After Data Is Posted On Conspiracy Website, Colo. County's Voting Machines Are Banned

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/12/ [login to see] /after-data-is-posted-on-conspiracy-website-colo-countys-voting-machines-are-bann
Colorado officials said Thursday that a local county clerk allowed an unauthorized person into a secure facility during an annual upgrade to the county's election equipment software, compromising the equipment.

The Mesa County clerk, Tina Peters, could be in legal trouble. She's currently at a conference led by a prominent election conspiracy theorist.

That security breach means Mesa County, in the far western part of the state, will not be able to use the equipment for its fall election. While the unauthorized access did not create an imminent, direct security risk to Colorado's elections, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said her office's investigation confirmed the unauthorized person did release the passwords for the underlying voting machine software online.

"We know that that information was posted by an extreme conspiracy theorist last week," Griswold said, referring to the Gateway Pundit, a conservative news site that traffics in election conspiracy theories.

She has prohibited Mesa County from using the current Dominion Voting equipment for the next election. The county can replace it and install new equipment in the next few weeks or do a hand count this November.