County clerks say they’re prepared to defend Colorado elections against unprecedented threats

One week out from Election Day, Colorado’s county clerks say voters can cast their ballots in the 2026 midterm elections with full confidence that their votes will be counted — and they’re prepared to defend state elections against interference by the Trump administration.

Beside a drive-up drop box where a steady stream of Boulder County voters returned their ballots Tuesday morning, the county’s top election official, Clerk and Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick, said voters shouldn’t be intimidated by the “chaos coming from the federal government.”

“Election officials are always thinking about the worst possible thing that could happen,” Fitzpatrick said. “Historically, that has been flood, fire, mass protest scenarios — we have added federal interference to the list.”

Nationwide, President Donald Trump and his allies have launched unprecedented efforts to influence the 2026 midterms, including preemptive legal challenges against some states’ election procedures, amid growing fears that the administration could interfere with or refuse to accept the results of the election altogether.

Among the worst-case scenarios raised by elections experts is the possibility that Trump’s Department of Justice could order the seizure of ballots or equipment as ballots are processed after Election Day.

Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters — a Trump ally and election denier convicted for her role in a security breach of her office’s election equipment, and granted clemency by Gov. Jared Polis earlier this year — has reportedly spoken directly with Trump about such a plan.

“At the end of the day, election officials are always going to follow the law, and we are always going to go to the mattresses to make sure the voices of the voters are heard,” said Fitzpatrick. “We’re prepared to respond to anything in coordination with our law enforcement partners, and coordination with legal officials, the attorney general’s office and our county attorney’s office as well.”

In Colorado, elections officials in Adams County, which includes the more Democratic-leaning half of the battleground 8th Congressional District, were notified last week that the DOJ plans to send election monitors to the county — a step that federal officials characterized as routine observation, but which has raised alarm bells among state and local leaders.

The Colorado secretary of state’s office says any such monitors would need to be approved as official observers before they can go into non-public election spaces. Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said Tuesday that the clerks haven’t heard anything more about the DOJ’s plans.

“They seem to be only going to Democratic jurisdictions, or mostly Democratic jurisdictions, across the country,” Crane said. “Weld County is another big county in Congressional District Eight, and they’re not going there.”

“With this administration, we’ve learned not to dismiss anything summarily,” he added. “We’re prepared should anything happen, but our folks — right now, our heads are down, making sure that voters can vote all the way through 7 o’clock on election night, and that the votes are counted accurately.”

‘Threats and intimidation’

Under Colorado’s universal vote-by-mail system, ballots were mailed to all active registered voters in the state beginning Oct. 2, and dozens of workers were hard at work processing returned ballots inside Boulder County’s elections office Tuesday. Under state law, county clerks may begin processing ballots beginning two weeks ahead of Election Day, though no tabulation of results can occur until polls close.

More than 600 people, including full-time staff and temporary election workers, are involved in Boulder County’s ballot-counting process, and they’re dealing with an unprecedented “level of threats and intimidation” surrounding election work, Fitzpatrick said. Summit County Clerk and Recorder Taryn Power said the effects of election conspiracy theories are felt even in jurisdictions that may not be in the spotlight in the midterms.

“I don’t think that there is a county in the state of Colorado, if not the nation, that isn’t feeling the impact,” Power said. “While I personally am not anticipating any DOJ coming to Summit County to watch us, it certainly has a heavy influence on everything that we’re doing.”

Fitzpatrick led media on a tour of Boulder County’s ballot processing facility, and encouraged anyone with questions or doubts about Colorado’s election procedures to call their county clerk and request a tour.

“If there is an attempt to delegitimize the outcome of this election, it’s important that we have as many people as possible who have observed these processes and can attest that they did see bipartisan teams of election workers in these buildings,” she said.

Meanwhile, participation has surged this year in nonpartisan, volunteer poll monitoring programs like the one run by the nonprofit Colorado Common Cause, which says 1,000 volunteers statewide have signed up to observe polling sites and drop boxes as part of a pro-democracy effort.

“The environment is challenging, but I also think for many of these folks, they’re here because this moment really matters in our country’s history,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think everyone that participates in this process has something to be very, very proud of.”

Election Day is Nov. 3. More information about how to register to vote and cast a ballot can be found at GoVoteColorado.gov.