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Election Day Tuesday, Nov 3, 2026. Your mail ballot must be received by 7 p.m. Prepared Oct 8, 2026. Circled grades are leans; tap the + on any item for the full write-up.
Ronnie · Arapahoe County · Littleton · CD6 · HD38
Period 1
14 measures, highest impact first. Constitutional amendments need 55%; statutes need a simple majority (Amendment 87 is a simple majority per the Blue Book). Vote No on 136 if you vote Yes on 87.
Replaces the flat 4.4% income tax (people and corporations) with six brackets from 2027: 3.7% up to $25K, 4.2% to $100K, 4.4% to $500K, then 7.4%, 7.9%, and 8.4% above $1M. The Blue Book estimates about $2B a year in new revenue, earmarked for K-12, health care and early childhood, and exempt from the TABOR cap. Most filers get a cut of up to $325; only taxable income above about $510K pays more. Brackets are not indexed to inflation.
Protect Colorado's Future: Bell Policy Center, Colorado Fiscal Institute, parent and school-funding groups, Colorado WINS (state workers). Roughly $0.7M–$1.1M raised by late September, much of it in-kind from nonprofits. Donors are disclosed, but these are press figures, not checked on TRACER (UNVERIFIED).
Prop 136 (Advance Colorado, Colorado Chamber), the Brighter Colorado committee (mostly undisclosed-donor Common Sense America $250K and Advance $20K), Americans for Prosperity, NFIB. Also Gov. Polis, a Democrat, who called it 'bad policy that would destroy our economy.'
Nearly everyone pays less, while about $2B a year goes to schools and health care as federal cuts and Medicaid costs squeeze the budget. Graduated taxes are the federal norm and used by 27 other states; sales and property taxes fall harder on lower earners. Spending must add to, not replace, existing budgets, with an annual audit.
A $2B tax hike concentrated on high earners, many of them small-business owners (about 30,850 of 53,640 filers over $500K have pass-through income, per the low-tax Tax Foundation). A one-time business sale can trigger the top rates. Marriage penalty, no inflation indexing, and volatile revenue. Even a Democratic governor calls it harmful.
If 87 and 136 both pass, the Blue Book says the result is unclear and courts or the legislature decide. A suit to remove 87 from the ballot over signature-gathering is pending (no ruling found; UNVERIFIED status). Advance Colorado's billionaire backing is reported by progressive outlets, not documented.
Caps the state income tax rate at today's 4.4% starting 2027. The rate is already 4.4%, so there is no fiscal impact by itself.
Advance Colorado (undisclosed donors) and the Colorado Chamber of Commerce. Committees A Brighter Colorado ($306K by mid-Sept; $250K from Common Sense America, $20K from Advance) and Keep Colorado Affordable.
Protect Colorado's Future (the Amendment 87 coalition) and Vote Common Sense. Their argument: after the election 136 has no function except to confuse and litigate 87.
Locks in the rate voters approved in 2022 and guards against a $2B tax increase; supporters say 87's tax cuts could still take effect while its hikes are blocked.
Redundant on its own; its only effect is as a spoiler against 87, and it could erase 87's middle-class cuts too, setting up court fights.
Neutral-sounding title, poison-pill purpose. If both pass, the Blue Book calls the outcome unclear; generally the measure with more yes votes wins, but a court would decide.
Lets the state keep money above the TABOR limit that would be refunded, under a much higher new cap (the headline $4.6B is a cap, not what will actually be raised; about $500M expected above the limit). Money first reimburses senior and disabled-veteran property tax breaks, then goes to a Children's Account: at least half to K-12 for 10 years (teacher pay, class size, career-tech), the rest to preschool and child care. After year 10 K-12 gets a flat amount and the legislature can spend the rest on anything. The Blue Book projects refunds are eliminated in 2026-27 ($330M) and 2027-28 ($521M).
Democrats in the legislature (Sen. Jeff Bridges, also the Democratic Treasurer nominee, per reporting). Yes for Colorado Kids is led by the Colorado Education Association with about 70 groups; roughly $2M raised, including $1M from Gary Advocacy LLC and $950K from a CEA fund (disclosed; not checked on TRACER).
Advance Colorado (verified), the Brighter Colorado committee, the Anschutz-owned Gazette editorial board. Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer says about 75% of the money would not reach schools, and Common Sense Institute estimates $850.9M in refunds lost through 2028 (both from search summaries; UNVERIFIED).
