Colorado election officials said it’s too soon to know how the U.S. Supreme Court decision this week on mail ballots could impact voters in Colorado.
On Monday, the nation’s highest court reinstated part of President Donald Trump’s executive order that would allow the federal government to determine who states can mail ballots to. The Court did not say whether that order is legal but is letting the Trump administration move forward with rulemaking.
“The Supreme Court in part said it was premature for the lower courts to have weighed in because the executive order has not been implemented,” said Colorado’s Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold. She said if the Department of Homeland Security releases a rule on how it plans to determine voter eligibility for mail-in ballots in states like Colorado, a lawsuit will likely follow.
“The fight is absolutely not over,” she said. “And when the Trump administration tries to implement the executive order, Colorado and other states across the country will fight back.”
The Trump administration said the executive order is necessary to strengthen and secure elections and reduce voter fraud.
“The Executive Order stresses the federal government’s ‘unavoidable duty under Article II of the Constitution of the United States to enforce federal law, which includes preventing violations of federal criminal law and maintaining public confidence in election outcomes,’” wrote Colleen Hibbert-Kapleran, an Attorney, Ethics and Legal Compliance for the U.S. Postal Service.
Critics say through his executive order, the president is attempting to weaponize the Postal Service and to force states to violate voters’ privacy and interfere with how states administer mail voting.
Twenty-three states, including Colorado, filed a lawsuit to block the executive order from taking effect, saying in part that it unconstitutionally infringes on the right of states to conduct elections. National studies have indicated that instances of mail ballot voter fraud are incredibly rare. A Brookings Institution study found four cases across U.S. general elections from 2016 to 2022 out of every 10 million mail votes cast.
Colorado law requires the state to mail a ballot to every eligible voter. Griswold said on a practical level, the executive order would be hard to implement.
“We are 70 days away from election day. Election officials all across the country, all across the state, have already made most of their decisions and plans for the midterms. And actually ballots for military and overseas voters go out in less than a month. Having this uncertainty is difficult. We are way too close to an election for major changes,” Griswold said.
The League of Women Voters filed a separate lawsuit to block the part of the Trump order dealing with Postal Service requirements for mail ballots in federal elections. Earlier this month a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Postal Service from implementing that section of the order, saying it was likely unconstitutional.
“My priority is and has always been to make sure that every eligible voter is able to vote and have their ballot accurately counted,” said Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Amanda Gonzalez, who is the Democratic nominee for Colorado Secretary of State. She said even if the courts end up striking down the entire order, it’s still causing damage and distrust of the election system.
“This level of chaos where voters are constantly seeing confusing information about what is happening to their elections is really concerning to me,” she said. “I really worry that it will have a suppressive effect and that people will stay home because they are worried about their elections.”
Colorado clerks in both political parties have been under increasing threats in the last few election cycles and have worked to combat misinformation and disinformation and debunk conspiracy theories around elections.
“You are consistently thinking of what could happen. What do you need to plan for? That’s what keeps me up at night. And then making sure that we can run a safe, secure election,” said Bobbie Gross, the Republican clerk in Mesa County.
Gross’ county has been under a unique spotlight following the conviction and release of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. Peters was convicted for her efforts related to tampering with Mesa County’s voting machines in search of voter fraud.
“I think that you always have to plan for the unexpected,” Gross said. “And there’s going to be times where something happened that you’re like, didn’t see that one coming.”
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