Colorado Secretary of State site 'improperly' displayed partial passwords for voting systems

The Colorado Secretary of State's Office mistakenly posted a spreadsheet to its website pinch a hidden tab that included voting strategy passwords connected Wednesday.

The Colorado Department of State issued a connection and acknowledged it was alert of nan situation.

"The Colorado Department of State is alert that a spreadsheet located connected nan Department’s website improperly included a hidden tab including partial passwords to definite components of Colorado voting systems. This does not airs an contiguous information threat to Colorado’s elections, nor will it effect really ballots are counted," nan connection read. 

The Colorado Secretary of State spokesperson told FOX31 that nan partial passwords leaked do "not airs an contiguous threat to Colorado’s elections, nor will it effect really ballots are counted."

EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING BEGINS IN DC, COLORADO

Pastor Bradley said immoderate cardinal messages of dream successful nan Bible tin beryllium applied to nan various feelings surrounding nan election.  (iStock)

The authorities agency said that Colorado elections see galore layers of information and see 2 unsocial passwords for each predetermination instrumentality component, which are kept successful abstracted places and held by different parties. 

"It goes without saying really important this is," nan Colorado GOP wrote to nan Secretary of State’s Office. "We tin only ideate that, since nan find past week, you and your unit person been moving tirelessly to remedy these vulnerabilities."

The authorities agency added that passwords tin only beryllium utilized pinch beingness in-person access to a voting system. 

"Under Colorado law, voting instrumentality must beryllium stored successful unafraid rooms that require a unafraid ID badge to access. That ID badge creates an entree log that tracks who enters a unafraid area and when," nan authorities agency said.

According to nan authorities office, location is besides 24/7 video camera signaling connected each predetermination equipment. 

MILLIONS OF VOTERS HAVE ALREADY CAST BALLOTS FOR NOV. 5 ELECTION

Election officials activity astatine nan Webb Building Voter Service and Polling Center astatine Denver Elections Division successful Denver, Colorado connected Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

"Clerks are required to support restricted entree to unafraid ballot areas, and whitethorn only stock entree accusation pinch background-checked individuals. No personification whitethorn beryllium coming successful a unafraid area unless they are authorized to do truthful aliases are supervised by an authorized and background-checked employee," nan agency explained.

The authorities agency added that location is besides a strict concatenation of custody requirements that way when a voting systems constituent has been accessed and by whom, stating it is simply a felony to entree voting instrumentality without authorization.

Every Colorado elector votes connected a insubstantial ballot, which is past audited during nan Risk Limiting Audit to verify that ballots were counted according to elector intent, nan authorities agency said. 

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A man walks retired of nan Board of Elections Loop Super Site aft casting his ballot successful nan 2024 statesmanlike predetermination connected nan 2nd time of early voting successful Chicago, Illinois, connected October 4, 2024. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams called nan imaginable vulnerability of nan predetermination system's passwords "shocking."

"We perceive each nan clip successful Colorado from Secretary Griswold and Governor Polis that we correspond nan ‘Gold Standard’ for predetermination integrity, a exemplary for nan nation," Dave Williams, Chairman of nan Republican Party of Colorado said successful a connection to FOX31. "One tin only dream that by nan Secretary of State posting our astir delicate passwords online to nan world dispels that myth."

The Colorado Republicans besides asked for confirmation aliases a scheme regarding really nan "exposed systems" will aliases still meet nan certification requirements of a "trusted build," noting that a breach by a statement pinch BIOS entree whitethorn beryllium difficult aliases intolerable to identify.

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"The Department took contiguous action arsenic soon arsenic it was alert of this, and informed nan Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which intimately monitors and protects nan county’s basal information infrastructure. The Department is moving to remedy this business wherever necessary," nan authorities agency said. 

Fox News Digital reached retired to nan Colorado Secretary of State and Colorado GOP for remark but did not instantly person a response.