The Denver Gazette reports on President Trump’s latest populist bombshell: a vow to end mail-in voting nationwide. In a post on Truth Social, he promised an executive order requiring voter ID for every ballot, banning mail-in voting except for the military and the gravely ill, and mandating paper ballots cast in person. “No exceptions!” Trump thundered.
Denver election officials promptly panicked, saying it would dismantle the state’s “gold-standard” system, where more than 85% of voters return ballots by mail or drop box. They warned the costs would be astronomical – opening and staffing hundreds of new polling sites – while civil rights groups cried “disenfranchisement.” Legal scholars quickly noted the problem: elections are controlled by states, not the Oval Office.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Trump vowed an executive order banning nearly all mail-in voting and requiring voter ID, paper ballots, and in-person voting.
- Colorado officials freaked, saying 85% of voters here rely on mail ballots and ending them would “dismantle” the state’s system.
- Denver Clerk’s office said it’s impossible to calculate the cost but warned it would require hundreds of new polling sites.
- A federal judge already blocked part of Trump’s earlier EO requiring proof of citizenship, ruling elections are state-run.
- Secretary of State Jena Griswold – our queen of political theater – keeps selling Colorado’s system as “gold-standard,” despite its obvious flaws.
My Bottom Line
Trump was elected on a populist wave, and he’s going to stay based by saying populist things. And on the substance? He’s right. Mail-in voting is idiotic – rife with error, easy to game, and nearly impossible to police at scale. Citizenship requires effort, and the most sacred duty of citizenship – the vote – should require getting off your ass, driving to a polling place, and casting a ballot in person. Exceptions? Sure – military deployed, gravely ill, or a properly requested absentee ballot. Everyone else? Day of voting. In person. Paper ballots. End of story.
And showing an ID? Damnit, of course. You need an ID to buy a beer or pick up cold medicine, but not to choose leaders who control nukes and taxes? That’s insane. Anyone who argues against voter ID is trying to game the system, period.
But here’s the rub: this is not a federal matter. Trump can tweet, Truth, and rally on this until the cows come home, but an executive order dictating elections is a bridge too far. Elections are the business of states. Period. Colorado has a lousy model, yes, thanks to Jena Griswold and her merry band of “gold-standard” salespeople, but fixing it has to come from here, not Washington.
So yes, Mr. President, I love your ideas. But keep Uncle Sam’s hands off state elections. And as for Griswold, our “defender of democracy”? She’s not saving democracy – she’s selling snake oil in a shiny blue bottle.
