Colorado Election 2020: Updates On Voting, Races, Ballot Measures And Results

From the Colorado Newsline:

By Newsline staff
Updated November 3, 2020

Newsline staff is providing updates and information on the races, ballot measures and other news related to the Nov. 3, 2020, election in Colorado.

The Colorado ballot includes races for president, one U.S. Senate seat, all seven U.S. House seats, 18 of the state Senate’s 35 seats, all 65 of the state House seats, all 22 of the state’s district attorney offices, 11 statewide ballot measures, and other items, including University of Colorado regent, state Board of Education and RTD board races.

Mail ballots were sent to all registered voters in Colorado starting Oct. 9. They were advised to return ballots by Oct. 26 if they sent them through the mail. Otherwise voters can hand-deliver ballots at a drop-off site and vote in person up to 7 p.m. on Election Day. They may also register to vote up to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

5 down-ballot races to watch in Colorado

By: Newsline staff

With just hours remaining for Colorado voters to return their ballots in the 2020 election, there’s little suspense about who will prevail in the two biggest statewide races.

But away from the top of the ticket, there’s still plenty of intrigue heading into Election Night in Colorado — and not only in the 3rd Congressional District, where the contest between right-wing activist Lauren Boebert and former state lawmaker Diane Mitsch Bush has become a battleground in Democrats’ efforts to expand their House majority. At the state and local level, too, the outcomes of several key races could carry significant policy implications and offer clues about Colorado’s political future. Read Newsline reporter Chase Woodruff’s report on five down-ballot races to keep an eye on as results begin to roll in on Tuesday night.

No on Proposition 113 campaign surprisingly bipartisan, organizer says

By: Newsline staff

When Rose Pugliese set out to help lead an effort to repeal Colorado’s participation in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, she expected to encounter certain partisan fault lines.

“I thought it would be a rural-urban divide,” she said on Monday.

It didn’t turn out that way.

“What we found was the complete opposite,” Pugliese said. “We’ve had Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliateds on the ground collecting signatures … We had as many people signing petitions in Grand Junction as there was in Boulder.”

Pugliese, a Republican, is a Mesa County commissioner. The effort to put the national popular vote question to voters succeeded, and it appears as Proposition 113 on the statewide ballot. It’s a rare referendum petition, whereby citizens, if they gather enough signatures, can refer a law already passed by the Legislature to a vote of the people. Participation in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would mean Colorado’s nine electoral votes would be cast not for the presidential candidate who wins the most votes in Colorado but the candidate who wins the most votes in the nation. It’s a way to ensure the president is the national popular vote winner. The compact would take effect only if a collection of states with a total 270 electoral votes join. With Colorado, the compact has 187 votes to its credit so far. A “yes” vote affirms Colorado’s participation in the compact.

The person responsible for collecting the second most signatures to get Proposition 113 on the ballot was Lauren Boebert, the Republican candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, Pugliese said.

Pugliese feels “optimistic” about the Tuesday vote, she said. But whatever happens on Election Day, she finds reason to celebrate in the very effort to repeal the compact.

“This turned out to be one of the most bipartisan movements in Colorado history to put a question on the ballot,” Puliese said. That kind of involvement “is really a testament to who we are as Coloradans.”

Colorado election officials: Risk of foreign interference increases this week

By: Faith Miller

At a virtual news briefing, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and members of her team warned that foreign actors may up their efforts to spread disinformation as Election Day nears.

“The federal authorities have warned that the risk of foreign interference increases on the days right before the election, Election Day and the days immediately following the election,” Griswold said during the briefing Nov. 2.

Disinformation can spread through social media or fake news websites, she said, and is aimed at undermining voter confidence in the electoral process and results. It “disproportionately continues to target minority populations and older Americans,” Griswold said.

Recent warnings from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security alerted Americans to fake websites that were probably intended to post false election results, the targeting of election computer systems by Russia and Iran, and emails aimed at intimidating voters, linked to Iran.

None of the attacks affected Colorado, according to Griswold, who added that federal officials “have no evidence these efforts hurt other states’ ability to conduct free and fair elections.”

