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KUNC's guide to Election 2012 in Colorado and the Colorado vote. Additional guides include a detailed look at Amendment 64, Amendment 65, and a look at Amendment S. You can find our archive of national election coverage here.

Live Blog Recap & Results: Election Night 2012

Mitt Romney has conceded the election and President Obama has been re-elected. In Colorado, another ballot issue of national attention, Amendment 64, has passed.

This post archives our updates from coverage of the 2012 General Election.

Update 12:32 a.m.: We've posted video of President Obama's victory speech here.

Update 12:21 a.m.: Local election results: Gardner Defeats Shaffer In 4th District Congressional Race

Update 12:12 a.m.: Local election results: Colorado A Mile High After Voters Approve Amendment 64

Update 11:55 p.m.: Local election results: Fracking Ban Passes in Longmont

Update 11:43 p.m.: Local election results: Greeley's 3A School Construction Bond Passes.

Update 11:17 p.m.: We've posted Mitt Romney's concession speech here.

Update 10:45 p.m.: While the count continues in Colorado, the Big Board still projects the re-election of President Obama. The vote in Colorado is Obama 50.24% vs. Romney 47.65%.

In terms of local election results: Boulder Approves Tax Extensions 2A and 2B.

Update 10:19 p.m.: via the Battleground Blog: Citing reports, KPLU is saying legalized marijuana has been approved in Washington. Washington and Colorado have both legalized marijuana for recreational use.

Update 9:50 p.m.: The No on 64 campaign has conceded, so Amendment 64 will win. Current vote count 52.9% Yes to 47.1% No. Interestingly, it looks like the question regarding marijuana in Washington, Measure 80, is losing - via the Battleground Blog. - Ed note: Measure 80 is the measure up for vote in Oregon.

Update 9:44 p.m.: via Nathan Heffel on Twitter

Update 9:36 p.m.: Votes are still being counted in Colorado. For example, in Boulder County only about 51% of the vote has been counted so far. Statewide 37 of 64 counties have partially reported with 1,481,817 ballots counted.

Did Colorado miss its opportunity to make a splash in the national results due to the slow count?

Update 9:30 p.m.: NPR is now projecting that the President will win re-election. Link: Big Board

Update 9:24 p.m.: The Denver Post has called the race for Amendment 64. Legalized recreational marijuana is the winner in their call, 52.87% Yes vs. 47.13% No.

Update 9:22 p.m.: via Kirk Siegler on Twitter

Update 9:19 p.m.:  So much for Colorado's spot as a swing state, votes are still being counted at this point, 37 out of 64 counties so far. NPR has called Ohio for the President, giving him 265 electoral votes. 270 are needed to win the White House and NBC News has called the election for the President. Here's the big board.

Update 9:11 p.m: Amendment 64 still leads, 52.87% Yes vs. 47.13% No

Update 9:09 p.m.: From Kirk Siegler:

"The ballroom here is starting to fill up with Democratic activists who erupt in cheers every time the huge screens projecting CNN show the President with narrow leads in key states – including Colorado.  All eyes here are focused on the swing counties – Larimer, Arapahoe and Jefferson County.  And in particular Jefferson County where the President has opened up leads with now more than half of the ballots counted in Colorado.  JeffCo is a bellwether for the nation.  In 2008 it went handily to Mr. Obama, in 2004 the same for George W. Bush.  I don’t think anyone here is surprised that the race is still close and the President appearing to be leading by a razor thin margin."

Update 9:06 p.m.: The Denver Post is calling Colorado for Obama. Results so far have Obama 817,697 (50.42%) to Romney's 771,864 (47.59%), votes are still being counted.

Update 9:02 p.m.: From Nathan Heffel at GOP HQ:

"The mood remains muted here at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. A country band is now on stage trying to keep the mood light. Cheers erupted when it was announced on three massive TV screens that Republicans retained control of the US House, but as the presidential race in Colorado remains too close to call, supporters here focus on a congressional win by Doug Lamborn in the southern Colorado District 5. It appears that incumbent Republican Cory Gardner is leading Democrat Brandon Schaffer in the 4th district that includes Greeley."

Update 8:57 p.m.: In Larimer County, the results so far are Obama 76,297 votes and Romney 68,379. Statewide the race is Obama 797,616 (50.32%) and Romney 755,602 (47.7%)

Update 8:51 p.m.: Ivan Moreno with the AP just tweeted that Cory Gardner has won in the 4th Congressional District over Brandon Shaffer.

