New report aims to educate voters about Boulder County's proactive approach to election security

Boulder County, Colo. – The Elections Division of the Boulder County Clerk & Recorder’s Office is excited to announce the release of a new report on election security in Boulder County. The Election Security Community Briefing aims to educate voters and other stakeholders about the work Boulder County Elections is doing to identify and mitigate the constantly evolving threats to election security and how we are partnering with federal and state agencies, as well as the private sector, to continuously strengthen our security posture.

“Our team’s mission is to conduct elections centered on accessibility, accuracy, efficiency, and security for all our citizens,” stated Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick. “Colorado has always been recognized as a national leader in election security. In the briefing, I wanted to detail how at the state and local level we have prioritized security throughout our operations in order to protect and affirm our most sacred right as Americans. Our goal with this report is to ensure that our community understands the actions we are undertaking to ensure the integrity of our elections and to protect voter information. We have also outlined critical steps a voter can take to be a partner with us in these efforts.”

“It is exciting to see a local elections office taking these steps to continue improving election security,” said Paul Nelson, Chief Technology Officer at Rule4, the cybersecurity consulting partner for Boulder County Elections and Information Technology. “By working first with Clerk Hillary Hall and now Clerk Molly Fitzpatrick’s team to proactively prepare, test, and layer risk-based security controls, we've been striving to not only safeguard the integrity of Boulder County’s elections, but to set an example that will further cybersecurity improvements and conversations nationwide.”

The release of the Election Security Briefing comes at a critical time. With the 2020 Presidential Election right around the corner, voters may be reminded of the events of 2016, when the U.S. experienced unprecedented attempts to undermine the integrity of elections infrastructure. In addition, the current pandemic has raised even more questions around election security nationwide, with mail ballot voting coming under particular scrutiny.

The Election Security Community Briefing details the “three pillars” of Boulder County’s election security posture: the Colorado Election model, Leveraging Strategic Partnerships, and Boulder County's Cybersecurity Program. These components work in concert to form a strong and diverse approach to addressing emerging threats to our elections. The report also includes specific steps that voters can take to safeguard the continued security of our elections.

To access the report, please visit www.BoCo.org/ElectionSecurityReport.