Current:Home > InvestDenver district attorney is investigating the leak of voting passwords in Colorado-InfoLens
Denver district attorney is investigating the leak of voting passwords in Colorado
View Date:2024-12-23 10:55:35
Follow AP’s coverage of the election and what happens next.
DENVER (AP) — The Denver district attorney’s office has opened an investigation into the leak of voting system passwords that were posted on a state website for months leading up to the election and only taken down last month.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has characterized the leak as an accident, adding that it did not pose an “immediate” security threat, which the Colorado County Clerks Association concurred with. The passwords are only one part of a layered security system and can only be be used to access voting systems in person in secured and surveilled rooms.
“The Department of State is supporting and working closely with the Denver District Attorney’s investigation,” said Kailee Stiles, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office. “We welcome the additional transparency.”
Matt Jablow, a spokesperson for the Denver DA’s office, declined to provide further information about the investigation.
The mistake comes amid skepticism over voting systems and brought swift criticism from the Colorado Republican Party. Elections nationwide remain fair and reliable.
The passwords were on a hidden tab of a spreadsheet that was posted by a staff member on the secretary of state’s website. Once the leak was made public, Gov. Jared Polis and Griswold launched a statewide effort to change the passwords and check for tampering.
On election day a judge rejected a request from the state’s Libertarian Party to have ballots counted by hand because of the leak. Judge Kandace Gerdes said there was no evidence it was used to compromise or alter voting equipment.
___
Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Associated Press writer Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.
veryGood! (6633)
Related
- Gisele Bündchen Makes First Major Appearance Since Pregnancy
- Families of Oxford shooting victims lose appeal over school’s liability for tragedy
- Takeaways from AP report on risks of rising heat for high school football players
- Dutch government led by hard right asks for formal opt-out from EU migration rules
- Volunteer firefighter accused of setting brush fire on Long Island
- White officer who fatally shot Black man shouldn’t have been in his backyard, judge rules in suit
- A couple found the Kentucky highway shooter’s remains by being bounty hunters for a week, they say
- Postal Service chief frustrated at criticism, but promises ‘heroic’ effort to deliver mail ballots
- Rachael Ray Details Getting Bashed Over Decision to Not Have Kids
- 80-year-old man dies trying to drive through flooded North Carolina road
Ranking
- Patrick Mahomes Breaks Silence on Frustrating Robbery Amid Ongoing Investigation
- Justice Department opens civil rights probe into sheriff’s office after torture of 2 Black men
- Seeking to counter China, US awards $3 billion for EV battery production in 14 states
- Detroit Red Wings, Moritz Seider agree to 7-year deal worth $8.55 million per season
- Kevin Costner says he hasn't watched John Dutton's fate on 'Yellowstone': 'Swear to God'
- JoJo was a teen sensation. At 33, she’s found her voice again
- Western nations were desperate for Korean babies. Now many adoptees believe they were stolen
- Which 0-2 NFL teams still have hope? Ranking all nine by playoff viability
Recommendation
-
Mississippi expects only a small growth in state budget
-
At Google antitrust trial, documents say one thing. The tech giant’s witnesses say different
-
Trump Media plummets to new low on the first trading day the former president can sell his shares
-
US agency review says Nevada lithium mine can co-exist with endangered flower
-
Watch a rescuer’s cat-like reflexes pluck a kitten from mid-air after a scary fall
-
Philadelphia officer who died weeks after being shot recalled as a dedicated public servant
-
Nebraska resurgence just the latest Matt Rhule college football rebuild bearing fruit
-
A Glacier National Park trail in Montana is closed after bear attacks hiker