State adequacy studies found a $3.5–4.1B yearly school shortfall. NN uses money already collected, changes no tax rate, and funds pay, class size, preschool and child care with an audit. Most households' refunds are small (tens of dollars).
It ends refunds in the likely years and permanently raises the ceiling. After year 10 it's a blank check. Voters rejected comparable measures three times in the past seven years. School funding rose about 25% since 2021 while enrollment fell about 2% (Blue Book argument).
Title says 'other purposes' but undersells that refunds vanish. It interacts with Prop 137 (137 shrinks what NN can retain). Opposition money is undisclosed-donor groups; support money is union plus one big nonprofit.
Any mid-decade change to congressional maps must be approved by the independent redistricting commission (after 3+ public hearings) and adopted by the Colorado Supreme Court, and can't intentionally favor a party. Today the constitution has no process for mid-decade redraws; maps are redrawn after each census (next 2031).
Colorado Democrats' own mid-decade redistricting measure was struck unanimously by the Colorado Supreme Court in June on single-subject grounds. Amendment 86 is the Republican-aligned counter that would make such a redraw much harder, as other states redraw.
Advance Colorado (Michael Fields). Fair Redistricting Colorado received $250,000 in August from American Revival PAC, created by House Speaker Mike Johnson. Advance's donors are undisclosed; the Anschutz tie is reported, not documented.
Colorado Draws the Line (Democratic issue committee; no money reported by early Sept). The failed Democratic effort said it won't campaign against.
Even-handed on its face: bars partisan gerrymanders by either party, requires public hearings and independent review, honors the 2018 vote for an independent commission.
Unilateral disarmament while Republican states redraw freely, and it puts a double veto (commission plus Supreme Court) between voters and any new map. Constitutional, so it takes another 55% vote to undo.
Requires police, jails and DA staff to notify the federal Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours of filing charges if the person's lawful presence can't be confirmed after a 'reasonable attempt' and the charge is a violent crime, or any charge at all if they have a prior felony. Notice happens at charging, before guilt is determined.
Reported as an Advance Colorado measure (Colorado Politics). Committee A Brighter Colorado raised $311K by Sept 21; top donor Common Sense America ($250K), a group that does not disclose donors. Direct TRACER pull not done (UNVERIFIED).
Colorado Communities First ($200K+; Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition $158K, ACLU $58.6K), The People's No, Vote Common Sense, several district attorneys and immigrant advocates.
Colorado's 2019 law bars proactive reporting even when someone unlawfully present is charged with serious violence. Supporters say the state shouldn't shield people accused of violent crimes or repeat felons, and one statewide rule beats a patchwork. It targets violent charges and prior felons, not otherwise law-abiding immigrants.
Charges are allegations; a person may be innocent or legally present and unable to prove it in 72 hours. 'Reasonable effort' and 'lawful presence' are undefined (profiling risk). The prior-felony prong sweeps in any minor charge, however old. Fewer immigrants may report crimes. As a constitutional change, the legislature couldn't fix it.
Amendments 81 and 82 both add 'section 17, article XVIII' to the constitution; if both pass, the numbering collides (how it gets resolved is UNVERIFIED).
For federal and statewide elections, mail voters must write the last four digits of a Social Security number, Colorado driver's license or ID number on the return envelope, in addition to signing. A missing or non-matching number means the county contacts the voter, and the ballot isn't counted unless fixed within 8 days after Election Day. Cost: up to $2.7M in year one, about $1.2M a year after.
Committee Colorado Voter Trust Initiative raised $4.2M by Sept 21: Coalition for American Prosperity and Growth (Ohio) $2.25M, A Public Voice (VA) $1M, American Jobs and Growth Fund (VA) $1M. Ultimate donors are undisclosed. Colorado Politics lists it among six Advance Colorado measures, but I found no Advance donation to this committee, so that funding link is UNVERIFIED.
Defend Our Ballots, Vote Common Sense (about $495K), League of Women Voters.
ID numbers are objective compared with subjective signature matching; most voters have one; it builds public confidence. The sponsor argues two factors could allow looser signature matching and fewer rejections.
Adds a hurdle to a system used by about 92% of 2024 voters with no demonstrated security gain; eligible ballots can be lost to typos; young, elderly, low-income and new-citizen voters are likelier to be hit; unfunded county costs; constitutional, so hard to fix.
