Mesa County Elections Equipment Decertified (Colorado)

[brooklynite]

Last edited Thu Aug 12, 2021, 11:32 PM - Edit history (1)

Western Slope Now

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo – Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced during a zoom Thursday, her office would be decertifying Mesa County elections immediately.

The Secretary of State’s office found enough evidence during its investigation of a recent security breach in which passwords to elections systems were posted on social media.

This is a breaking news story and more details will come as they are made available.

Investigators: Mesa County Clerk Allowed Unauthorized Person To Compromise Voting Equipment

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said the Mesa County Clerk allowed an unauthorized person into a secure facility during an annual upgrade to the county’s election equipment software.

That security breach means Mesa County will not be able to use the equipment for its fall election, and the clerk, Tina Peters, could be in legal trouble.

...snip...

Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein has assigned an investigator to look into the security breach, which could potentially lead to criminal charges.

...snip...

Griswold also said her investigators found Peters ordered her staff to turn off the video surveillance that is meant to monitor the voting machines a week before the breach, and that it was only recently turned back on. She said her office is still waiting for more information and documentation and hasn’t been in contact with Peters since launching the investigation Monday.

Peters is currently attending a ‘cyber symposium’ in South Dakota hosted by Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow. Lindell has become a major champion of conspiracy theories that the election was stolen from former president Donald Trump. The proof of fraud Lindell said he would reveal at the symposium did not materialize.

https://www.cpr.org/2021/08/12/investigators-mesa-county-clerk-allowed-election-conspiracy-theorist-to-compromise-voting-equipment/

Peters was a featured speaker at Lindell's "Cyber-security forum"

[questionseverything]

1. Any voting machine can be compromised if you have access

Which is why we need hand counted paper ballots, counted openly in full public view with a tight chain of custody

[brooklynite]

2. What does it say that no Election Board, Democratic or Republican, agrees?

[Pobeka]

3. That they don't understand the myriad ways computers can be hacked?

[questionseverything]

5. If you are an insider with access hacking isn't even necessary

As this article proves

[Pobeka]

6. Too true that.

[questionseverything]

4. You posted the article saying the voting machines could be compromised

I am agreeing with your article that it is always possible

So which is it?

[brooklynite]

10. I'm not philosophically opposed to hand-counted paper ballots, but I'm also a realist...

I started out as a Party Committeeman in Philadelphia and learned:

1) there is NO form of voting that's absolutely safe (except for publicly declaring your vote and having it tallied immediately)

2) what you may make more secure from hacking, you make less secure from time delays.

If you want ballots hand counted, they can only be tallied for one race at a time. That's fine in a lot of countries where only one office is generally voted on at a time. But consider a ballot from California. When you're tallying votes for President, you're not tallying votes for Senate, House, State Senate, State Assembly, and other local race and potentially a dozen or so referenda. That means the ballots have to be secured for a much longer time, which increases the risk of breaking the chain of custody over time.

No objection to switching as long as people realize the simple solution some people imagine.

[questionseverything]

11. Hand count top two federal races and one random as an audit

Be a good compromise

Outlaw paperless machines, paper ballots and scanners only

[Klaralven]

12. Electronic systems can come with a variety of anti-tamper countermeasures

They can be designed such that any illegitimate attempt to access or disassemble results in self destruction.

The engineering problem can be solved. But it's like other security problems. The FBI, NSA, etc. don't wan't communications and computing to be too secure. In this case, I believe that politicians don't want elections to be too secure.

[randr]

7. This is crazy Boeberts district

She should step down

[crickets]

8. brooklynite, please add the word 'Equipment' to the title.

The elections equipment has been decertified. Thanks!

Re the second article - it comes as no surprise Peters attended the Pillow Guy's symposium. None. Tina Peters is a real piece of work and I hope they do charge her. Soon.

[stillcool]

9. Jeepers...everything old is new again

remember Ohio 2004, and the Secretary of State Jennifer Brenner
https://www.eac.gov/documents/2017/03/21/everest-report-state-voting-systems-voting-technology

The Brennan Center https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/defend-our-elections
Verified Voting https://verifiedvoting.org/