The Colorado Libertarian Party filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court on Friday against Secretary of State Jena Griswold and her deputy, Christopher Beall, demanding the decommissioning of voting equipment and a hand count of ballots in counties affected by a recent leak of election equipment passwords.
The lawsuit, initiated by state party chair Hannah Goodman and James Wiley, the Libertarian candidate for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, accuses Griswold and Beall of failing their public duties in responding to the breach. Earlier on Friday, Griswold and Governor Jared Polis, both Democrats, announced that all exposed passwords had been updated by Thursday evening and assured the public that the voting machines were secure.
The Department of State acknowledged the lawsuit but declined to comment on pending litigation. The case was assigned to Denver District Court Judge Kandace C. Gerdes, with a hearing scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Wiley, who also serves as the executive director of the state Libertarian Party, expressed dissatisfaction with the state’s response to the breach. “The delay in response, especially after the matter became public, raises significant concerns about the commitment to election security,” Wiley stated. He stressed that the party’s legal action aims to prevent future security lapses and safeguard voter confidence. “Voter confidence is at stake, and it is our duty to safeguard the trust in our electoral systems,” he added.
The lawsuit also seeks to have Griswold and Beall recused from overseeing the upcoming election and calls for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office to investigate the leak. Additionally, the Libertarians are asking the court to void an emergency rule issued by Beall, which authorized additional state staff to assist in updating the passwords.
Governor Polis announced that state personnel with proper expertise and clearance had been detailed to assist Griswold’s office in updating passwords and reviewing security logs. According to Polis and Griswold, 22 state cybersecurity experts and eight Department of State employees participated in the effort.
The breach came to light after Griswold’s office replaced an online spreadsheet on October 24 that had included voting system passwords in a hidden worksheet.
In an interview with 9News, Griswold revealed that a former department employee was responsible for uploading the file with the hidden passwords. She acknowledged that the spreadsheet, which included passwords for certain election system components, had been posted online for several months.