Update 8:43 p.m.: A moment of whimsy. Strangely enough, it kind of is trending that way. It's Obama 50.59% right now versus Romney's 47.43% in Colorado. Who knew that coffee cup voting would be so close to the real thing?

Update 8:40 p.m.: Amendment 65 is way ahead at this point. 1,027,750 Yes to 387,858 No. That's a very wide 72.6% to 27.4%. Amendment 65 if you remember is a non-binding support of a constitutional amendment against Citizens United and reads this way:

Shall there be amendments to the Colorado constitution and the Colorado revised statutes concerning support by Colorado’s legislative representatives for a federal constitutional amendment to limit campaign contributions and spending, and, in connection therewith, instructing Colorado’s congressional delegation to propose and support, and the members of Colorado’s state legislature to ratify, an amendment to the United States constitution that allows congress and the states to limit campaign contributions and spending?

Update 8:35 p.m.: In swing county Jeffco (you remember Jeffco right?) the President is leading 130,838 votes vs. 121,982 votes for Romney.

Overall 30 of 64 counties have partially reported so far. Obama 763,038 (50.40%) and Romney 721,461 (47.65%).

Update 8:26 p.m.: While we have been scraping together the Colorado results, we've been remiss in watching the national election. According the Big Board, it is 153 electoral votes for Obama and 163 for Romney. Remember, you need 270 to clinch the White House.

Update 8:23 p.m.: Amendment 64 continues to to lean just a bit more to Yes. 680,796 (52.41%) Yes and 618,218 (47.59%) No

Update 8:20 p.m.: Reporter Grace Hood is reporting on an interesting trend so far in Larimer. Remember when they banned dispensaries? The ballot question to reverse it is in the lead right now...

Update 8:16 p.m.: 25 out of 64 counties now. Obama 666,738 (50.57%) and Romney 626,724 (47.54%)

Update 8:09 p.m.: Amendment 64 - 657,720 (52.27%) Yes, 600,659 (47.73%) No

Update 8:07 p.m.: 23 out of 64 counties reporting. The vote tally is starting to narrow a bit. Obama 654,717 (50.56%) and Romney 615,967 (47.56%).

Update 8:04 p.m.: We interrupt the mad dash for results for this moment of cute via Nathan Heffel on Twitter:

Update 8:02 p.m.: Starting to suspect that this may take awhile? You're not alone. Kirk Siegler reports from the Sheraton that Democratic Party Chair Rick Palacio spoke briefly. He was the first speaker of the night.  He said it could be a long night and half-joked that the crowd should pace itself and do like Sen. Mark Udall advises "double fist" with one glass of beer and another of water.

Update 7:59 p.m.: Just got the latest voter turnout numbers from the Secretary of State. 2,083,619 total votes. 705,200 registered Democrat, 739,018 Republican and 616,211 Unaffiliated.

Update 7:55 p.m.: We're still waiting for polls to clear in Larimer County. In the meantime, 17 of 64 counties reporting for the Presidential race. Obama 462,191 (52.88%) and Romney 395,501 (45.25%).

Update 7:53 p.m.: Fracking has been very contentious in Colorado, in Longmont they have a city ban on the ballot. Question 300 is currently leading, 59% yes 41% no.

Update 7:46 p.m.: We mentioned earlier that people were still in line to vote in Larimer County. Kevin Duggan with the Coloradoan just tweeted that there are voters still in line to vote at Colorado State University. Results out of Larimer may be slow coming.

Update 7:37 p.m.: Other than the Presidential race, there is something else everyone has been wondering about. The status of Amendment 64, which will legalize recreational marijuana. 64 is narrowly leading. 411,785 Yes and 357,659 No.

Update 7:35 p.m.: Add Denver city/county and San Miguel to the list leaning toward Obama. Vote count: 421,569 Obama and 359,139 Romney.

Update 7:30 p.m.: Counties reporting so far: Boulder & Jefferson (leaning Obama), Weld, Douglas, Elbert, Yuma, Cheyenne, and Mesa (leaning Romney).

Update 7:28 p.m.: 8 counties of 64 at this point: Obama 271,090 and Romney 310,750 so far.

Update 7:26 p.m.: via Aspen Public Radio's Luke Runyon on Twitter

Update 7:21 p.m.: Some results are starting to come in. Obama with 50.71% (188,113 votes) and Romney 47.27% (175,344). This is with 4 counties partially reporting out of 64, Jeffco is one of these counties (a swing county).

