Election Integrity and Cybersecurity Failures at the Colorado GOP Convention

By Maria Orms | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

I attended this past weekend’s Colorado Republican State Convention in Pueblo as a gubernatorial candidate seeking ballot access. I was there not only as a candidate, but as a cybersecurity professional. What I witnessed—and what was reported by multiple credible participants—was not simply disorganization. It was a series of failures that demand a full, independent investigation.

Confidence in any election process—whether internal to a party or statewide—depends on security, transparency, and adherence to procedure. In Pueblo, those standards were not met.

Start with the delegate database. Multiple individuals reported that the system had been corrupted or compromised just days before the convention. That alone should have triggered established recovery protocols. Modern databases are not fragile—they are designed with redundant backups and clear restoration procedures. Yet counties were asked to resubmit delegate lists at the last minute, and credentialing was delayed for hours. That is not a minor technical hiccup. It is a fundamental failure of data integrity and preparedness.

Then came the explanation of an internet outage at the venue. On a university campus, that claim deserves scrutiny. These environments are built with redundant fiber infrastructure and multiple internet providers precisely to prevent a single point of failure. If operations were halted, we need to know why. Was there a systems failure? A configuration error? Or something more serious, such as a targeted disruption? Without answers, speculation fills the void.

The problems did not stop there. The credentialing process was changed midstream from a county-based system—where delegates might be personally recognized—to an alphabetical one that eliminated that safeguard. In both cybersecurity and military environments, personal recognition is a frontline defense against impersonation. Removing it, especially in a chaotic environment, increases risk.

Ballot handling procedures were also disregarded. Candidates were explicitly told that badges would be scanned when ballots were submitted. Instead, badges were marked with a green “X.” That is not verification. That is improvisation—and it undermines confidence in the chain of custody for ballots.

Most troubling, there was a reported discrepancy of approximately 80 more ballots than the number of credentialed delegates. Entry into the arena required badge scanning, and re-entry required the same. So how were additional ballots cast? Were access points left unsecured? Were procedures inconsistently enforced? Or were there deeper breakdowns in tracking and accountability? These are not rhetorical questions—they require clear, documented answers.

Finally, the elevation of alternate delegates was handled in an equally informal manner. More than 200 alternates were granted voting status, yet instead of issuing updated credentials, badges were modified by hand. When voting authority is being transferred, that process must be controlled, auditable, and secure. This was not.

Taken together, these are not isolated mistakes. They represent systemic breakdowns across digital security, physical security, and procedural integrity.

Let me be clear: I am not alleging intent or wrongdoing by any individual. But in both cybersecurity and election systems, vulnerabilities alone are enough to compromise trust. When processes fail at this scale, the only responsible course of action is transparency and accountability.

The Colorado GOP owes its delegates—and the voters they represent—answers. What happened to the database? What caused the network disruption? Why were established procedures abandoned? How do we account for the ballot discrepancy?

An independent investigation is not optional. It is necessary.

Without it, confidence in the process will continue to erode.

And without confidence, the legitimacy of any outcome—no matter who wins—will remain in question.

Maria Orms is a U.S. Air-Force veteran with a M.S. in Engineering from the University of Colorado – Boulder and an M.S. in Cybersecurity from the University of Denver and has worked in technology for almost 40 years with her CISSP, CCNA and SANS GIAC Forensic Network Analyst Certifications. She is running for the Republican nomination to be Colorado’s next governor because of the concerns she has with the collision of technology and our rights and election security.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.