EL PASO COUNTY — A former state election official said the release of voting system passwords on the secretary of state’s website is a significant error but does not automatically compromise the county’s voting equipment.

In a press release Tuesday, the Colorado Department of State confirmed that an Excel spreadsheet containing hundreds of passwords for Colorado voting systems has been posted on the Secretary of State’s website for months. In an interview with Scripps News Denver, Secretary of State Jena Griswold said a public official made a “serious mistake” and an outside party will investigate. She said the civil servant is no longer with the department, but could not say if that person had been fired.

Former Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, a Republican who held the position before current Secretary of State Jena Griswold, said state-owned Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) passwords are one of two passwords used to gain access at the electoral vote. systems. The second is a Windows password held by county officials, creating a system of checks and balances.

“Releasing BIOS passwords means that some of that verification is gone, so now someone who had the Windows password and access to the machine could make changes without the secretary of state’s office knowing, and that’s a significant problem. Williams said. “There are a number of changes that could be made with the BIOS password, even without the Windows password. One of these would be, for example, installing a wireless device that would allow someone to download malware to the computer.”

The Secretary of State’s Office and the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office said BIOS passwords can only be used through direct, in-person access to voting equipment. Voting equipment is stored in highly secure rooms that are only accessible by people with an ID badge and a security code.

El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker said that while the error is significant, it does not affect the security of the county’s voting systems. He sent News5 a statement that says in part:

Williams said the error raises concerns about transparency within the Secretary of State’s Office. He said the office did not immediately notify county election officials about the leak.

“I think they could have done this faster if they had worked with the counties and informed them of the issue,” Williams said.

The Secretary of State’s office said it took immediate action as soon as it became aware of the published passwords and notified the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which closely monitors and protects the county’s critical security infrastructure. A spokesman for the office said that out of an abundance of caution, the department is reviewing voting system access logs in all affected counties, updating passwords and verifying settings.

Williams said voters should still have confidence in Colorado elections despite the password leak, pointing to paper ballots and forensic audits before election certification as additional safeguards.

“We know that the reported results will either be accurate or we will find that in the audit process using the actual ballots,” Williams said.

On Wednesday, Republicans in the Colorado House began calling for Griswold’s resignation.

Minority Leader Rep. Rose Pugliese, R-14th District, released a statement that said, in part:

“While I have the utmost confidence in the integrity of our county clerks who actually oversee the counting of votes, I do not have confidence that Secretary Griswold is capable of running our election system. Enough with her incompetence; it’s time for her to resign. The people of Colorado deserve better.”

Partial passwords for Colorado voting systems are posted online