A political consultant with long ties to Colorado recently reached out to as many as 10 county clerks across the state to obtain voting records and potentially, access to voting machines, which is not allowed under state law.

As first reported by the Washington Post, Jeff Small, former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Windsor, contacted at least three Republican county clerks in Colorado to ask for access to “all voting records,” and in some instances, their Dominion voting equipment.

Small now works for the 76 Group, a public affairs and government relations firm, led by former Senate minority leader Josh Penry.

Colorado Politics’ attempts to reach Small were unsuccessful.

Among those contacted by Small: Justin Grantham, the county clerk for Fremont County. He told Colorado Politics that Small said he was working for the 76 Group in conjunction with the White House and the Department of Justice. Small asked him to allow for a third-party review of the county’s voting machines, a request he rejected because it would violate state law. Grantham also said Small did not tell him who the third party would be.

That kind of access by an uncertified third party is what got former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters into hot water and eventually led to a nine-year sentence in state prison for election interference.

Small also reportedly contacted El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker, who told the Post that Small claimed to be working for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. Schleiker was later contacted by the Department of Homeland Security, which requested a review of the county’s election equipment.

Schleiker also said no to the request.

In an exchange with another clerk, Small claimed he was working for Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff.

Small also contacted Carly Koppes, Weld County’s clerk and recorder, who also denied his request.

All but two counties in Colorado use Dominion voting equipment.

The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Election Innovation and Research held a conference call Monday with more than 350 election officials from 33 states to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts.

“This is an extraordinary imposition of federal power over states’ election processes that, if it is accepted by the states in this context, will be absolutely used by Democrats in another context,” David Becker, the center’s executive director, told the Post.

Matt Crane, head of the Colorado County Clerks Association, stated that at least 10 county clerks in Colorado were contacted, with El Paso and Fremont receiving requests for access to their voting systems.

“If they really wanted help with the [president’s] executive order, they should have asked in advance, ‘Is this a good idea?’”

These requests for access to voting systems are brazen, he said.

Crane consulted with CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, from 2019 until earlier this year, and said, “Not in a million years would CISA ask for hands-on voting equipment. The federal government has no legal recourse to access voting systems.”

He called the requests “foolish” and said it showed the administration is getting desperate when they ask people to do illegal things. Clerks will meet with most people, “but the way this was done, underhanded, when someone asks for access to voting systems in a way that’s not legal, it raises a question of intent. If it’s based on the 2020 lies, that’s ridiculous too.”

“The whole thing stunk to high heaven,” Crane added.

The administration doesn’t care about our elections, he said. “It’s about scoring political points and raising money, and it’s disgusting that they would do this.”

In March, Trump issued an executive order on elections that requires proof of citizenship to vote, prosecute election fraud, and he ordered a 180-day review by the Election Assistance Commission to “re-certify voting systems” under new standards and to rescind all previous certifications based on prior standards. Those new standards include barring voting systems from using ballots in which a vote is contained within a barcode or QR code in the vote counting process, except where necessary to accommodate individuals with disabilities. Colorado hasn’t used these kinds of systems for years, Crane said.

The commission is independent and doesn’t report to the administration, Crane noted. It’s outside the White House’s scope of power to require the commission to do anything. “Elections should be left to the states.”

The Brennan Center for Justice called the executive order an illegal overhaul of major parts of the nation’s election systems. The president “claimed extraordinary unilateral authority to regulate federal elections and usurp the powers of Congress, the states, and an independent bipartisan federal agency,” which the center said violates federal law and the Constitution. If implemented, the order would disrupt election administration nationwide, the Center warned.

The executive order was put on hold by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. in April.