Innovation and Cybersecurity

Colorado being selected for awards, again and again, proves that voters can have confidence in the process.
-Wayne Williams
Under the leadership of Secretary of State Wayne Williams, Colorado has become a national model for excellence for its role in innovation and cybersecurity. During Wayne’s tenure, the Colorado Secretary of State’s office has won the following awards:
  • 2015 IDEAS Award – National Association of Secretaries of State
  • 2015 CIO 100 Award – CIO Magazine
  • 2015 Merit Award – International Association of Commercial Administrators
  • 2016 Merit Award – International Association of Commercial Administrators
  • 2018 Public Service Award – Election Verification Network
  • 2018 Public Sector Innovation Winner – Government Innovation Awards
  • 2018 Government-to-Government Experience Award - Center for Digital Government
  • 2018 Nonprofit Impact Award - Colorado Nonprofit Association

How Colorado became the safest state to cast a vote

As local officials across the country scramble to hack-proof their voting systems ahead of the midterm elections, there’s one state that is paving the way as a leader in election security.

Colorado has done virtually everything election experts recommend states do to stave off a repeat of 2016, when Russian hackers targeted 21 states as part of the Russian government’s massive election interference campaign.
The state records every vote on a paper ballot. It conducts rigorous post-election audits favored by voting researchers. Nearly every county is equipped with up-to-date voting machines. Election officials take part in security trainings and IT workers test computer networks for weaknesses.