Happy Colorado Sunday, friends.
I’ve got my game face on for these last few days of voting, and believe me, it’s a struggle.
If my various email boxes are to be believed, these are desperate times no matter which side of the aisle you sit on. I, personally, am responsible for making a difference, or so Kamala Harris, and Hakeem Jeffers, and Trump’s Rapid Response Team and #womenfortrump let me know 100 times a day.
I’ve been “assigned” to help in Pima County, Arizona (maybe because I own property two counties over in a different state that the road to the Senate runs through?) and Douglas County, Nebraska (because I was the Washington, D.C., correspondent for a now-disappeared paper there during grad school?). Robert Reich has words for me. And so does James Carville. And Chuck Schumer, who just wants to talk over coffee. I am the key to unlocking so much money for so many candidates and have been greeted as a “fellow piece of garbage” by at least one person demanding financial support.
That’s a lot of responsibility to shoulder — especially now that I understand, based on Thursday’s actual mail, that my vote is all that stands between a mountain lion and a kid it wants to eat. It’s enough to drive a person to drink.
Esquire magazine has helpfully researched the most famous cocktails in six out of seven swing states. (We’re on our own for North Carolina.) And though I’m definitely ready to set up a Wisconsin (Brandy Old Fashioned), an Arizona (Tequila Sunrise — the original recipe calls for two drops of salt water, aka tears) and a Georgia (Scarlett O’Hara), I learned from this week’s cover story by Erica Breunlin that there are far more mindful ways to deal with election stress. Pop-up puppy bar anyone?
Editor
The Cover Story
Self-care for the civic minded
I tend to wear my anxiety on my sleeve.
Most days, there’s no hiding how tightly wound I am. So, naturally, my anxiety flared when I set out to write about the record-high anxiety among voters leading up to Tuesday’s election.
On one assignment for the story, I found myself lying on the heated floor of a Denver yoga studio midweek, peering out the window at a branch of orange leaves. Weighted sandbags pinned my arms to the ground. A stranger-turned-source adjusted my neck and shoulders. I tried to focus on my breathing, as instructed.
Forcing myself to be still — amid a looming deadline and major election — did not set me en route to tranquility. Not at first, at least. Then minutes passed. Breaths deepened. And the silence seemed to expand. And for a rare few moments, the anxiety loosened its ironclad grip.
Don’t worry. It’s back (in full force). But on the bright side, I got to talk to a variety of Colorado voters about how they are quelling their Election Day nerves — aka self-care for the civic minded.
If you are among the great number of us filled with dread immediately upon opening your ballot or scanning a political text, you might try a headstand (proceed with caution) or take a comedic pause at the theater or meet up with like-minded voters.
No matter your personal strategy, Tuesday will come and Tuesday will go. All the election jitters in the meantime, as one Denver yoga teacher reminded me, are temporary.
READ THIS WEEK’S COLORADO SUNDAY FEATURE
Erica Breunlin | Education Reporter
The Colorado Lens
It’s worth mentioning again, photojournalists bring interesting perspectives into focus and take us to places we might never go on our own. Here are a few of our favorite recent images.
Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler
Flavor of the Week
8 ways to survive Election Day (and the aftermath)
When I ask friends how they’re coping with election stress, they say: “I’m a mess!” Well, I have PreTSD, too. Thank goodness I’m a cartoonist, free to invent solutions to the Problems of Being Alive Now.
Consider some strategies to help you through voting day and the chaos beyond.
Sample all 21 local brews that medaled at the Great American Beer Fest. Bottoms up!
SEE 7 MORE OF PETER MOORE’S REMEDIES FOR ELECTION ANGST
Peter Moore | Illustrator
SunLit: Sneak Peek
A bungled crime led to the court decision that produced the Brady rule
EXCERPT: Author Thomas L. Dybdahl, a former public defender, saw all too often that prosecutors and even judges would overlook the so-called “Brady rule,” which requires the prosecution to disclose evidence favorable to the defendant. In “When Innocence Is Not Enough,” a finalist for the 2024 Colorado Book Award in General Nonfiction, he dives deep into the 1963 Supreme Court ruling that created the Brady rule — and in this excerpt, recounts the botched crime behind it.
THE SUNLIT INTERVIEW: Dybdahl explains how he wrote his book to draw attention to what he considers a pervasive problem in the criminal justice system. Can it be fixed? Here’s a portion of his wide-ranging Q&A:
SunLit: Tell us about creating this book. What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write?
Dybdahl: Through my work as a public defender, and my volunteer work with prisoners prior to that time, I saw firsthand the unfairness that is all too common in our law courts. I wanted to share what I had learned with others. … When I began writing, I had some ideas about how the Brady rule could be reformed and strengthened so its initial promise of a fairer, more just system could be realized. But the more I studied and researched the issue, the more I came to believe that the rule was fatally flawed.
READ THE INTERVIEW WITH THOMAS DYBDAHL
LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST WITH THE AUTHOR
Kevin Simpson | Writer
Sunday Reading List
A curated list of what you may have missed from The Colorado Sun this week.
🌞 For almost a year, Jennifer Brown has been reporting on the backlog of cases at federal immigration court in Denver. There are now more than 77,500 pending cases for people who have filed for asylum or are fighting deportation — up from 18,000 in 2021. Her three-part series starts with this story, reported with International Center for Journalists’ fellow Ernesto Cabral, about the perplexing experience people face when they show up for their first hearings, most of them without legal representation.
🌞 What’s at stake if Colorado state government falls under control of a Democratic supermajority? Brian Eason helps us understand by looking at two races that could swing the balance of power.
🌞 Voters in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District told Jesse Paul they have their doubts about how effective U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who was elected in the 3rd, can be representing their interests in Washington. But are their reservations big enough to get them to vote for her challenger, Democrat Trisha Calvarese?
🌞 Good news! The tiny southwestern Colorado town of Rico is finally getting streets paved so driving around doesn’t stir up toxic lead left behind by high-elevation hardrock mining. Michael Booth has more details on the deal between Rico and the blamed polluter, Atlantic Richfield, including how yards around homes in town will be dug up to get the lead out.
🌞 The fabled born-in-Boulder business accelerator Techstars is back home again after leaving for New York and fracturing the community of founders and funders. Tamara Chuang reports on how different from the old organization the new Techstars will look.
🌞 The 47th annual Denver Film Festival opened Friday and you’ve still got plenty of movies to choose from before the curtain falls Nov. 10. Film critic Howie Movshovitz runs through the lineup to help you pick and makes one recommendation: See “Young Frankenstein” on the big screen next Sunday morning and pour one out for the hilarious Teri Garr, who died last week.
Dana Coffield | Editor
Thanks for spending part of your Colorado Sunday with us again this week. On the off chance that you’re still mulling key elements of your long ballot and have questions, we’ve got you covered: 🗳️Voter Guide: What you need to know as you fill out your ballot.
If you had a change of heart after filling in the bubbles, or as happened to me last year, your new puppy ate your ballot, you can request a new one, in person, until 7 p.m. Tuesday. And don’t forget! It’s too late to mail in your ballot — you’ll need to drop it at a voter center or ballot box in your county.
— Dana & the whole staff of The Sun
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Corrections & Clarifications
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