The Denver District Attorney’s Office announced that they will not be filing criminal charges related to the inadvertent release of voting system passwords by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. District Attorney Beth McCann stated that the release of the passwords was an error and not an attempt to influence election outcomes. A law firm hired by Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office confirmed that the release was unintentional but found that it violated information security policies.
The passwords were posted on the secretary of state’s website for several months starting in June but were not used to alter election results or compromise election systems. The investigation found that the passwords were included in a hidden tab on a spreadsheet by a former staffer and were unknowingly published online by current staff. The Colorado Republican Party discovered the spreadsheet in October.
While numerous sworn affidavits sought an investigation into the situation, none contained new evidence of a crime being committed. The district attorney’s office in El Paso County received two affidavits alleging violations of state law in relation to the incident and will cooperate with Denver prosecutors.
Secretary of State Griswold’s office confirmed that they cooperated with the Denver investigation. Spokesman Jack Todd declined to provide further comments on the matter. The Denver District Attorney’s Office reviewed employees’ laptops and email accounts and found no evidence of criminal intent behind the release of the passwords. There is no indication that the election results were tampered with due to this incident.
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