Nov. 1 is an unusual date for a general election, but so be it – this is Election Day in Colorado. Across the metro area and across the state, the ballot offers an energizing potpourri of issues and races.
We urge citizens to get out and vote, if you haven’t already.
Voters who still have a mail ballot sitting around can take it to their local clerk’s office or other designated dropoff site. It must be in by 7 p.m. Delivering it to a precinct is not an option.
This is a unique election year for Colorado – an off-year election that packs a wallop. And our schedule is out of sync with the rest of the nation, which votes next week. Our off-kilter election date is a consequence of a nonsensical provision in the 1992 voter-approved Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights that requires tax measures to be offered in odd years and on the first Tuesday in November, rather than the traditional first Tuesday after the first Monday. Imagine the confusion for Puebloans and voters in other cities who are keeping the traditional voting day next week for local issues, but have to vote the statewide ballot today.
This year’s election is made particularly compelling by issues put forth by the legislature. One seeks statewide voter approval to keep surplus revenues for five years above the level allowed by TABOR to help the state get back on its feet after the 2001 recession. The other seeks authority to issue bonds for road repairs and construction. Referendums C and D lead the ballot, but there are important local issues to be decided, including teacher pay reform in Denver.
At the heart of any election is the public’s right to vote. Citizens in some countries are fighting and dying for free and fair elections. Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine are among them. We have that privilege, and Coloradans should exercise it. Secretary of State Gigi Dennis anticipates a 45 percent turnout statewide. Denver officials hope for 42 percent of the 342,000 registered voters, roughly the same as in the last odd-year election. Another way to look at it: More than 55 percent of eligible voters are likely to stay home.
As of yesterday, 5,093 Denverites had voted early at seven voting sites, and 30,601 had turned in absentee ballots (out of 42,432 who requested them). Overall, that’s 10 percent who have voted early in Denver.
In a closely contested election year, turnout could be the key. Why let your neighbor decide an issue that will affect your life, too? Every vote counts.
