El Paso County Clerk pushes back on Trump’s call to end mail-in voting

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker says President Donald Trump’s vow on Monday to lead a movement calling for an end to mail-in ballots and voting machines will not change how Colorado runs its elections.

Schleiker told KRDO13 that under both the U.S. Constitution and Colorado law, election authority rests with the states, not the president. He pointed to the 10th Amendment, which reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people.

"The elections here in Colorado belong to the citizens of Colorado. And for anything to change in regards to that, it has to take an act of Congress… not just the president," Schleiker said.

In El Paso County, nearly 98% of voters cast their ballots by mail, with most using one of the county’s 44 secure ballot drop boxes. Only a small percentage choose to vote in person at Voter Service and Polling Centers.

Schleiker warned that eliminating mail ballots would especially harm military families and overseas voters.

"El Paso County is the only county in the nation with five major military installations… those are mail in ballots," he said.

Schleiker also noted that federal law requires the use of accessible voting machines in every polling place. Under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), these devices must be available for voters with disabilities and for citizens needing ballots in other languages, such as Spanish.

"By federal law, each one of our vote centers has to have those machines in order to facilitate our disabled community," Schleiker explained.

Meanwhile, President Trump announced Monday he will lead a movement to eliminate mail-in voting and what he called “very expensive and seriously controversial” voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. He framed the move as restoring honesty to the process and claimed states are merely agents of the federal government - assertions constitutional experts say are unfounded. Trump’s statements come despite no evidence of widespread fraud in mail-in voting, which remains popular domestically and globally.

Legal scholars argue that the president lacks authority to dictate state-run election procedures, a fact underscored by a Massachusetts federal judge’s decision earlier this year striking down a previous Trump executive order for exceeding presidential powers.

Since taking office, Schleiker said the county has made major upgrades to election security. These include:

• Live-streaming ballot drop boxes for public viewing
• Ensuring vote-counting equipment has no internet capability - no modems, network cards, or wireless access
• Launching a Ballot Verifier tool, which allows any voter to confirm their ballot was counted correctly and gives the public the ability to audit races
• Reducing undeliverable ballots by more than 80% over the past five elections by using updated address verification

"What I want the voters of El Paso County to know is their vote here is safe, secure, and transparent," Schleiker said.

As of tonight, the White House has not released official implementation details for this latest executive order. Colorado's mail-in voting system remains intact and protected by state law.

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