Key Takeaways:
– Colorado Secretary of State, Jena Griswold and her team hid the leak of voting machine passwords fearing a media frenzy.
– The leaked recording from a deputy state official confirmed the lack of transparency.
– Republicans in the state ousted the security lapse.
– The Denver district attorney’s office is investigating the leak which involved passwords from 34 Colorado counties.
– Griswold played an integral role in a previous scandal involving election systems.
The Colorado Elections Controversy
The brewing controversy around the Democrats in Colorado is thickening after Colorado Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, unintentionally posted voting machine passwords online. An audio recording has now surfaced, which shows that Griswold and her team intentionally kept both the county clerks and the public in the dark about the major security lapse.
The Politics Behind The Leak
It was only when the Republicans in the state highlighted this alarming breach, that the matter was made public. The leaked recording, which revealed a conversation amongst the officials, depicted a clear intent to suppress the news of the leak. The fear behind this move was the potential news chaos and negative publicity they’d face.
Griswold’s Track Record
Griswold seems to be no stranger to such incidents. Previously, she allegedly schemed with Democrat associates on the state Supreme Court to exclude President-elect Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot. This decision, however, received a rebuke from the U.S. Supreme Court. Additionally, Griswold roped herself in further controversy when Tina Peters, a clerk in Mesa County, exposed an election systems password in her bid to copy the 2020 election results. Peters faced a prison sentence for her actions.
Conducting the Investigation
Taking the recent password leak into account, an investigation has been launched by the Denver district attorney’s office, with assistance from the El Paso County district attorney. The focus of the investigation is the belief that the leak may have originated from Griswold’s Denver-based office. The passwords in question were relevant to voting equipment in 34 counties in Colorado, including El Paso.
Delayed Security Measures
Although the passwords were eventually changed, it only happened after the egregious oversight went public. The state Republican Party shone the light on the fact that hundreds of passwords to access the once secure voting equipment in county election offices had been exposed online. The lack of professional action and transparency by Griswold’s office during this crisis is a key point of contention, as highlighted by the recorded conversation of deputy state secretary, Chris Beall.
In Conclusion
The scandal enveloping Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold and her team deepens as the potential risks of the leaked voting machine passwords become increasingly evident. The clandestine manner in which the incident was handled highlights a lack of transparency that is not expected from such high-ranking officials. Yet, only time will tell what consequences this mere ‘oversight’ and subsequent cover-up attempt will have for Griswold, her team, and ultimately, democratic integrity in the state of Colorado.