The midterm elections are around the corner, and Colorado election officials are dealing with a lot of uncertainty. Colorado and about two dozen states have sued to block a new U.S. Postal Service (USPS) rule to regulate and restrict mail ballots.
The rule is part of President Trump’s executive order earlier this year to shift more authority to oversee election processes from states to the federal government. The rule requires states to submit voter lists for USPS approval, ballot designs, and adopt specific envelope bar codes. A federal judge in Massachusetts has paused the rule from taking effect for two weeks, but the courts have not ruled on its underlying legality.
Matt Crane is the former Republican county clerk in Arapahoe County and the current head of the Colorado County Clerks Association that represents clerks from across the political spectrum from each of the state’s 64 counties. He talked to CPR News about the uncertainty at the federal level and how election officials are preparing for November.
Here are five takeaways from the conversation with Crane.
President Donald Trump’s push for more authority over elections
“The U.S. Constitution clearly delegates any ability for the federal government to make election policy to Congress. It does not delegate that power to the president, to the executive branch. And so for the president to use an executive order to push these things through is worrisome on a number of levels.
One, there has been no engagement with the election community. There have not been hearings, open and transparent hearings to hear from people of all sides about the policy. Two, again, the expansion of the federal government's role. And look, it doesn't matter if he's a Republican or a Democrat; the president taking on a greater role that the Constitution does not delegate is of great concern and should be of great concern to all Americans.”
The likelihood of Trump’s executive holding up legally
“We have to plan for it. We can no longer summarily dismiss anything that we hear. We have to plan for all eventualities. I do think that there is a high likelihood that the executive order and the US postal rule will be enjoined for a longer period of time past the election. We're fairly confident that that will happen, but we'll prepare for all eventualities just in case.”
What Trump’s push to restrict mail ballots means for Colorado voters
“The election is going to run as it always has. If there is some last-minute change that impacts that, we are still going to make sure that people can have access to the ballot, they can cast it easily, and that that ballot is going to be counted accurately. Do not let the people who are driving this chaos take your vote. Make sure we want people to come out and vote, let their voice be heard. We just celebrated America's 250th birthday. The best way people can do that from a civic perspective is get out and vote. People have fought and died for this right, so let's make sure we exercise it.”
What happens if Colorado can’t send ballots in the mail
“If we can't mail ballots to voters, that doesn't mean that we still can't get voters their mail ballot, maybe through ballot distribution centers in each county. We would anticipate a significant uptick in in-person voting under that scenario too. And so it's do we have the infrastructure in place and enough people to work the election to accommodate that many more people? Those are the types of things that we are working on now.”
How Colorado’s county clerks are preparing for the election
“It's been a very tough environment for election officials since 2024 because of all the disinformation and the lies that have been out there and so poison the public square. These lies are a cancer on our community, and I think on the Republic as a whole, designed to build mistrust in our elections. And so it's these amazing men and women, the clerk and recorders and their staff across Colorado who have stood up and repeatedly told the truth; many of them have received death threats for standing up, and not people are tired. But the men and women who do this work are in it because they believe in the mission, and they believe in the importance of free and fair and secure elections. And yes, the election will be secure. They're working their tails off to make sure that happens.”