Colorado Election Security Act Introduced

Denver, March 14, 2022 - Today, the Colorado Election Security Act (CESA), which increases safeguards against potential insider threats to voting equipment and election systems, has been introduced in the Colorado State Senate. CESA (SB22-153), is the cornerstone of Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s election security priorities for the 2022 legislative session and is being sponsored by Senate President Stephen Fenberg (D-Boulder) and Representative Susan Lontine (D-Denver).

“Colorado leads the nation in election security and access, and we must continue to innovate,” said Secretary Griswold.  “The Colorado Election Security Act will strengthen the laws that protect voting equipment and election systems from insider threats and will expand the physical security requirements around voting systems equipment. I thank Senate President Fenberg and Representative Lontine for championing this important bill in the legislature and look forward to working together to ensure Colorado continues to deliver the best elections in the nation for Republican, Democrat, and Unaffiliated voters across the state.” 

“Colorado sets a national example when it comes to holding free, fair, and secure elections, and we want to keep it that way,” said Senate President Fenberg, D-Boulder. “But unfortunately, there are folks both inside and outside the election system seeking to tamper with and undermine trust in our elections. The Colorado Election Security Act increases penalties for anyone who tampers with Colorado’s gold standard elections and interferes with our democracy, and will help defend our elections from wrongdoers while giving Coloradans peace of mind at the polling place.”

“It’s important to harden our election security posture against insider threats who seek to break the law and undermine public confidence in our elections,” said Pueblo County Clerk Bo Ortiz. “The Colorado Election Security Act does just that and I look forward to this important piece of legislation becoming law.”

The Colorado Election Security Act will further secure Colorado’s elections by expanding the physical security requirements around voting systems equipment. This legislation:  

• Heightens security requirements around our voting equipment by requiring continuous video surveillance of all voting system components year-round and mandatory key card access to rooms where voting equipment is stored
• Prohibits unauthorized imaging of voting equipment
• Creates a felony for tampering with voting equipment; unauthorized access to or facilitating unauthorized access to voting equipment; or knowingly publishing of voting system passwords online
• Adds whistleblower protections for those reporting a breach of election laws
• Creates a timeline for expedited judicial review of 30 days for enforcement actions initiated by the Secretary of State
• Bars anyone from serving as a Designated Election Official who has been convicted of an election offense in Colorado, or has been convicted of sedition, insurrection, treason, or conspiracy to overthrow the government.
• Prohibits any elected official or candidate for office in a political subdivision with a population of 100,000 or more from having access to or being present in a room with voting equipment or devices without being accompanied by one or more people with authorized access.
• Creates a grant program to support counties in upgrading their physical security around voting equipment

A summary of the bill can be found here and the full text of the bill can be found here.

More information on Secretary Griswold’s legislative priorities for the 2022 Colorado Legislative Session can be found here.