Mail ballots will go out as normal despite Supreme Court ruling, Colorado election officials say

Colorado election officials expect the November election to proceed without interruption despite attempts from the Trump administration to change how states use mail ballots. 

​The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed to move forward an executive order from President Donald Trump that would upend mail voting, saying a lower court issued an injunction prematurely. The injunction had come in a lawsuit filed by 23 Democratic-led states, including Colorado, and Washington, D.C., but another injunction that blocks implementation of the order ahead of November remains in place. That order, which applies nationwide, stemmed from a lawsuit filed by several voter advocacy organizations.  

Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said the Supreme Court ruling is largely procedural because the lower-court judge issued a ruling before any party was harmed, and it will not result in any immediate changes to Colorado’s election system. 

“The most important thing voters should know is that the decision (Monday) doesn’t change anything for November,” Crane said. “It’s my expectation that the election this year coming up in November will be as it always has been in Colorado with the current model.” 

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat running for attorney general, said in a statement Monday that she’s disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision but that Colorado and other states will “fight back” when the federal government tries to implement the executive order. Her office did not respond to questions from Newsline Tuesday about what that means or any preparations for possible federal interference with mail ballots in Colorado. 

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority did not rule on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order. The order called on the Postal Service to create a rule that requires states to notify the agency if they intend to send ballots through the mail. States would have to submit a list of voters planning to vote by mail. The Postal Service would not deliver ballots in states that refuse to submit a list. It would also require that ballot envelopes have a unique barcode that allows the Postal Service to identify which voter mailed the ballot. 

The Postal Service issued a final rule Friday detailing how the process would be carried out. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts said in an order that the Postal Service publishing the rule runs contrary to her Aug. 11 nationwide injunction. The rule states that none of its provisions will be implemented for the 2026 election as long as Talwani’s injunction remains in effect. 

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat running for governor, on Wednesday joined other Democrat states in a new lawsuit challenging the Postal Service rule. 

“States determine the time, place and manner of elections — not the president,” Weiser said in a statement. “And Congress has never given the USPS authority to regulate mail ballots.”

Colorado is one of eight universal mail-in ballot states — every voter receives a ballot in the mail — and the vast majority of residents choose to vote by mail. Implementation of the executive order and the Postal Service rule ahead of the midterm elections would upend Colorado’s ability to conduct elections, but election experts don’t expect that to happen. 

No guidance

El Paso County Clerk Steve Schleiker, a Republican, said counties have received no direction from the secretary of state’s office related to Trump’s order or the Postal Service rule. Guidance from the state has consistently said that state election laws and rules remain in effect and counties should prepare to run their elections under those provisions, Schleiker said. 

The clerk’s office and county attorney staff have been closely monitoring the legal developments around the executive order, Schleiker said, and he anticipates no impact to his county’s administration of the November election. 

“Colorado voters should know that nothing has changed about their ability to vote in November,” Schleiker said in a statement. “Voters do not need to complete any new federal process, enroll with USPS, or take any additional steps. All existing Colorado verification, security, and audit procedures remain unchanged.”

El Paso County’s elections staff have conducted “internal scenario-planning” to determine how the order and the Postal Service rule would affect their ability to conduct elections if implemented. The biggest lift would be the rule’s requirement that election offices upload voter names, mailing addresses and envelope barcodes. 

“For a county our size, that verification step, repeated for every mailing batch, would be a significant operational consideration,” Schleiker said.

Denver Clerk Paul López agreed that the Supreme Court ruling had to do with the timing of the lower court decision and not the legality of Trump’s executive order, which he said is the “latest in a string of baseless claims” intended to undermine confidence in elections, instill fear and confuse voters. 

“I know when you see the headlines and you see people say, ‘Trump is getting closer to his mail in voting restrictions,’ that tends to freak people out, and you know what?
That’s what it’s intended to do, is to try to put a chilling effect on people’s participation in an election,” López said. 

Trump’s attacks on mail ballots are “absolutely hypocritical coming from a president who also votes by mail,” López said. Trump voted by mail in Florida’s GOP primary this year. 

Local election officials and other agencies in Denver always come together to consider what they need to prepare for going into an election, considering possible scenarios like a blizzard, a power outage, federal troops showing up at polls and problems with the Postal Service, López said. 

“I can tell you that this team that we run here in my office is more than ready. We’ve been ready.
We’re the pros at this,” López said. 

Crane said he expects Trump’s executive order ultimately to be deemed unconstitutional. Election officials in Colorado are focused on preparing for the November election and mailing out ballots in the coming weeks. 

“The expectation that we can change all of these processes and procedures for this election, it’s just nuts to think that we can do that and not have it impact both people’s ability to access the ballot and our ability to secure the process,” Crane said. “Changes like this at the last minute will introduce opportunities for error, and so anybody concerned about election integrity would not want changes like this this close to the election.”

Colorado voters can request mail ballots for the November election from their county clerks starting Sept. 19. That’s also the last day clerks can mail ballots to military and overseas voters. Clerks can begin to mail ballots as early as Oct. 2. Election Day is Nov. 3.