Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López accused Mayor Mike Johnston of “threatening election integrity in the city.”
On Monday, the mayor presented the first draft of his 2026 budget, one that he said cut most agencies “to the bone” while protecting core city services.
But López says elections was not protected. Johnston declined to give an extra $4.5 million to the Office of the Clerk and Recorder in his proposed 2026 budget — money López said was desperately needed to run the 2026 midterm elections securely. Without the funding, the city would cut polling centers and voter drop boxes.
“Mayor Johnston has said these cuts will not cut critical services,” López said. “However, that is just not true. These cuts will absolutely cut the voters' access to the ballot box and our polling centers. These are critical services. This is critical infrastructure in the city and county of Denver, especially during an election.”
The mayor is threatening election integrity in the city, stabbing independent agencies in the back, and “grossly mismanaging” the city’s finances, López said.
The mayor’s spokesperson Jon Ewing said López should have taken up these complaints earlier in the process, arguing the mayor did what he could to collaborate with López’s office.
But López said he made his case to the mayor in multiple meetings.
Without the requested $4.5 million, López said his office would have to reduce the number of polling centers from 12 to five and drop boxes from 46 to 38. The city would not be able to hire roughly 300 of the 1,000 election workers that it usually employs. And counting votes would take longer, undermining trust in the system, López said.
“The mayor’s proposal will decimate voter services in the city and county of Denver in 2026,” López said.
López also previously sought tens of millions in funding from the proposed Vibrant Denver bonds, which he said was needed for a new elections office building. That proposal didn’t make the cut for the debt package, which is on the ballot in November.
Ewing said every agency in the city is taking cuts, and the clerk and recorder’s office should be no different.
Around 170 city workers were laid off, including some in the mayor’s office, and hundreds of vacant positions were closed last month. The city is also planning another $100 million in reductions for next year’s budget.
Ewing said the clerk and recorder’s office should not be immune to shared sacrifice, adding that he has faith in López to oversee elections without the additional money.,
The city is not alone in facing budget cuts. On Monday, Johnston noted that 20 out of 25 of the nation’s biggest cities are facing budget shortfalls. Meanwhile, the state government has slashed programs to solve a nearly $1 billion deficit.
López argued elections are under threat, misinformation is at an all-time high and federal support from the Department of Homeland Security has been stripped away. López was a city council member for 12 years and was elected as clerk and recorder in 2019. His name has occasionally been floated as a mayoral candidate to challenge Johnston in 2027, but he told Denverite the only office he would be running for is clerk and recorder.
“The greatest threat to democracy in Denver, Colorado, is not coming from the Trump administration's bombastic threats, but instead, the realistic cuts from Denver's own mayor,” López said
One Denver City Council member, Flor Alvidrez, attended the press conference. She has been a consistent voice in recent months in fighting for greater funding for the clerk and recorder’s office.
In the coming weeks, City Council will have the chance to propose amendments to the budget. But if they involve more spending, they will necessarily involve other cuts and likely lead to layoffs, the mayor said.
