That's not a rhetorical question. The answer is: quite a lot, if we allow confusion and distrust to undermine an election system that works.
Colorado voters should know one thing: nothing has changed about how the 2026 election is being administered. Montezuma County is moving forward under existing Colorado law and procedures. Military and overseas ballots will go out Sept. 19; all other ballots will be mailed Oct. 2.
That's important because President Donald Trump's March executive order sought to shift more authority over elections to the federal government, including directing the U.S. Postal Service to impose new requirements on mail ballots and involving the federal government in voter eligibility and registration information. Federal courts have blocked parts of the order. On Aug. 24, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a lower-court order, but it did not rule that Trump's executive order was legal. A separate federal court order blocking the USPS mail-ballot requirements remains in place for the 2026 election.
In other words: nothing changes right now.
And that's exactly how it should be. Colorado County Clerks Association President Carly Koppes, the Republican Weld County clerk, said in an Aug. 25 statement following the Supreme Court decision: “Large-scale changes this close to an election risk confusing voters, creating barriers to participation, disrupting established procedures, and introducing new opportunities for error.”
The CCCA represents clerks in 63 of Colorado's 64 counties (El Paso County's clerk marches to a different drummer), including Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated officials.
That's the message voters should hear: Don't let Washington's chaos become Colorado's confusion.
It's worth remembering who has authority here. Under the Constitution's Elections Clause, Congress – not the president acting alone – has authority to alter the rules governing congressional elections. Colorado's state and local election officials are responsible for voter registration, maintaining voter rolls and administering elections. The Postal Service's role is to deliver election mail reliably and on time.
And when someone actually does try to game the system, Colorado's safeguards can catch it.
In 2024, Mesa County election officials discovered a scheme involving a dozen stolen mail ballots through the state's signature-verification process. Three fraudulent ballots made it through before the problem was caught. The three represented 0.003% of the more than 91,000 ballots cast in Mesa County in 2020.
That's not evidence of a system riddled with fraud. It's evidence of a system designed to detect it.
The claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election didn't fare any better in court. Trump's campaign and allies filed more than 60 lawsuits challenging the election. Nearly all were dismissed or dropped, and at least 30 were decided on the merits against the challengers. Judges – including judges appointed by Trump – found the allegations unsupported by the evidence.
The Trump administration's current effort to obtain state voter rolls is running into similar resistance. As of July, the Justice Department had lost all 15 district-court cases that had reached a ruling seeking statewide voter registration data, plus an appellate case. Nine of those 15 district-court losses came from Republican-appointed judges, including six appointed by Trump.
And these aren't simply partisan officials dismissing the administration's claims. Courts across the political spectrum have rejected them.
As Montezuma County’s Election Office website states: “The success of the democratic process requires fair and open elections which accurately reflect the intent of the electorate,” and conducting them “must be placed above personal or partisan gain.” That standard is worth defending now.
Check your registration and address at GoVoteColorado.gov. Add an email address or cellphone number to receive BallotTrax alerts when your ballot is mailed, received and accepted.
When your ballot arrives, make sure you have adequate postage if you're mailing it. Better yet, use an official ballot drop box.
Most important, don't let the noise keep you from voting.
Go straight to the people who run your elections. Check your registration. Track your ballot. Ask questions. Montezuma County Elections can be reached at 970-565-3728 or visited at 140 W. Main St., Suite 1, Cortez. More information is available at montezumacounty.gov/elections-office.
The best way to protect our elections is not to panic when politicians sow doubt. It's to understand how the system actually works – and then use it.
