President Donald Trump’s marketing campaign issued a proper demand on Wednesday, calling on Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) to briefly stop processing mail-in ballots after her workplace reportedly leaked crucial BIOS passwords on-line.
The Gateway Pundit beforehand reported that Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s web site had printed roughly 600 BIOS passwords for the election gear in 63 out of 64 counties in Colorado.
The unlawful publicity of the passwords was first caught in August of this 12 months however believed to have been printed as early as June, earlier than the state’s main election. They usually weren’t eliminated till late October.
Griswold’s passwords have been neither incomplete nor have been all of them outdated. Nevertheless, Griswold tried to name the BIOS passwords “partial” as a result of they have been 1 of two passwords utilized by the system: one for the BIOS and one for the working system.
The Trump marketing campaign’s letter outlined pressing actions Griswold should take, together with figuring out impacted counties, notifying them of the breach, halting poll processing, and implementing new Trusted Builds together with Logic and Accuracy Exams.
The marketing campaign argued {that a} non permanent halt is critical to “assure that the election gear in these counties is safe” and restore public belief within the integrity of Colorado’s voting methods.
Learn the letter beneath:
“Pricey Secretary Griswold,
This agency represents Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc. Yesterday, it was revealed that your workplace publicly disclosed BIOS passwords for voting system gear for 63 of Colorado’s 64 counties starting in not less than August, 2024 and persevering with by means of Thursday, October 24, 2024. We’re significantly involved as a result of your workplace knew of this safety breach not less than as early as October 24, but hid the issue by failing to inform anybody.
As you already know, anybody in possession of present BIOS passwords and with entry to the affected election methods would have the flexibility to change the Trusted Construct of these methods with out leaving indicators of tampering within the software program. Therefore, this disclosure by your workplace—which we assume was inadvertent provided that realizing publication of this info constitutes a Class 5 felony underneath SB 22-153-makes it important that you simply act instantly to guard the integrity of Colorado’s common election.
With six days remaining earlier than Election Day, there’s a path ahead. Beneath Colorado legislation and present election laws, you will need to instantly do the next:
(1) Id these counties for whom the BIOS passwords listed within the spreadsheet disclosed by your workplace have been present as of their most up-to-date Trusted Construct.
(2) Instantly notify the affected counties and order a brand new Trusted Construct is required attributable to “one other safety problem” underneath Election Rule 20.6.1. Your workplace ought to full the required Trusted Builds expeditiously. As soon as the Trusted Construct is in place within the affected counties, these counties ought to be directed to right away conduct a brand new Logic and Accuracy Check for his or her election gear.
(3) For these counties for whom a brand new Trusted Construct is required, direct them to right away halt the processing of mail ballots acquired and to organize to re-scan all mail ballots already scanned after the brand new Trusted Construct and Logic and Accuracy Exams are accomplished. As you already know, that is doable, as a result of though most counties have already begun to course of and scan returned ballots, no county is permitted to reveal outcomes till 7:00pm on Election Day. C.R.S. § 1-7.5-107.5.
We acknowledge these steps could also be an inconvenience to your workplace and for the affected counties. However this inconvenience is critical as a result of it’s the solely approach to assure that the elections gear in these counties whose present BIOS passwords have been disclosed by your workplace are safe and that the chain-of-custody for that gear required by Colorado legislation and laws is unbroken.
Please affirm you’ll undertake these steps no later than 10:00am MT tomorrow, October 31, 2024”
NEW: Trump marketing campaign calls for Colorado Secretary of State @JenaGriswold (D) briefly halt processing of mail ballots and re-secure voting methods in counties impacted by her workplace’s leak of voting system passwords on-line. #copolitics pic.twitter.com/OXon4eQCCj
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) October 31, 2024
In response, Colorado’s Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Beall downplayed the severity of the leak. In his assertion, he insisted that “background-checked state cybersecurity consultants” would assist safe the methods, asserting there was “no quick menace” to Colorado’s election integrity.
He promised extra safety measures with out specifying what they’d entail.
“The Division decided that as a result of Colorado’s voting methods are protected by layers of safety and redundancies, no single error can compromise the integrity of the system. These measures are enshrined in statute and the Division’s election guidelines, together with a number of layers of password safety, tightly managed bodily entry to voting gear, 24-hour day by day video surveillance, amongst different measures. To reiterate, the safety of our voting methods is just not endangered,” Beall’s letter said, in accordance with Denver 7.
On Friday, Governor Polis and Secretary Griswold launched a joint assertion confirming that each one passwords on Colorado voting machines have been up to date and that the safety of the machines has been totally verified.
Learn the statement beneath:
Right now, Governor Jared Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold introduced that the hassle to replace all passwords and confirm the safety of affected energetic voting methods in Colorado is full. The joint effort concluded efficiently Thursday night.
“The entire passwords in affected counties have been modified. I wish to thank Governor Polis for deploying further state assets to assist on this effort,” stated Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “Colorado has numerous layers of safety to make sure our elections are free and honest, and each eligible voter ought to know their poll might be counted as forged.”
“We respect the swift work to replace these passwords. Each Coloradan can relaxation assured that their vote might be counted pretty and precisely. Whereas the leaked passwords compromised simply considered one of many layers of safety that shield our election integrity in Colorado, we knew it was crucial to take swift motion and to work with Secretary Griswold and the county clerks to replace the passwords instantly,” stated Governor Jared Polis. “I wish to particularly thank the hardworking state staff and county clerk personnel who have been a part of this effort.”
Inside hours of being briefed on Wednesday, October 30, Governor Polis deployed human capital, air and floor property, and different logistical help to the Secretary of State’s Workplace to finish modifications to all of the affected passwords and confirm that no settings had been modified in any piece of election gear.
Final night, the operation was accomplished shortly to alter all impacted passwords. This included eight workers from the Division of State and an extra 22 state cybersecurity personnel who have been directed to help the operation by Governor Polis. All workers had acceptable background checks and underwent coaching pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the Secretary of State previous to starting work on election methods. Moreover, state company workers labored in pairs and have been noticed by county elections officers.
This password disclosure didn’t pose a safety menace to Colorado’s elections, nor will it influence how ballots are counted. Modifications to passwords have been made out of an abundance of warning.
Colorado elections embrace many layers of safety. The passwords that have been improperly disclosed have been considered one of two passwords wanted together to make modifications to a voting system and might solely be used with in-person bodily entry. Beneath Colorado legislation, voting gear have to be saved in safe rooms that require a safe ID badge to entry. That ID badge creates an entry log that tracks who enters a safe space and when. There’s 24/7 video digital camera recording on all election gear. Clerks are required to keep up restricted entry to safe poll areas and will solely share entry info with background-checked people. No individual could also be current in a safe space except they’re licensed to take action or are supervised by a licensed and background-checked worker. There are additionally strict chain of custody necessities that observe when a voting methods element has been accessed and by whom. It’s a felony to entry voting gear with out authorization.
Each Colorado voter votes on a paper poll, which is then audited in the course of the Danger Limiting Audit to make sure ballots have been counted in accordance with voter intent.
Learn extra:
