Colorado election officials are committed to real, effective election security. The President’s address on July 16 highlighted real national security threats that deserve continued attention.
It is equally important for the public to understand that many of these threats have been publicly known for years, and election officials have spent that time working alongside state and federal partners to strengthen election security and prepare for them. As a result, Colorado voters should have confidence that their elections remain among the most secure, transparent, and well-protected in the nation.
The President made four central points during his address, and each deserves important context.
First, the President discussed foreign efforts, particularly by China, to obtain U.S. voter information. Election officials have never denied that foreign adversaries seek to collect publicly available voter data, probe election infrastructure, or conduct influence operations intended to undermine confidence in our democracy. Those threats are real, well documented, and precisely why election officials continue to invest in cybersecurity and layered defenses.
Second, the President argued that information about these activities was withheld from the public. While additional intelligence may continue to be declassified, much of what the President discussed has been publicly available since 2020. Federal agencies, including the FBI and CISA, publicly warned about these threats during and immediately after the 2020 election, followed by the declassified 2021 Intelligence Community Assessment and years of congressional hearings, investigations, and public reporting.
Election officials have been responding to these threats for years, not just since last night’s speech.
Third, the President raised concerns about vulnerabilities in voting systems. Like every computer system, voting equipment has vulnerabilities that must be continuously managed. But vulnerabilities alone do not determine election outcomes. The President’s remarks did not acknowledge the multiple layers of cyber, physical, procedural, and auditing safeguards built into modern election systems. Those overlapping safeguards are intentionally designed so that no single vulnerability can alter an election outcome. That distinction is consistent with intelligence assessments, including those produced during President Trump’s first administration, which concluded that while foreign actors sought to influence public opinion and undermine confidence, they did not find evidence that foreign governments successfully altered voter registration records, cast ballots, changed vote tabulations, or change election outcomes through cyberattacks.
Finally, the President called for additional election security reforms. Colorado’s county clerks welcome thoughtful, evidence-based improvements that strengthen election security while preserving every eligible citizen’s ability to vote. Local election officials stand ready to work with the administration, Congress, the State of Colorado, and federal partners to continue improving our election systems.
That is why one aspect of the President’s approach remains difficult to reconcile. If election security is among our nation’s highest priorities, it is fair to ask why the administration chose to eliminate or significantly reduce elements of the federal election security effort at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). For years, voluntary partnerships with CISA provided local election officials with threat intelligence, cybersecurity expertise, vulnerability assessments, incident response support, and information sharing that strengthened election security nationwide. We hope those partnerships continue because protecting America’s elections is strongest when all levels of government work together.
For Colorado voters, the message is simple: you can trust Colorado’s elections.
Colorado’s election system combines voter-marked paper ballots, rigorous testing, bipartisan processes, physical security, continuous cybersecurity efforts, and one of the nation’s most robust risk-limiting audits. These independent layers work together to detect and prevent problems while ensuring every eligible voter can cast a ballot and every lawful ballot is counted accurately.
Election officials are never complacent. Every election provides opportunities to strengthen security, improve processes, and adapt to emerging threats. Colorado’s county clerks remain committed to continually improving our election system while protecting every eligible voter’s right to cast a ballot and ensuring every lawful ballot is counted accurately.
If voters have questions about how elections are conducted or want the most accurate information about voting in their community, they should contact their local county clerk. County clerks administer Colorado’s elections every day, work transparently under state law, and remain the most trusted source of information about how elections are conducted in their counties.