I have met with many individuals, including some of the authors of recent letters to the Gazette, who have questions about elections in El Paso County. I welcome those conversations. I am also someone who bases my decisions on facts, and I believe it is important for the public to have accurate information about how their elections are conducted.

El Paso County elections are paper-ballot, transparent and fully auditable. Our election system is air-gapped and never connected to the internet. It does not contain wireless cards, network interface cards, modems, or any capability to connect to an external network. Each unit is stored in its locked cabinet, and all ports are secured with port locks to prevent the insertion of thumb drives, pigtails, or any other external devices. Bipartisan teams of election judges handle every step of the process under 24/7 security cameras and strict access controls.

Before each election, we conduct a public Logic & Accuracy Test. This test includes our bipartisan election judges voting their own ballots, scanning them through our election tabulation equipment, and then hand-counting these same ballots to ensure both reports match 100%. My office will not move forward with an election unless this test is fully confirmed by our bipartisan judges.

During ballot processing, we also perform a daily audit of signature verification. Bipartisan election judges randomly select, and review batches of ballot envelopes previously verified by staff to confirm signatures were accepted or challenged correctly. This additional safeguard ensures the integrity and accuracy of the voter verification process.

After every election, we perform a statewide, statistically rigorous Risk-Limiting Audit. This audit compares voter-marked paper ballots to the election system results and will escalate to additional ballot checks if discrepancies appear, before election certification. All audit reports are available to the public.

Some recent letters to The Gazette have raised concerns about Colorado’s “Trusted Build” update, alleging that it erases election data or allowed unlogged access to election systems. These claims are incorrect. A trusted build is a controlled update of election system hardware and software, performed in a secure environment. Before any upgrade, counties are required to back up election system data, including logs and historical voting records, to external media, ensuring auditability or any citizen records request before the system is reset for a new election.

The trusted build does not delete ballots, cast vote records, or voter-verified paper ballots, those are always preserved as legal election records.

Federal law requires retention of federal-election records for at least 22 months (52 U.S.C. § 20701), and Colorado law requires 25 months. El Paso County complies fully with both requirements. Only federal, and state-certified elections systems, tested by independent laboratories, are used in Colorado, and any attempt to alter results would be detected by our pre-election testing and post-election audits.

Recently, we launched Ballot Verifier, a new online tool that allows any voter to independently confirm that their ballot was received and counted exactly as they cast it. This verification data is securely stored and maintained permanently, ensuring full transparency and public confidence in every election. These measures have made El Paso County a statewide leader in secure, transparent, and trustworthy elections. https://clerkandrecorder.elpasoco.com/elections/ballot-verifier/

It is true the Secretary of State’s Office inadvertently posted some system passwords in 2024. In El Paso County, the passwords were changed, and additional security mitigations were implemented by a cybersecurity expert, with two bipartisan teams of election judges (two Republicans and two Democrats) overseeing the process, along with my information systems manager and information systems specialist. These passwords alone could not be used to access our elections system here in El Paso County, access any ballots or change results.

Finally, the recent U.S. Department of Justice records request to Colorado was a routine administrative request. As your clerk and recorder, my office will continue to comply with applicable state and federal elections laws and cooperate with lawful inquiries.

Our mission is clear: every eligible voter can cast a ballot, and every valid ballot is counted accurately, then verified by bipartisan judges and multiple audits. I remain fully committed to security, transparency, and ensuring confidence in our elections in El Paso County.

Steve Schleiker is the El Paso County clerk & recorder.