Secretary of State Griswold Testifies in Support of the Colorado Election Security Act

First in the nation legislation will strengthen protections for Colorado’s election infrastructure

Denver, April 18, 2022 - Today, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold testified before the House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee in support of SB22-153, the Colorado Election Security Act (CESA). CESA, which increases safeguards against potential insider threats to voting equipment and election systems, is the cornerstone of Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s election security priorities for the 2022 legislative session. The bill is sponsored by Senate President Stephen Fenberg (D-Boulder) and Representative Susan Lontine (D-Denver).

“Colorado is the gold standard in elections. Our elections consistently have amongst the highest turnout in the nation, and experts recognize Colorado as being a national leader in election security. While we lead the nation in election administration, we can always do more to innovate, expand access, strengthen security, and respond to new challenges,” said Secretary Griswold. 

“Since the 2020 Election, our office has responded to previously unheard-of efforts to undermine the security of our elections. We have seen election officials here in Colorado and in other states compromise voting equipment and breach election security rules in the attempt to prove unfounded conspiracy theories,” Secretary Griswold continued. “These actors, some of whom are elected to office and trusted by the public to uphold the security of our elections, have done the exact opposite – their behavior has tarnished public confidence in our elections and fueled false narratives about how elections function. We must now fortify our elections against those with inside access that aim to do harm.”

“To be clear: the vast majority of our election officials and election workers here in Colorado do an invaluable service to our democracy, working long hours behind the scenes, under intense pressure and scrutiny, to deliver world-class elections for their communities. I want to acknowledge the enormous debt of gratitude that we all owe to those county clerks and their staff who do incredible work to deliver great elections for Colorado voters year after year,” said Secretary Griswold.

“This first-in-the-nation legislation bolsters safeguards in our elections systems against that minority of individuals that may seek to do harm to our elections from within,” Secretary Griswold said. “Simply put, this legislation will help us to further strengthen our election system to ensure it is protected from inside and outside threats. I urge you to support the Colorado Election Security Act.”

The Colorado Election Security Act will further secure Colorado’s elections by expanding the physical security requirements around voting systems equipment. This legislation:  

• Heightens security requirements around our voting equipment by requiring continuous video surveillance of all voting system components year-round and mandatory key card access to rooms where voting equipment is stored.
• Prohibits unauthorized imaging of voting equipmen.t
• Creates a felony for tampering with voting equipment; unauthorized access to or facilitating unauthorized access to voting equipment; or knowingly publishing voting system passwords online.
• Adds whistleblower protections for those reporting a breach of election laws.
• Creates a timeline for expedited judicial review of 30 days for enforcement actions initiated by the Secretary of State.
• Bars anyone from serving as a Designated Election Official who has been convicted of an election offense in Colorado, or has been convicted of sedition, insurrection, treason, or conspiracy to overthrow the government.
• Prohibits any elected official or candidate for office in a political subdivision with a population of 100,000 or more from having access to or being present in a room with voting equipment or devices without being accompanied by one or more people with authorized access.
• Creates a grant program to support counties in upgrading their physical security around voting equipment.

A summary of the bill can be found here and the full text of the bill can be found here.

More information on Secretary Griswold’s legislative priorities for the 2022 Colorado Legislative Session can be found here.