Colorado Secretary of State updates voting system passwords after some posted online

DENVER (KDVR) -- Over a week after partial passwords for voting systems were posted on the Secretary of State's website, officials confirmed the passwords were updated and the security of the voting machines were verified.

Governor Jared Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold said the process was completed on Thursday night. All impacted passwords were changed with the help of eight staff from the Department of State and 22 state cybersecurity personnel.

While many passwords were changed, they said the posted passwords never posed an immediate security threat to Colorado’s elections and passwords were changed out of precaution.

"The passwords that were improperly disclosed were one of two passwords to make changes to these particular voting system components and can only be used with in-person physical access to that specific machine," the Secretary of State said in a press release.

They said, according to state law, this voting equipment was in a secure, authorized room with video surveillance and a strict chain of custody.

During the verification process, they confirmed all staff had background checks and underwent training before working on election systems. They also said state agency staff worked in pairs and were observed by county elections officials.

Passwords posted on SOS website

On Tuesday, Colorado’s Republican party accused the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office of “quietly” removing a publicly accessible spreadsheet from the office’s website that “contained BIOS passwords for election systems in 63 of the 64 counties in Colorado.”

Soon after, the party called for Griswold’s resignation, who said that she would stay in office and help make sure this election was safe and secure.

FOX31 later learned that the office knew the passwords had been posted five days before they began changing them on Tuesday, and did not inform county clerks immediately of the potential issue.

According to Griswold, an employee who mistakenly put those passwords on a hidden tab is no longer with the agency. She assured voters again on Wednesday that the posted password spreadsheet “does not pose an immediate security threat to Colorado’s elections.”

On Thursday, former President Donald Trump demanded in a letter that the Secretary of State temporarily halt processing mail-in ballots in Colorado.

The Secretary of State said on Friday the posted passwords won't impact how ballots are counted.