Colorado Secretary of State investigating potential Mesa County election system breach

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - The Colorado Secretary of State’s office is looking into a potential chain-of-custody and security protocol breach in Mesa County’s voting system.

Several images were published on social media that should not have been, according to the Secretary of State’s office. These photos show the basic input and output system, or BIOS, passwords for Mesa County’s voting system hardware stations.

These passwords are intended to provide an extra layer of security to computer systems. The Secretary of State’s office described the disclosure of this information as a “serious breach of voting system security protocols,” but also explained that there is not immediate risk to Colorado elections. This incident did not happen during an election. Officials believe the images containing the sensitive information were collected on May 25, 2021.

Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters released a statement that reads, “Confidence in the election process is paramount. The citizens of Mesa County have been critical of election integrity. They have brought me their concerns and I have told them I will do everything in my power to protect their vote. I will share more information once the investigation has concluded.”

The Secretary of State’s office has an order to Peters, asking for an inspection of election equipment.

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