Update 7:08 p.m.: the Loveland Reporter Herald is reporting on Twitter that voters are still in line in Larimer County (Northern Colorado) and Larimer won't be releasing any voting totals until about 7:45 p.m. to avoid influencing the vote.

Update 7:01 p.m.: Polls in Colorado are closed. NPR calls TX, KS, SD, ND, LA and WY for Romney. Obama in NY and MI. Link: Big Board

Update 6:59 p.m.: Kirk Siegler just checked in from the Sheraton Denver:

"A pair of giant projectors are showing CNN’s election night special, as the party faithful will start filing in soon. The bars are stocked and the catering staff prepping for a big crowd.  This is the main gathering point for Colorado Democrats and most if not all of the congressional candidates the party is fielding will convene here at some point in the night. This is the same venue Democrats gathered during the 2008 Election, and there was a big rowdy party here then.  But if the polls are any indication, the presidential race is going to be extremely close."

Update 6:55 p.m.: We're approaching the next round of poll closures at 7 p.m. (9 p.m. EST) – Arizona (11), Colorado (9), Kansas (6), Louisiana (8), Michigan (16), Minnesota (10), Nebraska (5), New Mexico (5), New York (29), North Dakota (3), South Dakota (3), Texas (38), Wisconsin (10), Wyoming (3)

Colorado's 9 electoral votes are up for grabs, it has been close with turnout numbers favoring Republicans, but there were 588,430 Unaffiliated votes at last count. We're about to find out soon enough.

Update 6:50 p.m.: via Nathan Heffel on Twitter

Update 6:44 p.m.: Morning Edition host Erin O'toole is hanging out and celebrating a friend's birthday at Crabtree Brewing in Greeley. She tweeted that the tasting room toasted the end of political ads. I think Colorado can toast an end to scenes like this in the mailbox:

Credit Jim Hill / KUNC
/
KUNC
A stack of political mailings that our Digital Manager collected this year during the election run up.

Update 6:37 p.m.: NPR has called Tennessee and Arkansas for Romney. That brings the count to 65 Obama and 88 Romney. Link: Big Board

Colorado polls close at 7 p.m. MST, so prepare for some results in less than a half hour.

Update 6:30 p.m.: via NPR Business on Twitter

Update 6:16 p.m.: Electoral counts so far show 65 for Obama and 71 for Romney. Ohio, which is the big prize that overall success of the race usually pivots on is still counting. Via the Battleground Blog and WOSU:

The first voting totals released by the Ohio Secretary of State show Obama leading  Romney. Obama has 383,700 votes to Romney’s 190,000 in the early voting period. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown leads Republican challenger Josh Mandel in the early voting period. Brown has 434,716 votes to Mandel’s 211,905.

Update 6:02 p.m.: Less than an hour to go to vote in Colorado. Remember, if you are in line before the poll closure at 7 p.m., you will still be allowed to vote.

The AP has called the following states for Obama: Illinois, Connecticut, Maine, Washington D.C., Rhode Island, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Romney has won Oklahoma. Link: Big Board

Update 5:50 p.m.: The next big chuck of the polls will be closing at 6 p.m. (8 p.m. EST) – Alabama (9), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), DC (3), Florida (29), Illinois (20), Maine (2), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), Mississippi (6), Missouri (10), New Hampshire (4), New Jersey (14), Oklahoma (7), Pennsylvania (20), Rhode Island (4), Tennessee (11).

Quick reminder: Colorado's polls close at 7 p.m. MST.

Update 5:42 p.m.: We're embedded now. Reporter Nathan Heffel is on site at the GOP Election Night HQ at Sports Authority Field at Mile High (or Mile High Stadium to the Denver old-timers...).

Update 5:35 p.m.: Here's the latest voter turnout numbers in Colorado. Via the Secretary of State at 5:10 p.m.: 2,007,747 w/ 719,597 Republicans, 677,473 Democrats and 588,430 Unaffiliated.

Update 5:33 p.m.: West Virginia has been called for Romney by NPR and the AP. Link: Big Board

Update 5:30 p.m.: Next round of poll closures is here. Including one of the bigger prizes: Ohio. 5:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. EST) - North Carolina (15), Ohio (18), West Virginia (5)

Update 5:23 p.m.: We've seen some questions on Twitter this evening asking how to check your mail-in ballot. You can check your mail-in ballot at the Colorado Secretary of State website. Give it a whirl, I just checked my ballot and they got it. That's one less thing on my mind now.

