(DailyVantage.com) – The Trump campaign is calling for action following an accidental data breach by the Colorado Secretary of State’s office, which revealed passwords for county voting systems on a public website for several months. The passwords, uploaded in June, were embedded in a spreadsheet where they could be accessed by clicking “unhide.” This breach wasn’t noticed until late October, and the revelation has sparked criticism from Colorado Republicans, who are urging Secretary of State Jena Griswold to step down.
In response, Trump’s legal team, led by attorney Scott Gessler, has demanded that mail-in ballot processing be halted temporarily while county voting systems are reconfigured. Gessler argued that a pause, while inconvenient, is essential to restore security, accusing Griswold’s office of initially concealing the breach to avoid public scrutiny.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Beall responded by downplaying the risk, asserting that the exposed spreadsheet didn’t directly threaten Colorado’s voting systems due to additional cybersecurity measures in place. Beall also stated that the Secretary of State’s office would work closely with cybersecurity experts to assist counties in updating system passwords and securing equipment.
Yet, the handling of the breach has fueled discontent among local election officials. Matt Crane, head of the Colorado County Clerks’ Association, criticized Griswold’s office for its lack of direct communication, pointing out that clerks were informed indirectly through a GOP email, rather than by Griswold’s office itself. This indirect communication led to confusion and heightened concerns about election security.
Griswold has refused to step down, emphasizing that any errors were quickly addressed and pointing to her office’s commitment to election security. “Humans make mistakes,” she stated, underscoring the measures in place to prevent similar incidents in the future. However, with election season underway, the incident has raised questions about whether such security lapses could have wider implications, particularly in battleground states.
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