The department’s statement said the two passwords for each component “are kept in separate places and held by different parties” and that the “passwords can only be used with physical in-person access to a voting system.” Additionally, “clerks are required to maintain restricted access to secure ballot areas, and may only share access information with background-checked individuals. No person may be present in a secure area unless they are authorized to do so or are supervised by an authorized and background-checked employee.”

The department also cited “strict chain of custody requirements that track when a voting systems component has been accessed and by whom,” and it said that each “Colorado voter votes on a paper ballot, which is then audited during the Risk Limiting Audit to verify that ballots were counted according to voter intent.”

Goal is to change all passwords by this evening