There are only a few days left to vote in the 2023 election, and KUNC wants to make sure you have everything you need to cast your ballot by Tuesday. Although it's not a presidential or midterm election year, outcomes from the November 7 election could still have significant impacts on communities across Colorado, both at the state and local levels.
More than 650,000 people had voted as of Friday out of 3,927,793 active Colorado voters, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Want to join the ranks of voters helping influence important issues in your community this election? Read on so you're in the know this NoCo election season.
Ballot measures
Coloradans are voting on two statewide ballot initiatives in this election: Proposition HH and Proposition II.
Proposition HH is intended to provide relief from spiking property taxes next year, and will likely have a significant impact on a large number of Coloradans across the state. The proposal includes a 10-year tax relief plan backed by Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic lawmakers.
If a majority of voters vote yes and the measure is approved, it would reduce property valuation rates starting next year. Property valuation rates are part of the formula used to calculate a property taxes. The measure would also allow property owners to exempt part of their property’s value from taxation altogether.
Residential taxpayers can use this page, put together by nonpartisan legislative council staff, to calculate the estimated impact Proposition HH will have on their property taxes.
There has been pushback on Proposition HH, especially regarding the reductions it would make to tax refunds under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, in order to help the state pay for losses in tax revenue from reduced property taxes.
Backers of Prop HH, however, say the TABOR reductions are necessary to make sure local services that are funded by property taxes don’t lose too much funding.
“That's how we can make sure that schools and fire districts, etcetera, you know, are kept whole,” one of the measure’s sponsors, State Sen. Chris Hansen, said. “This idea that it's ending TABOR refunds is just demonstrably false.”
Supporters of the measure also say TABOR refunds to Coloradans would still increase next year, and would be reduced by less than $100 for most people over the following two years.
Critics, including most Colorado Republicans, oppose those reductions altogether, though, and have put forward alternative initiatives that would impose a statewide property tax cap.
“The solution to it is to cap property tax increases," conservative political activist Michael Fields, a leader of the measure’s opposition, said in a video posted to YouTube. "We need to make sure that property taxes remain low so that people can stay in their homes - seniors, people on fixed incomes, everyday Coloradans.”
None of the alternatives to Prop HH will be on the ballot until next year, however, which means there are no alternative property tax relief plans on the table this year.
If a majority of voters vote no on Prop HH and it is rejected, current state property tax law would not change.
The other statewide measure on this year’s ballot is Proposition II. If that one is approved, it would allow the state to retain excess tax revenue from tobacco and nicotine products. Those funds would then be used to expand access to the state’s free preschool program. Currently, excess taxes have to be refunded to tobacco and nicotine sellers and distributors.
Aside from the two statewide ballot measures, there are also a number of local ballot initiatives in communities across the state. For example, in Boulder, Ballot Question 302 would create what are called “Safe Zones for Kids,” and in effect would refocus efforts to remove encampments of unhoused people in areas that children frequent. The city already has an established and regularly-enforced ban on camping and tents in public areas, but if this measure gets voter approval next week, it would prioritize clearing encampments near schools, sidewalks and multi-use paths.
The big races
The highest profile races in Northern Colorado this year are the mayoral contests in both Boulder and Fort Collins, each of which are also accompanied by a few city council seats up for election.
The Boulder mayoral race has some particular significance this year because the city is utilizing ranked-choice voting for the first time. In a ranked-choice election, voters rank the candidates by preference instead of choosing one candidate. Then, in the ballot-counting phase, the lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated until one candidate gets at least 50% of the first-choice votes.
Historically, Boulder's mayor was chosen through nominations and a vote from the city council. In 2020, the city's residents overwhelmingly voted to change that to ranked-choice voting, in which residents can hold a popular vote for the mayor.
In Boulder, only the mayoral contest will use the ranked-choice voting system. The city council races will use traditional voting methods to elect new councilmembers.
A state law passed earlier this year made it easier for communities to implement ranked-choice voting by requiring election authorities to update their voting infrastructure to accommodate it. Broomfield and Fort Collins have also approved use of the format, but have yet to put it into practice. Ranked-choice voting is already in place in some Colorado communities, including Basalt and Telluride.
In Fort Collins, the mayoral race was uncontested until fairly recently, leaving only incumbent mayor Jeni Arndt on the ballot. It wasn’t until late August that challenger Patricia Babbitt filed paperwork to run against Arndt as a write-in candidate. Babbitt said she decided to run after listening to KUNC's government and politics coverage.
Your election questions, answered
To make sure our coverage serves the community in the most effective way possible, the KUNC newsroom has been collecting direct input from our Northern Colorado readers and listeners to learn more about your election concerns and questions. It’s important to note that we’ve heard from a limited number of people so far, which means the issues discussed below do not necessarily reflect the priorities of a majority of Coloradans. That said, they are an indicator of what is on some voters’ minds going into election day.
School boards
The majority of comments we received were about the education system, specifically around the politicization of school boards. They mostly expressed concerns about recent attempts from parents here in Colorado and across the country to censor certain topics in libraries and school curriculum based on particular views.
School board elections are underway in a lot of communities this year, including in the state’s largest district, Denver Public Schools. Historically, school board races haven’t generated much controversy, but in many communities here in Colorado and across the country, they have recently become the front lines of partisan political conflict, resulting in a surge of candidates.
The Secretary of State’s office reports that almost 600 candidates have filed to run for Colorado school board seats this year, as opposed to about 100 candidates just four years ago.
Election security and voting
We also heard from community members who say they’re worried about the influence of political extremism on our election system and its security, as well as potential barriers to voting that could come from threats to election procedures. Concerns mentioned included voter disenfranchisement, the spread of election misinformation and threats made toward election workers.
KUNC discussed election safety and security concerns with Secretary of State Jena Griswold earlier this week on KUNC's daily news podcast, In The NoCo. She talked about the state's efforts to combat potential threats, including a strictly-maintained voter registration database, regular voting equipment testing, extensive election worker background checks, and thorough post-election audits. Griswold also referenced recent state laws that expand protects for election workers and make it illegal to openly carry a gun near a ballot drop box or polling place.
"We need to have an accessible election model that allows eligible people who want to cast a ballot the ability to do so," Griswold said.
Coloradans can register to vote through election day at GoVoteColorado.gov.
Policy issues of interest
In terms of ongoing policy issues, people we heard from said climate change, the environment and tax policy were all top of mind. Other important policy areas included immigration issues, civil rights, health care, public safety and housing. The KUNC newsroom will continue monitoring all of these issues throughout the election and beyond.
KUNC will also be expanding our community engagement efforts ahead of next year’s presidential election, and we want to encourage our listeners to go ahead and pose questions or concerns to us using the simple form on our election page. The more we hear from you, the more we’ll be able to produce useful election and politics coverage.
Now, are you ready to vote?
Ballots are due by the time polls close on election day, 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 7. Ballots must be submitted at an official polling place or using an official ballot drop box. It's too late to mail them in. Voters can find polling place and drop box locations near you on the Secretary of State's website.
Plus, check out KUNC's election page for more election resources and important links.
