"WHAT GILPIN COUNTY VOTERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MAIL BALLOTS. You may have heard about recent changes involving a U.S. Postal Service rule concerning election ballots."”

Gilpin County Clerk & Recorder

COLORADO — Since we live in a state where nearly all voting takes place through mail-in ballots, many of us have been experiencing whiplash as we try to make sense out of the conflicting judicial decisions affecting the President’s apparent desire to do away with mail-in voting NOW, for the election coming up in just 10 weeks.

The outset

It began in March, when the President issued an executive order regarding mail-in ballots. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, “The principal thrust of the order is to charge the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) with determining who may vote by mail and instructs it to refuse to deliver ballots sent by anyone not included on newly created federal mail voter lists.

“It threatens criminal penalties for election officials, mail carriers, and others who send ballots to or deliver ballots from individuals the administration deems ineligible.

“Perhaps to facilitate this usurpation of state and federal laws governing mail voting, it also orders the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compile lists of voting-age U.S. citizens in every state, using incomplete and unreliable federal data sources.”

The response

This was followed by lawsuits filed by many (mostly Democratic) states’ Attorneys-General challenging that ruling. Colorado’s AG (and candidate for governor), Phil Weiser, was one of the plaintiffs.

To condense the head-twisting conflicting court rulings over the following few months:

An injunction was issued banning the implementation of the executive order because it was issued too early—before the “final rule” was instituted by the USPS regarding ballots. The ruling did not deal with whether the EO was legal, or constitutional; it had only to deal with timing.

An appeal sent the issue to the Supreme Court, which removed the injunction. The high court's unsigned order also said that its "disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful."

Readers may remember that the Constitution gives states the right to control elections—not the president.

Continuing…

In a July court filing, US Solicitor General D. John Sauer noted that there may not be enough time to resolve the legal challenges through the courts.

"That is especially true because implementation efforts for any USPS rule or DHS policy will need to begin well before November—indeed, as soon as early to mid-August—to be effective for the 2026 election, particularly given that absentee and mail-in voting begin (in some States) several weeks prior to Election Day," he said.

A broader injunction remains in place. The USPS continued to be blocked from following Trump's directives under a nationwide ruling released August 11 by US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston.

Talwani had issued a preliminary injunction blocking USPS from implementing parts of the executive order for the November 3 election. The injunction prohibited USPS from refusing to transmit mail-in or absentee ballots and from completing the rule making required by the executive order.

However, on August 21, the USPS did issue its “Final Rule” regarding mail-in ballots, enabling Judge Talwani to issue her order on August 28—a 14-day temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking key provisions of this rule implementing the original executive order restricting mail-in voting. “Now that the USPS has published the Final Rule,” she wrote, “plaintiffs’ challenges are ripe.”

Have you untwisted your neck yet?

At this point, the administration changed course, now stating that those challenging the EO were too late, because appeals could now continue past the midterms. Talwani recognized that the government had been playing timing games in an effort to ensure the rule would go into effect by insisting that one challenge came too soon and the next too late.

What happens now

You may have seen the Facebook post from the Gilpin County Clerk & Recorder:

"WHAT GILPIN COUNTY VOTERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MAIL BALLOTS. You may have heard about recent changes involving a U.S. Postal Service rule concerning election ballots.

Yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling has not impacted voting in Colorado. A nationwide court order protecting mail ballots remains in effect.

Gilpin County Clerk & Recorder Sahari McCormick and the Elections team are monitoring developments and will share accurate information if anything changes. For trusted election information, follow the Gilpin County Clerk & Recorder’s Office and other official election sources."

In other words, don't get your election information from social media (the above excepted), alternative media, or word of mouth. Wait until you hear from an official source, and know you can return your ballot when you receive it.

There are likely to be additional reviews of this issue in the courts (one is scheduled for September 3, and the injunction is for only 14 days), so this news is not final.

The Mountain-Ear will continue to follow the issue right up to election day.

Let us be correct in hoping (and assuming) that the constitutionality of the current election system is upheld through the election and into the 2028 campaign season.