Democrats have also worried that poll watchers could be intimidating voters, after President Donald Trump in a September debate asked his supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully.”

But voter intimidation by poll watchers doesn’t appear to be happening in Colorado, Election Director Judd Choate said — perhaps because there are safeguards in place.

“Colorado requires that poll watchers take a training in order to be close to the activity that’s happening in an election, at an election facility,” Choate said. “Anyone who’s going to see personal identifying information about a potential voter … they have to take a training to better understand what’s happening at that time, and how they need to keep that information confidential.”

“It’s really important that our watchers have a sense about the legalities surrounding those behaviors, those processes that the counties undertake,” he added.

Read more about poll watchers here.

Colorado is nationally lauded for operating one of the safest and most secure election systems in the country. It’s one of only a handful of states to conduct a risk-limiting audit after each election, and statewide paper ballots negate the possibility of hacked voting machines. Voting equipment is never connected to the internet.

Griswold also said increased public health restrictions in some counties that recently moved levels on the state’s COVID-19 dial system won’t affect anyone’s ability to vote.

“Any change in the COVID levels of counties will not affect the voting centers and how they operate, and voters should feel, just, confident in whichever way they choose to vote,” Griswold said. “Of course, we are a heavily mail-ballot state. We really encourage voters to vote their mail ballot if they still have them.”

Voting centers aren’t affected by capacity limits, but have employed public health guidelines such as mask wearing among all election workers.

Visit GoVoteColorado.gov for the latest election information from the Colorado secretary of state’s office.

Election director: Colorado could see 80% turnout among eligible voters

By: Newsline staff

Colorado could be the first-ever state to achieve 80% percent turnout among eligible voters in an election, according to Judd Choate, the Colorado election director.

Choate suggested the milestone could be reached in a Sunday tweet.

“Colorado’s turnout is 2,533,050, or 67.2% of active and 59.1% of eligible voters. At this pace Colorado could be the first US state (ever) to reach 80% turnout among eligible voters,” Choate wrote.

He cited the breakdown until then of those who had voted: 75.5% Democrats, 69.6% Republicans and 60.4% unaffiliated. Boulder, among all Colorado counties, had the highest turnout so far, with 74.9%.

Choate also predicted that up to five states — Washington, Oregon, Montana, Minnesota and Colorado — could achieve, or come close to, 80% turnout among eligible voters.

In a subsequent tweet he clarified that the milestone would apply to “modern” elections, “where most adults are eligible and turnout is based on state tabulation numbers, not reports from counties, parishes, townships or cities.”

What to expect on election night in Colorado

By: Faith Miller

As of Oct. 30, four days before the general election, Coloradans had already returned more than 2.43 million ballots. That comprises a 64.7% turnout among active registered voters.

In 2016, 1.85 million ballots were returned four days before the November election, representing 59.2% of active voters.

High turnout among early voters portends well for election staff in county clerks’ offices, and it could mean there’s a better chance of knowing likely winners by the day after the election — though all results are unofficial until they’re certified Nov. 25.

“We’re seeing a really brisk early vote,” said Pam Anderson, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, adding that if voters “know their choices and can vote early, we think that’s awesome.”

The Colorado secretary of state’s office estimates that about 75% to 80% of ballots will be counted by midday Nov. 4.

Read more about what to expect on election night here.

What poll watchers can – and can’t – do at voting sites in Colorado

By: Moe Clark

During the first presidential debate on Sept. 29, President Donald Trump urged his supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully” for potential issues. But not anyone can walk into a polling place or election office and watch the process.

Poll watchers, also referred to election watchers, are volunteers who are certified and trained to observe election activities and report back to their affiliated political party if any issues arise. They can be present at any part of the process, including at polling sites and during signature verification and ballot counts.

“For the people who are showing up and wanting to observe and have not met the requirements, they are going to be asked to leave,” said George Stern, Jefferson County’s clerk and recorder. “But nicely, and we will encourage them to take the steps that they need in order to come back and join us when they are in compliance with state law.”

Read more of reporter Moe Clark’s story here.

Watch Denver’s ballot processing live

By: Newsline staff

Denver offers livestream views of its ballot processing rooms. Watch below:

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