Steve Schleiker

Republican Party

How does your experience make you qualified to represent the people?

Leadership isn't measured by promises, it's measured by results, transparency, and public confidence.

As your elected El Paso County Clerk & Recorder, I have spent my first term focused on improving customer service, strengthening election security, increasing transparency, and modernizing operations. Under my leadership, we reduced average motor vehicle wait times to approximately 20 minutes across all branches, implemented remote wait-from-anywhere queuing technology, created a dedicated dealership office for high-volume transactions, and issued 35% more driver's licenses than the state office.

We also became a statewide and national leader in election security and transparency. El Paso County was the first county in Colorado to use Experian credit data to improve voter roll accuracy, the first in the state to provide live-stream ballot box camera footage, and the first jurisdiction in the nation to partner with Schneider GIS to launch a comprehensive Voter Information Portal. We also replaced aging election equipment with modern systems that cannot be connected to the internet or any external network, ensuring our voting systems remain completely air-gapped and secure.

Beyond elections, we launched Property Fraud Alert to help protect property owners from fraudulent activity and digitized historical records from 1979 through 1989 to improve public access and preserve important county documents. As Clerk to the Board, we improved Board of Equalization processes and streamlined procedures supporting both the Board of County Commissioners and the public.

Equally important, I have made public engagement a priority. Over the past four years, my office has conducted more than 200 town halls, community presentations, and meet-and-greet events to educate residents about elections, motor vehicle services, recording functions, and the many services we provide. I believe informed citizens build stronger communities, and my team and I have worked hard to make government more accessible, transparent, and responsive.

The Clerk & Recorder's Office touches the lives of nearly every resident through elections, motor vehicle services, recording, and public records. My experience leading these operations has provided a proven record of delivering results while maintaining public trust, accountability, and exceptional customer service.

What are your top policy priorities?

Government should continually improve, and my goal is to ensure our office never stops raising the bar.

My priorities continue to be service, security, and accountability.

First, I will continue strengthening election security and transparency while ensuring voting remains secure and accessible for every eligible voter. During my first term, El Paso County became a leader in election innovation and public trust. We were the first county in Colorado to use Experian credit data to improve voter roll accuracy, the first county in the state to provide live-stream ballot box camera footage for public viewing, and the first jurisdiction in the nation to partner with Schneider GIS to launch a comprehensive Voter Information Portal that allows voters to track and better understand our entire election process. We also replaced aging election equipment with modern systems that cannot be connected to the internet or external network, further enhancing election security and voter confidence.

Looking ahead, I want to expand voter education and communication efforts to help residents better understand election processes and combat misinformation before it spreads.

Beyond elections, I will continue modernizing recording services to better protect property records, prevent fraud, and improve online access. In motor vehicle services, I will continue investing in technology and staffing to further reduce wait times and improve the customer experience. Across all departments, I will focus on operational efficiency, staff development, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources.

The progress we've made over the last four years demonstrates what is possible when innovation, transparency, and customer service work together, and I am committed to building on that success.

What is one issue you think is being overlooked in this race, and how would you address it?

The Clerk & Recorder's Office isn't just about Election Day, it's about serving the public every day.

One issue that is often overlooked in this race is that the Clerk & Recorder's Office is far more than elections. While elections understandably receive the most public attention, they represent only one part of an office that services hundreds of thousands of residents every year. The Clerk & Recorder's Office also manages motor vehicle services, records and protects property transactions, issues marriage licenses, maintains public records, and serves as Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners.

The reality is that most residents interact with our office through services other than elections. Whether they are registering a vehicle, obtaining a driver's license, protecting their property records from fraud, purchasing a home, obtaining a marriage license, or accessing public records, they expect the government to be efficient, accurate, secure, and responsive.

That is why I have focused on modernizing every department of the office, not just elections. During my first term, we reduced motor vehicle wait times to approximately 20 minutes, implemented new technology to improve customer service, launched Property Fraud Alert to protect homeowners, digitized decades of historical records, strengthened election security and transparency, and streamlined processes that support both the Board of County Commissioners and the public.

My approach is simple: every service matters, every taxpayer matters, and every interaction with county government matters. Success should not be measured by one department alone, it should be measured by how effectively, transparently, and professionally we serve the people of El Paso County every single day.

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