Colorado Sec. Of State Accuses Mesa County Clerk’s Office Of Helping Leak Election Data

After the logins credentials for the voting machines in Colorado’s Mesa County appeared in a video by a person affiliated with QAnon, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold on Thursday accused County Clerk Tina Peters of being responsible for the election system’s security breach.

“I think this is troubling for the entire state of Colorado, to have someone in a trusted position, literally trusted to protect democracy, allow this type of situation to occur,” Griswold told reporters. “To be very clear, Mesa County Clerk and Recorder allowed a security breach and, by all evidence at this point, assisted it.”

On Monday, the secretary of state’s office began investigating the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder’s office after their staff members first saw a video online with the login credentials for the County’s voting machines.

“A County Clerk in Colorado is an elected position. We are working with legal counsel to determine what authority the Board of County Commissioners has in this matter,” Reecy Stephanie Reecy, a spokesperson for Mesa County, said. “The Board’s immediate focus remains on ensuring a free and fair election process for Mesa County.”

The investigation has found out that the surveillance footage may be missing during a “trusted build” on May 25, a routine meeting between county and state officials to discuss the updates in the voting machine program.

Griswold stated that video footage from surveillance cameras inside the clerk’s office, which should have been recording the “trusted build” meeting, was missing.

“The evidence suggests that the Mesa County Clerk’s office directed Mesa County staff to turn off video surveillance of the voting equipment prior to the May 25, 2021 trusted build,” Griswold said. “The video surveillance cameras were not turned back on until August, which is inconsistent with the Department’s understanding of the normal course of business practice in Mesa County.