Denver judge dismisses lawsuit that would have required ballots be hand counted

DENVER (KDVR) — A Denver District Court judge dismissed a petition on Election Day that sought to ensure election safety after partial BIOS passwords for Colorado election systems were found to have been posted on the Secretary of State's website for months.

The lawsuit, filed by the Libertarian Party of Colorado, the party's chairperson and a congressional candidate for Colorado's 3rd District, was directed against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Beall in their official roles.

The party sought to ensure the Nov. 5 election was safe and fair after the passwords were found to be accessible online.

In her ruling, Judge Kandace Gerdes noted Colorado's many security measures for elections, which include 24/7 video surveillance, key card access to voting equipment with access logs and tamper-resistant seals on equipment and drop boxes. The judge also noted that there is no evidence that the disclosed passwords were used, nor that voting system components were compromised.

"Colorado’s elections are safe due to the multilayered security measures we have in place. 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," Griswold said in a release.

The Secretary of State's Office also said that the judge found the secretary "independently acted to correct the password disclosure before the case was filed, and took proper action to uphold her duties under Colorado election law." The ruling comes just one day after an investigation by the Department of State showed that the partial password spreadsheet was posted on June 21, and taken down on Oct. 24.

The matter was publicized on Oct. 29 when the Colorado Republican Party sent a letter to the Secretary of State's Office, accusing the Democratic official of "quietly" removing the spreadsheet from the office's website, without changing any of the included passwords or informing the county clerks whose election systems may have been impacted.

The Libertarian party's lawsuit alleged that the Secretary of State "breached her duty to ensure that Colorado's upcoming General Election is fair and accurate" by allowing the passwords to remain online.

The party sought, among other things, for the court to order:

• An investigation by the Colorado Attorney General's Office
• The decommissioning of any impacted voting systems
• That all ballots be hand-counted by respective county offices
• The temporary rule established on Thursday is void
• That Griswold and Beall desist from promulgating any new rules or regulations concerning the matter until it is resolved
• That Griswold and Beall pay for attorney fees and costs of petitioners and any further relief deemed just.
• The Secretary of State and the office be immediately recused from participating in Colorado’s 2024 General Election

The Colorado General Election is underway, with polls set to close at 7 p.m. MT. Millions of voters have cast their ballots in this election, despite a variety of issues presented by various parties, candidates and states.

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