Election clerks in Colorado react to Trump's executive order on voting by mail

Denver's top election official says he will not comply with President Trump's executive order on voting by mail. Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López said voters should expect their ballots to arrive in the mail this year as normal.

The president signed the order earlier this week after saying without evidence that mail-in voting is rife with fraud and calling it "mail-in cheating." It requires states to impose stricter rules regarding mail-in ballots. He's also directing his administration to create a list of confirmed citizens who are eligible to vote.

"I think there will be a number of states that will be suing," said Matt Crane, Executive Director of the Colorado County Clerks Association.

Crane says many counties in Colorado, where mail-in ballots have been the standard for more than a decade, already use intelligent barcodes on their envelopes and receive data from the U.S. Postal Service. Trump's action requires that mail ballots bear "a unique Intelligent Mail barcode, or successor USPS technology, that facilitates tracking."

"What's concerning is ... the Department of Homeland Security creating a list of people for people to verify their citizenship," he said. "The states (would) have to send their list to the federal government for that. That's way outside the scope we believe of the federal government's role in elections."

The Constitution delegates the power to run elections to states. Crane said he believes that's where the power belongs.

"Even if you think that the goals of what the president are trying to do here are admirable, the president acting outside of scope of the powers delegated to him by the Constitution? That's very concerning," Crane said.

Colorado already has many of the security measures in the executive order in place, but the difference is this order would shift more control to the federal government, Crane said.

Crane worried it could also create voter confusion.

"This list has to go to the federal government 60 days out. Well, here in Colorado, we have same-day registration, where you can register and vote all the way up to 7 p.m. on election night. So if somebody were to register to vote, say, two weeks before Election Day, would they still be eligible to get a mail ballot and cast that mail ballot, or would they have to go in person? So these are some of the operational impacts that we're that we're studying with the executive order," he said.

The presidential mandate requires states to follow through with the order's requirements or they could face the loss of federal dollars.

Despite any penalties that might result, López said the city doesn't plan to enforce the order.

"We are continuing as planned to run the primary election and the upcoming general election in November like we always do, and that is in a way that is secure, that is transparent, that is accessible," he said.

Crane suggests that instead of the current approach, the president could talk "to election officials to create policy that would be meaningful and truly helpful."

The Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank, has Colorado tied for 38th overall in their election integrity scorecard. They gave Colorado 24 out of 28 total points in the category of "accuracy of voter registration lists," with just five states having received more points in that category.

CBS Colorado has reached out to the Colorado Republican Party for a comment about Trump's executive order.