Gazette Letters to the Editor on Election Integrity
August 7, 2025
By Nancy Murray
Updated September 5, 2025
Below is a series of letters to the editor in the Colorado Springs Gazette concerning Election Integrity. My goal was to educate Gazette readers on the various issues with our elections, particularly with election equipment. I feel strongly that eventually the equipment we use today will be exposed at the highest levels for modifying the outcome of results in races and on issues. This post will be updated as new letters are published. For a more comprehensive look at Colorado election issues, visit my full length article Colorado Elections – A Risky Business.
OP/ED Gazette July 20, 2025
LETTERS:
Securing election integrity
The Colorado Springs Gazette20 Jul 2025
I want to express my gratitude to Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk, for her diligent efforts in adhering to the law by creating backup copies of election data and submitting the backups for evaluation by qualified experts. The analysis of her backups led to the creation of three reports, which highlighted numerous issues with Colorado’s elections (see Reports at TinaPeters.us). Her dedication caught the attention of President Donald Trump and contributed to the issuance of a significant executive order.
On March 25, Trump signed an executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” It’s crucial to recognize that this order reinforces existing laws, including requirements for proof of citizenship, maintenance of voter rolls, certification of equipment, and the security of voting systems. This order sets the stage for future actions to strengthen election integrity.
I believe everyone can agree that only citizens should have the right to vote. With this new order, states will be mandated to verify citizenship for each new registration. Colorado’s practice of using “self-attestation” by the voter no longer will be permissible.
States are also required to clean their voter rolls by removing noncitizens. DOGE will assist states by comparing state voter rolls with immigration databases. Other federal databases will be available to states to verify citizenship.
A critical aspect of the executive order is the directive for the Election Assistance Commission to amend the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 2.0 and other guidelines to establish standards for voting systems that protect election integrity. This amendment must be completed within 180 days, leading to the review and, if necessary, recertification of voting systems under the new standards, while rescinding previous certifications based on outdated standards. The current standards, last updated in 2005 — before the iPhone was introduced — have not been revised since election equipment was classified as critical infrastructure in 2017.
Given the noncompliance with “critical infrastructure” standards, it is likely that the Election Assistance Commission will decertify current election systems and equipment. This could lead to significant changes to our elections.
It’s important to note that Colorado has joined other states in challenging the executive order. However, if the order merely enforces existing laws, it suggests that these states are not complying with current legal standards—a situation that warrants serious reflection.
Thank you, Tina Peters, for your commitment to election integrity, and thank you, President Trump, for taking action to uphold the sanctity of our elections.
Nancy Murray
Colorado Springs
OP/ ED Gazette July 24, 2025
LETTERS:
Response to Nancy Murray’s Letter
Importance of election integrity
Letter writer Nancy Murray wants people to support Tina Peters in the name of election integrity, but I don’t see it. Peters might have meant well when she brought in someone to copy election system drives, but giving an unauthorized person with someone else’s ID physical access to the election system didn’t further that goal. Instead, it violated basic election security protocols.
Aside from being a felony under Colorado law, this person could have exploited the vulnerabilities identified in the forensic reports Murray mentions to allow for later remote access and to gain the ability to change election data directly. The first line of defense of these systems is isolating them from the internet and controlling who has access to the computers. Peters broke that line and the law, according to a jury of her peers. I wish her well in her appeal. Nine years in prison is a long time, especially for a senior citizen.
As for the website Murray touts, check it out if you like. The reports are pretty technical and outline real vulnerabilities, but have been described as “another attempt to stretch a kernel of truth into a false cause for panic” by other cybersecurity professionals. There’s a documentary called “Selection Code”, a dramatic telling of Peter’s story that you can watch, that’s moving but relies on vague speculation and innuendo instead of hard evidence of election fraud. I’d recommend looking at other sources to get different angles on election integrity, especially since multiple recounts and audits in Colorado and other states have consistently confirmed election accuracy.
A good start is a 2017 video on Colorado’s risk-limiting audit project at tinyurl.com/mv87tkz9. It showcases a bipartisan effort in Colorado that helps safeguard against efforts to change vote totals by comparing randomly selected ballot results against the original paper ballot.
Finally, I don’t share Murray’s confidence in the president’s executive order. The Constitution places the power over elections in the states and the Congress, not the executive, and frankly I don’t trust a solution from people who helped create the problem.
She is right about the importance of election integrity, but we can do this ourselves.
Joe Loyall
Colorado Springs
OP/ED Gazette July 29, 2025
LETTERS: Nancy Murray reply
Voting systems integrity
This letter is in response to Joe Loyall’s letter dated July 23.
