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DENVER (CN) — A Denver judge on Tuesday denied the Libertarian Party’s request to remove Colorado’s Democratic secretary of state from office after a staffer posted voting machine passwords online.
“Even if petitioners could meet their burden to show that C.R.S. § 1-13-708(2) was violated, the Colorado secretary of state independently acted to correct the wrongful act before the instant litigation was filed,” Second Judicial District Judge Kandace Gerdes wrote in a 10-page opinion.
In June, a state employee posted a spreadsheet titled “Voting Systems Inventory” on the state website which unbeknownst to everyone in the office contained 600 of the state’s basic input/output system, or BIOS, passwords on a hidden tab.
The passwords are needed to access the state’s election management system, ballot scanners and its adjudication system, in tandem with county administrative passwords.
In late October, Secretary of State Jena Griswold became aware that the passwords were online, removed them, and worked to remedy the security breach.
The Libertarian Party of Colorado sued Griswold on Friday demanding her removal from office and a hand count of the 2024 election results.
An appointee of Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper, Gerdes found Griswold “substantially complied with correcting the BIOS password breach and has verified that no affected voting machines were compromised.”
Gerdes also noted no evidence had been presented to indicate anyone in the secretary of state’s office knowingly posted the passwords online.
In a statement, Griswold credited the state’s robust election security system for containing the fallout from the breach.
“Colorado’s elections are safe due to the multilayered security measures we have in place,” Griswold wrote. “I am glad that the Denver District Court has recognized the actions we took to address the password disclosure. On this Election Day, I encourage Coloradans to make their voices heard.”
The Libertarian Party is represented by Denver attorney Gary Fielder, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As of 11 a.m., the state had collected 2.5 million ballots from voters around the state. Preliminary results will be posted at 7 p.m., although the state won’t formally certify results for several weeks.
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