Election Integrity – A Very Hot Topic

After a quick summary of President Trump’s Executive Order signed on the day prior (March 23rd) concerning Election Integrity, Candice Stutzriem asked Steve Schleiker, El Paso County Clerk, to update us on the County’s position with the EO.

The EO contains many facets. States that fail to comply could result in loss of Federal funding for elections. The CO Secretary of State has already argued against the EO claiming that it makes it harder for citizens to vote. 

Some of the requirements of the new EO (comments in [ ] includes discussion on each item during the meeting or provides additional information):

– Requires proof of US Citizenship on the registration form to include information on the document used as proof. [Includes only approved government issued IDs such as Real ID (Drivers License), Military ID, Passport, etc.. Other documents, such as lease, student ID, and electric bills will not be used as proof of citizenship.]

– Within 180 days updating security standards on election equipment and requires the equipment to meet the new standards. [New security standards will most likely be identified in future EOs or regulations. Current standards are based on 2005 standards and have never been updated. The election equipment used today in CO do not meet the standards of “critical infrastructure.”]

– Requiring a voter-verifiable paper ballot without QR or bar codes. [EPC eliminated the QR code prior to the 2020 election when a person voted in person. QR codes were never on the mail-in ballot.]

– Sharing information on election fraud with the Attorney General and between states. [Currently, election fraud is handled within the states. Getting the AG involved will help to elevate the fraud.]

– States are required to maintain accurate voter registration records. [Currently, there is no oversight to ensure stated maintain accurate voter rolls. Many EI groups focus on the voter rolls and identifying questionable voter records to the County Clerks to include the RSF’s EI group.]

– Stop counting ballots after election night. [Denver county counted ballots up until 14 November and CA counted ballots for nearly 30 days after the 2024 election which overturned 3 Congressional house seats. Late counting in other states, such as NM and AZ, resulted in awarding the democrats Senate seats when Trump overwhelmingly won the states.]

– Revoked President Biden’s EO that used Federal organizations for voter registration. [President Biden used Federal agencies, such as HHS, to get people to register to vote. As far as we know, this does not impact motor voter at the DMV.]

Steve stated that he is 95% in compliance with these items, the remaining 5% is controlled by state laws. He has produced a summary of his status and will provide it to the RSF President to disseminate.

He recommended visiting https://electionline.org to get the latest on Election Integrity nationwide. Unfortunately, the first article on this EO is a biased article by the Associate Press.

Visit the supporting Fact Sheet provided by the White House.