During Tina Peters’ trial, she was not permitted to defend herself adequately. When she attempted to present evidence that her duties required her to take a backup copy of the election system before the required software update to preserve election data for the mandated 25 months in Colorado, the prosecution objected, and the judge sustained the objection. Most of her witnesses, including the individual who made the backup, were not allowed to testify.
Thanks to Tina’s backups, we now know that the “Trusted Build” update overwrote all election data on every machine in the state, which is a violation of federal law. The Department of Justice has since requested all election data for federal elections in Colorado from 2020, 2022, and 2024 from the secretary of state.
I had the opportunity to observe a demonstration of the first backup copy of the Mesa County Dominion machine with the previous Colorado secretary of state. During the demonstration, we witnessed the database for the 2020 general election being accessed without entering a single password. Changes to the vote count between Joe Biden and Donald Trump were made, altering the winner and then changed back. None of these modifications were logged in the system – a serious violation for any system, especially one classified as “critical infrastructure.” This configuration allowed anyone to access the equipment, change votes in the database, and leave no trace because no password was required, and changes were not recorded in the system log. This was the configuration in every county in Colorado during the 2020 election and may still be in place today. The secretary of state is aware of these vulnerabilities and exacerbated the problem by posting every BIOS password for every Colorado Dominion machine for months before the 2024 election. Had the individual escorted by Tina Peters and authorized by her to assist with the backup exploited the system, we would have no way of knowing because the election system does not log changes-a clear violation for any government system.
The Risk Limiting Audit is misleading. It is merely a small test to confirm if a limited number of ballots are correctly scanned and logged on the cast vote records (CVR), a large spreadsheet that records each vote on individual ballots in the order they were processed. I believe this can give the general public a false sense of security about the accuracy of vote recording. A true audit is not permitted by the secretary of state without her approval.
When Mr. Loyall asserts that “election integrity is something we can do ourselves,” I argue that we lack the necessary skills and access to conduct election integrity during an election.
Nancy Murray
Colorado Springs
OP/ED Gazette August 7, 2025
GUEST OPINION: A full commitment to security, transparency in county elections
Steve Schleiker
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.
OP/ED Gazette August 13, 2025
LETTERS:
Election integrity issues
This letter is in response to Steve Schleiker’s Guest Opinion dated Aug. 7.
I appreciate Schleiker’s response to election concerns. We have had many discussions on the subject, but his optimistic response does not alleviate my concerns regarding the use of election equipment manufactured and programmed in foreign countries.
I have confidence that he bought new equipment without modems or WiFi capabilities that allow access to the internet, but has he had the equipment evaluated by a cyber expert to confirm there are no hidden devices that would allow undetected access to the equipment?
Schleiker states that before an update is conducted, a backup is made of the system. Is this backup available to citizens to ensure the data is indeed backed up and includes all the system data and logs? Is this information truly available for audits?
When Tina Peters, Mesa County clerk, attempted to verify this, she was arrested. In 2022, when Peters, a candidate for secretary of state, paid for a hand recount during the primary (also Schleiker’s primary for El Paso County Clerk), Jena Griswold, the incumbent secretary of state, forced her to use the machines for the recount. If there was ever an opportunity to ease concerns about using the machines, a hand recount, paid for by a candidate, during the 2022 primary would have been the perfect time.
A recent discovery in Arapahoe County underscores my concerns. Four years after the 2020 election was certified, mathematician Ed Solomon discovered that the election results for the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment (Proposition B) were statistically improbable (1 x 10 to the power of 110, that is 110 zeros), which are the odds of being struck by lightning 700 times. It was later found that the Arapahoe County clerk revised its 2020 cast vote records this year, over four years after the election was certified. Because this evidence was intended for use in a Nevada election case on the rank choice voting issue, it is believed that the Arapahoe County clerk was setting Mr. Solomon up for perjury. Fortunately, he discovered the updated file before the trial and referred the clerk to the FBI for modifying official records. You can read about this discovery on GatewayPundit, my source for verified election integrity issues, at http://bit.ly/4lJqJ1j.
Nancy Murray
Colorado Springs
OPINION Gazette September 3, 2025
EDITORIAL: Antagonism led to moving of Space Command
The Gazette editorial board
In a devastating blow to Colorado’s economy and national security, President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the relocation of U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama.
This irresponsible decision strips our state of thousands of high-paying jobs and billions in economic activity. Far worse, it puts our country at unnecessary risk at a time when our adversaries – China, Russia, North Korea and more – are racing for military dominance in space and aren’t wasting time and money moving assets and personnel at a hefty price for purely political reasons.
Among other countless disruptions, this move will mean the time intensive process of finding new civilian personnel who have neither the obligation nor will to uproot their lives and move 1,300 miles to swelter in southern heat and humidity.