Update 5:14 p.m.: NPR has called Georgia and South Carolina for Romney. According to the big board now it's 3 electoral votes for Obama and 44 for Romney.

Update 5:04 p.m.: A few calls have come with the first poll closures. NPR is projecting that Obama will win Vermont and Romney in Kentucky. The Associated Press concurs with that as well. NBC is projecting Indiana for Romney.

Update 4:56 p.m.: via Kirk Siegler on Twitter

Update 4:53 p.m.: Just a few minutes away from the first poll closures tonight. On the upcoming list? at 5 p.m. (7 p.m. EST) - Georgia (16), Indiana (11), Kentucky (8), South Carolina (8), Vermont (3), Virginia (13). That's a total of 59 electoral votes in the first round.

Update 4:38 p.m.: via Channel 7News 247 Weather on Twitter:

Colorado has been inundated with campaign commercials. We figured that was a sign worth sharing - it's almost all over.

Update 4:36 p.m.: We just got this in from the Colorado Secretary of State. There have been long waits in Arapahoe County at the CentrePointe Plaza vote center. Wait times have been in the 60 to 90 minute range. They are encouraging voters to try other nearby voting centers in Arapahoe county:

  • Aurora Professional Learning & Conference Center at 15771 E. First Ave., Aurora, CO 80011
  • Faith Presbyterian Church at 11373 E. Alameda Ave. Aurora, CO 80012
  • Aurora Hills Middle School at 1009 S. Uvalda St. Aurora, CO 80012

Other Arapahoe County voting locations. Polls close tonight in Colorado at 7 p.m., but remember if you are already in line, you still get to vote.

Update 4:18 p.m.: Other than the vote for the President in Colorado, there are three statewide ballot issues. Amendment 64 is the vote to legalize marijuana in the state for recreational use, this is beyond the already legalized marijuana for medicinal use. The other issues are Amendment 65, a statement of support for campaign finance reform against Citizens United and Amendment S, which will make changes to the state employee system.

In addition to Colorado, two other state are voting on the legalization question. We'll be following to see which state will be the first in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use.  In Colorado, a Public Policy Polling poll from Nov 5th (.pdf) showed that the Amendment 64 was head 52% for vs. 44% against. In that same poll, 4% were undecided.

Update 4:05 p.m.: Thanks for joining us tonight for updates. You can stream live coverage from NPR from the homepage here at KUNC.org, we've also got an election results map posted there as well.

Update 3:55 p.m.: The turnout results got us thinking about the last election back in 2008. According to the United State Election Project, the total turnout in 2008 was 2,422,236. Will Colorado top that this year?

If it does it may still be thanks to the mail-in ballot. In 2008 the ease of mail-in ballots was credited with the increased turnout. An interesting parallel with today's election as we saw in that NY Times article from 2008? In that 2008 NY Times article it speaks of close polling in the state. Just like today, the Real Clear Politics average for Colorado lists it as close: 48.8 Obama to 47.3 Romney.

Update 3:05 p.m.: Our first update of the evening. The Colorado Secretary of State has released turnout results (.pdf) as of 2:10 p.m.. A total of 1,966,148 votes have been cast. Here's the breakdown by voter affiliation:

  • Republican: 705,085
  • Democrat: 670,355
  • Unaffiliated:  569,182

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As we mentioned earlier, the schedule for tonight's polls closures will start off at 5 p.m. MST (7 p.m. EST) with Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia. Colorado's polls will close at 7 p.m. MST.

We'll have an elections result map on the homepage at KUNC.org tonight, but there will be some alternatives as well if you want to play along with the home version of our game. The NPR Big Board is available, you can follow along with the same results that the NPR hosts will be using in studio tonight.

If you are following the election tonight on Twitter, several KUNC reporters will be at key campaign locations tonight. You can follow them for updates as well.

  • @KirkSiegler – Kirk will be at the Sheraton Denver for the Dems Election night party
  • @Heffeln – Nathan will be in Denver at the GOP Election night party at Mile High Stadium
  • @GraceHood – Grace will be at the Marriot in Fort Collins at the Larimer County

If you're interested in what's happening outside of Colorado, we'll also have updates from around the battleground states with our Battleground Blog tonight. KUNC along with several other public radio outlets in the key swing states will be pooling resources together to cover tonight's election.

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