DENVER (KDVR) — A number of Colorado Republican election clerks say they got calls and messages from someone working for the White House, asking for access to their voting machines.

FOX31 spoke to the White House and the man accused of making the calls about the allegations, in addition to the other agencies involved.

No individual we spoke to denies that the calls and contacts were made, but depending on who you ask, whether or not they believe the asks were illegal varies.

In Colorado, a blue state, clerks representing Republican counties, like El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker, received unexpected calls and text messages last week. 

“I was completely surprised,” Schleiker said. “I received a text and it was Mr. Jeff Small identifying self, introducing himself, and saying he works for the White House and he would really like to talk to me in regards to election integrity.”

Schleiker called back.

“We spoke calmly for a good 20-25 minutes, and he introduced himself and said, ‘Hey, I am a consultant hired by the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security.’ And he asked if I was aware of the president’s executive order on election integrity,” Schleiker said. “Yeah, I wouldn’t be the clerk if I wasn’t aware of that, and he said the administration is not very happy with the movement on this executive order and they have hired me to create relationships, contacts with Republican clerks in the state of Colorado.”

Schleiker said that call led to Small asking if he could share his number with someone from DHS. Shortly after, he said he got a call from that person and they complimented the work El Paso County is doing to ensure voting security and integrity.

“But he did then ask, ‘Steve, is there an opportunity we can partner and sit there and test your election equipment to see if there’s any gaps?’’ Schleiker said. “That was a hard no.”

“There were 10 counties that have been called that I know of,” Matt Crane, the Executive Director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said. “From what we understand, they were calling Republican clerks in Democratic states to see if they would play ball with this. All the clerks that they called are Republican, and all of them run Dominion voting systems.”

Crane tells FOX31 that all of the clerks who were reached out to said no to requests for voting equipment access. 

“To make it very clear, we will not allow anybody to have unauthorized access to voting equipment,” Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold said. “And if someone does attempt to have unauthorized access, that comes with criminal liability in the state of Colorado.”

Griswold, Colorado’s Chief Elections Officer, says compromising voting equipment is considered a felony.

“If the White House did indeed send a consultant to ask Republican county clerks to allow them to have unauthorized access to voting equipment, that is a major escalation on the White House and Donald Trump’s attacks on states and our authority under the Constitution to oversee our elections,” Griswold said. “We take this situation very seriously.”

The White House responded to FOX31. 

“President Trump will keep fighting for election integrity, despite Democrat objections that reveal their disdain for commonsense safeguards like verifying citizenship,” Harrison Fields, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, said to FOX31 in a statement, adding “Free and fair elections are the bedrock of our Constitutional Republic, and we’re confident in securing an ultimate victory in the courtroom.”

When we asked specifically about Small and the other person who called the El Paso County Clerk, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security stated:

“Everyday, DHS works with our local partners to make sure our elections remain safe. We don’t disclose every single conversation we have with them.”

“I used to — I consulted for CISA on election security matters from 2019 until earlier this year, 2025,” Crane said. “At no point would I ever reach out to local election administrators and ask for access to their voting systems. So that was a big red flag.”

FOX31’s Nicole Fierro spoke to Small and his attorney. His attorney confirms that Small performed “outreach to local elections officials at the request of members of the administration in an unpaid capacity during his paternity leave.”

She also shared the following statement: 

“The provisions of President Trump’s executive order related to voting systems is valid law. These provisions require:

(ii)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Election Assistance Commission shall take appropriate action to review and, if appropriate, re-certify voting systems under the new standards established under subsection (b)(i) of this section, and to rescind all previous certifications of voting equipment based on prior standards. 

(c)  Following an audit of Help America Vote Act fund expenditures conducted pursuant to 52 U.S.C. 21142, the Election Assistance Commission shall report any discrepancies or issues with an audited State’s certifications of compliance with Federal law to the Department of Justice for appropriate enforcement action.

Although some provisions have been enjoined, this section remains the law.

Colorado has laws and procedures that require testing and audits of its systems by state and local election officials. This testing is done transparently with members of the public and often voting system vendors in the room. The state has procedures and rules to ensure the security of the system.

There is nothing in federal or state law that would prohibit the EAC from auditing election equipment, provided the county consented and the state granted approval for third-party access. During his communication with the County Clerks, Small was communicating about this portion of the Executive Order. He even attached the Order in his initial outreach.

It is disingenuous to suggest that an audit of voting machines as part of the implementation of an executive order is illegal or “unethical.”