Trump’s decision was entirely political – rewarding a red state and punishing a blue state. Yet, Colorado helped inspire this unforced error.
Aside from Trump, the fault lies largely with Colorado’s top Democrats – Governor Jared Polis, Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, and Colorado Attorney Gen. Phil Weiser – who have spent the past 10 months gratuitously antagonizing the commander-in-chief rather than engaging in the diplomacy needed to safeguard our interests.
After Trump’s decisive victory in November 2024, Polis wasted no time launching a “Governors Safeguarding Democracy” initiative with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, framing it as a bulwark against Trump’s agenda – no matter what direction it might take.
To maintain a constant drumbeat of defiance for the sake of it, Polis has repeatedly slammed Trump’s tariffs as “reckless” and likened them to the “Death Star.” In July, he accused the Trump administration of creating “chaos” for schools.
Hickenlooper has been equally combative. In February 2025, he warned that Trump’s federal program cuts would “bring pain” to farmers, veterans, and food stamp recipients. By April, he urged the Supreme Court to hold Trump officials in contempt and “lock them up.”
Hickenlooper has decried Trump’s tariffs as “pulverizing small businesses” and a “recipe for recession,” which we haven’t seen. In August, he attacked Trump’s push to end mail-in voting, calling it an assault on democracy. In announcing the Space Command move, Trump said Colorado’s all mail-in voting system was a major reason he’s moving the command.
In March 2025, Bennet sounded the alarm on Trump’s 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico, warning of economic damage to Colorado. By June, he pushed amendments to combat “Trump family corruption.” At town halls, he’s rallied against Trump policies, insisting Democrats must “combat” them relentlessly – no matter what they are.
Weiser, as of Tuesday, had embroiled Colorado in a whopping 35 mostly frivolous lawsuits against Trump. Now, he speaks of a frivolous suit to stop the relocation of Space Command – as if the Supreme Court might suddenly appoint itself the commander-in-chief.
State Democratic leaders have been downright childish in their obstruction of Trump’s immigration enforcement. Colorado faces an illegal immigration crisis, with sanctuary policies exacerbating costs and crime. Yet Polis signed laws expanding immigrant protections. Statehouse Democrats passed bills to shield immigrants from deportations, directly countering Trump’s efforts to secure the border and reduce Colorado’s insane rate of fentanyl deaths.
We get it: Colorado Democrats despise Trump, personally. But those elected and sworn to protect Colorado owe us better than blind, counterproductive hatred. Military installations like Space Command demand respect for the presidency and strategic outreach, not endless attacks.
These leaders’ only governing doctrine – “just hate Trump” and win elections – has cost us dearly: 5,000-10,000 jobs gone, $1 billion annually in economic output evaporated, and our state’s leadership in space operations undermined.
Quite simply, Colorado’s pro-crime, hateful, radical-left leadership gave Trump no reason to trust us with Space Command and led to damning consequences. Colorado deserves leaders who prioritize outcomes for our state and country over partisan grudges with a man who holds all the cards.
OP/ED Gazette September 5, 2025
LETTERS:
‘Gold standard’ for elections
Bravo to the Gazette Editorial Board for their opinion piece on Wednesday, regarding the relocation of Space Command to Alabama. Your analysis is spot-on, but you overlooked some recent legislative actions that impact the military and their families.
These legislative actions include numerous Second Amendment restrictions, HB25-1312 the Kelly Loving Act that impacts parental rights, liberal policies on recreational marijuana, and last week’s decision by the county commissioners to approve a new housing development near Schriever SFB, prioritizing the developer’s property rights over national defense.
Is it any wonder why Colorado dropped off the list?
President Donald Trump provided many reasons why Alabama won over Colorado, not just because Colorado uses mail-in ballots.
However, the fact that he began his reasoning this way is telling. He is planning another election integrity executive order that will ban mail-in ballots – a stance he has openly declared and is supported by the 2004 Carter-Baker Commission on US Elections. By including this statement in his news conference, he forced the issue into the media spotlight.
The Colorado secretary of state and the Colorado attorney general’s defense of mail-in ballots as the “gold standard” is a perfect example of gaslighting. We know there are many issues with mail-in ballots and the use of machines to count them. As Tina Peters learned the hard way, pointing out these issues can land you in jail – for nine years.
If we truly had the “gold standard” for elections, why can’t races be counted by hand and compared with the machine count? The secretary of state has made this illegal. Additionally, when conducting a recount, every ballot must be scanned by the same machine that scanned it initially, no hand counting allowed.
If we really had the “gold standard,” it shouldn’t matter which machine is used for the second count, right?
I am anxiously awaiting Trump’s next election integrity executive order.
Nancy Murray
Colorado Springs