a significant election security breach. According to the audio and an affidavit from the Colorado GOP, Griswold’s team concealed the exposure of sensitive voting machine BIOS passwords to avoid sparking a “media storm.”

The breach involved approximately 600 BIOS passwords for election equipment in 63 of Colorado’s 64 counties. These passwords, essential for accessing critical election systems, were inadvertently published on Griswold’s official website. The Colorado GOP affidavit claims the exposure occurred in June, just ahead of the state’s primary election, and remained publicly accessible until late October.

On Thursday, the Colorado GOP released audio recordings revealing internal discussions within Griswold’s office. In one of the most damning exchanges, Deputy Secretary Christopher Beall admitted, “We were not going to tell the clerks because doing so would have created the media storm we’re now facing.”

The audio indicates that Griswold’s team was aware of the breach for months but opted to withhold the information from county clerks. The clerks only learned of the leak when the Colorado GOP made the issue public.

In a recent interview with Kyle Clark of 9News, Griswold attempted to downplay the breach, describing the leaked information as “partial passwords.” She argued that these credentials were just one of two required to operate the election systems. However, this explanation has done little to alleviate concerns about election security.

Critics quickly pointed out that Griswold’s breach is far more severe than the case of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, whose leaked passwords were outdated and posed no security risk. By contrast, Griswold’s leaked credentials were current and operational, potentially endangering the integrity of Colorado’s election systems.

The breach and its subsequent cover-up have raised serious questions about the state’s election security. While Griswold has consistently positioned herself as a champion of secure and transparent elections, this incident undermines her credibility. The Colorado GOP argues that by withholding critical information from local officials and the public, Griswold’s office compromised the integrity of the state’s election infrastructure.

Election security experts emphasize that even a partial password leak can pose a significant risk, particularly when combined with other vulnerabilities. They warn that such breaches could allow bad actors to gain unauthorized access to election systems, potentially disrupting the electoral process or undermining public trust.

The release of the audio has intensified calls for an independent investigation into Griswold’s handling of the breach. Some Republican lawmakers are urging state officials to conduct a thorough review of Colorado’s election security protocols and hold those responsible accountable.

As the controversy unfolds, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of transparency and swift action in safeguarding the electoral process. Whether Griswold’s office will face consequences for its alleged misconduct remains to be seen, but the trust of Colorado voters hangs in the balance.

Transcript:

Adams County Clerk, Josh Zygielbaum: What level of training do these individuals have on our specific servers and other equipment that qualifies them to do this work?

Christopher Beall: All of these individuals are cybersecurity technicians. Your equipment is off-the-shelf equipment loaded with election software. In all respects, it is no different from any other computer equipment. We do not believe more training is needed than what we have already provided for changing passwords on the equipment.

Josh Zygielbaum: Second thing, Chris—honestly, I’m not confident in this process. What the Secretary’s office should have done upon discovering this issue was deploy people immediately to change the passwords instead of keeping it a secret. It’s completely unacceptable that this is our process now, five days before the election. What guarantee do we have that these people won’t crash our system somehow?

Christopher Beall: Josh, I appreciate that you’re upset.

Josh Zygielbaum: I’m not upset, Chris. I’m pissed off. It’s really hard not answering media questions the way I actually want to.

Christopher Beall: Okay. All I can do is be as transparent as possible. We were not going to tell counties because doing so would have created the media storm we’re now facing.

Josh Zygielbaum: That’s bullsh—t, Chris.

Christopher Beall: We are sending staff to change passwords. I believe in Adams County we’re sending someone from our staff. Regardless, there is no possibility that these password changes will crash the system. This is at the BIOS level and has nothing to do with operating software. Josh, suggesting otherwise is irresponsible.

Josh Zygielbaum: It’s not irresponsible. We’re in the middle of a presidential election, and we’re having someone come in and mess with our server. Small setting changes have caused major issues in the past.

The Republican Party is now calling for Griswold’s immediate resignation, accusing her of jeopardizing the integrity of Colorado’s elections.

Watch the video below:

Timestamps:
0:00 Deputy Secretary Christopher Beall and Adams County Clerk Josh Zygielbaum Cyber Security -Technicians and We were not going to tell the clerks.
3:10 Hillary Rudy and Deputy Beall – These are just computers.
5:00 Secretary Griswold – All passwords are replaced verified no settings were changed, 22 people from Gov 8 from SOS office that usually don’t do this work.
6:35 Rich Schliep SOS employee- They did not pull the BIOS event logs
7:08 El Paso Clerk Steve Schleiker and Secretary Griswold – The Secretary has lost complete credibility