Colorado County Clerks Association director says president's calls to federalize elections are unconstitutional

In response to President Trump's calls to federalize elections, a former Republican county clerk who now heads the Colorado County Clerks Association says much of what the president is asking for is unconstitutional.

On Tuesday, Trump reiterated previous statements this week that he believes elections would be better run by the federal government than by the states, as they are now and have been since the beginning of our nation.

The Constitution gives states the authority to run federal elections, which are overseen at the state and local levels. Several pieces of federal legislation have established rules governing voting, including:

• The Voting Rights Act of 1965, which eliminated literacy tests and prevents discrimination at polling locations.
• The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allows voters to register at government locations such as the DMV.
• The formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986, which makes it easier for active duty service members to vote.
• The Help America Vote Act of 2002, which introduced reforms to make the voting process more inclusive and accessible.

However, those primarily deal with civil rights, and the responsibility for administering elections still lies with the states.

At an Oval Office event on Tuesday, the president said, "If a state can't run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it."

Trump has continued to repeat false claims that elections are being stolen, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud. A claim he has made since losing the popular vote but winning the Electoral College in 2016, and since losing the 2020 presidential election.

"Look at some of the places that horrible corruption on elections, and the federal government should not allow that. The federal government should get involved," said Trump.

"He's going along, and he's buying into these lies and conspiracies because he lost and his ego can't take it," said Matt Crane, the executive director of the Colorado Clerks Association.

He says Colorado's election system is secure and based on years of research into what works best for Coloradans. Federal intervention would be a mistake and maybe even illegal, he asserted.

"If you try to do it through an executive order, based on everything that we've seen and read, that would seem to be illegal. Congress has the ability to pass election laws that impact the states. But again, if they decide to go down this road, we will aggressively participate there, at the federal level, to advocate for what works best for Colorado," said Crane.

He says at stake is Colorado's mail-in ballot system. Crane explained that, if elections were nationalized, voters would have to vote in person, which would require more polling places, more election workers and more money for more voting equipment.

"The impact would be astronomical to what we do," said Crane.

A Republican, Crane says that he thinks Coloradans need to stand up for their rights, no matter their political affiliation.

"If you're a Republican and you had a problem with Democrats pushing H.R. 1, 2 or 3 years ago because you were concerned about states' rights and states having the ability to chart their own course, and now you're supporting this because the president is wearing your jersey instead of the other color, you're doing this wrong. We need people to be consistent, the principles and not the parties or elected politicians," said Crane.