GRAND JUNCTION — An elections clerk in a western Colorado county found nearly 600 ballots for the November 2019 election that went uncollected — and uncounted, she reported this week. “This is a very serious offense and I wanted to let people know,” Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters told The Daily Sentinel. The 574 […]
Election 2019
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government, Transportation
$10 million poured into 2019 election, but big money couldn’t push Proposition CC to passage
Advocates for Proposition CC outspent the opposition by more than double but still lost in the statewide November election. The two campaign committees behind the ballot question — Coloradans for Prosperity and Great Education Colorado — spent a combined $4.5 million on the failed effort, according to final campaign finance reports filed late last week. […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
With Proposition CC’s failure, Colorado Democrats face a budget crunch in 2020. Here are their 4 options to address it.
With the defeat of Proposition CC, voters ensured two features of Colorado state government are here to stay: Taxpayer refunds and the periodic legislative exercise in avoiding them. The 2020 budget cycle is shaping up to be no exception. The legislative session is still weeks away, and Colorado budget writers already face a daunting list […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Casers and streeters and the case of the undelivered mail ballots in Colorado
Eight-hundred-and-twenty-eight ballots were not delivered to Aurora and Denver voters until late afternoon on Tuesday, Nov. 5, just hours before the polls closed on Election Day. How and why did that happen? Often, there are multiple factors leading to errors, mistakes, accidents and other failures. That may well be the case in this situation with […]
Posted inUncategorized
Comparing voters to their neighbors can dramatically boost turnout. A Colorado mailer, however, really missed the mark.
Using mailers as a form of social pressure to urge people to vote is among the most effective ways of driving election turnout, studies show. The tactic, in fact, can be even more potent than door-to-door canvassing. That’s especially true when voters are told how their voting record compares to their neighbors’. Such messaging can […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Why the Denver school board “flipped” toward reform and what might happen next
Carried by momentum from February’s teachers strike and a broader backlash against the status quo, candidates opposed to the policies that made Denver Public Schools a national exemplar for education reform now control the school board for the first time. Instead of five members backed by pro-reform organizations and two backed by the teachers union, […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Nicolais: Choppy waters ahead for Colorado Democrats?
Nothing makes me geek-out quite as quickly as election returns. From the anticipation of the first wave to be posted through talking heads trying to determine when to call a race, the numbers always tell a story. So fair warning for anyone reading this column whose eyes cross over data analysis. The story told by […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
664 voters in Aurora — home to a neck-and-neck mayoral race — didn’t get their replacement ballots until Election Day
More than 650 voters in Aurora — home to a neck-and-neck mayoral race — didn’t receive replacement ballots they had been mailed until late in the afternoon of Election Day, adding to concerns swirling around the heated contest to lead Colorado’s second largest city. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold on Friday evening blasted the […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns, Politics and Government
Opinion: Colorado said “no” to extreme spending by rejecting Proposition CC
On Election Day, Proposition CC went down in flames across Colorado with a double-digit loss. The only counties with a voting majority in favor of the measure were Denver, Boulder, Broomfield, Routt, Summit, Eagle, Pitkin, Gunnison, Ouray, San Juan, San Miguel and La Plata – all liberal strongholds and a mere 12 out of 64 […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado voters narrowly approve sports betting, turning on new spigot for water project funding
Colorado became the 19th state to allow sports betting after voters narrowly approved Proposition DD thanks to strong support from people in and around Denver. The ballot question was bouncing between winning and losing as results were reported on Election Night — at one brief point it was locked in a 50-50 tie — but […]