Makes possession of any fentanyl amount a felony (under 1 gram becomes a treatment-mandated felony, reducible after treatment) and requires 8–32 years in prison for distributing any amount, including sharing. Removes the Good Samaritan reduction and the 'didn't know it was fentanyl' mitigation. State cost rises from $0.9M in year 1 to about $68.2M a year by year 5, plus possible prison construction, with no funding source.
Advance Colorado, per Rocky Mountain Voice and the designated representatives' filings. Supporting committees: A Brighter Colorado ($250K from Common Sense America is not clearly 132-specific) and Eagle County Republican Women Club. Advance's donors are undisclosed.
Coloradans for Real Safety Solutions ($1.1M: Lynn Schusterman $500K, ACLU of Colorado $200.5K, others), The People's No, Vote Common Sense, and the Colorado Democratic Party.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of overdose death in the state and lethal in tiny amounts. Supporters say the 2019/2022 reforms were too lenient, that mandatory prison takes dealers off the street, and the under-1-gram treatment track pushes users toward rehab. Many DAs and sheriffs backed tougher law.
Shared use between friends becomes an 8–32 year offense; Good Samaritan protection is removed, which may discourage calling 911; no evidence longer sentences cut deaths; about $68M a year diverted from treatment, schools and housing; felony convictions can carry immigration consequences.
Every school-based team, public to private, elementary through college, must be male-only, female-only or coed, by biological sex. Girls may play on a boys' team if no girls' team exists in that sport. Bars CHSAA and accreditors from penalizing schools that keep a girls' team female-only. No verification method is set. Replaces the current CHSAA process, which evaluates transgender students case by case.
Protect Kids Colorado (co-founders Erin Lee and former GOP state Sen. Kevin Lundberg); about $135K–$160K across its three measures from Pikes Peak Citizens for Life, groups tied to evangelist Andrew Wommack, and an undisclosed-donor 501(c)(4). No reporting found tying it to Advance Colorado, Heritage/Project 2025 or Alliance Defending Freedom (UNVERIFIED either way).
Families Not Politics (about $1.39M: One Colorado Education Fund, Cobalt, ACLU, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and others), No on 134 and 135, Protect Trans Kids, The People's No, and the Colorado Democratic Party. Opponents have roughly 8–9 times the money.
Sex-separated sports exist because average physical differences matter for fairness, injury risk and scholarships. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2026 that states may keep sex-separated sports by biological sex, and the NCAA and 27 states follow similar rules. Transgender students keep a place on coed teams.
Targets a very small group with a statewide ban reaching 8-year-olds in intramurals; forces every school to police sex, risking invasive scrutiny of any athletic girl; may conflict with Colorado's anti-discrimination act; the science on transgender girls who haven't gone through male puberty is disputed. The Supreme Court ruling lets states do this; it doesn't require it.
Bans surgery on anyone under 18 performed to alter biological sex characteristics 'in response to a minor's perception of sex or gender,' and bars state, federal, Medicaid and private insurance funds from paying for it. It names no procedures; the ban turns on purpose. Exempts circumcision and medically verifiable disorders of sex development (terms undefined). It does not restrict hormones, blockers, counseling or social transition.
Protect Kids Colorado (same committee as 133 and 134). No reporting found tying it to Heritage/Project 2025, Alliance Defending Freedom or Advance Colorado; the national context is a broad movement (27 states restrict youth gender surgery per KFF), not evidence of a specific group's involvement (UNVERIFIED).
Families Not Politics, No on 134 and 135, Protect Trans Kids, The People's No, Vote Common Sense, One Colorado, ACLU, Planned Parenthood; the Colorado Democratic Party.
Surgery is permanent, minors may not grasp lifelong consequences, long-term data are limited and some people regret it. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recommends delaying gender-related surgery to age 19. The measure mostly codifies what big Colorado pediatric hospitals say they already do and leaves hormones and counseling alone.
Extremely rare procedures decided by patient, parents and doctors; the purpose-based wording could sweep in other care (for example, breast surgery for gynecomastia, which a Harvard study found is mostly cisgender boys) and insurers will resolve doubts conservatively. Medical bodies are split on surgery timing.
Adds two sentences to the constitution: consumers have the right to buy natural gas for cooking or heating in homes and businesses, and distributors and utilities have the right to sell it. No immediate change, but it may limit state and local power to enforce gas rules such as all-electric new-construction codes.
Reported as an Advance Colorado measure (Colorado Politics). The committee, Energy Freedom Alliance of the Rockies, had reported no contributions as of Sept 21, so the funders are unknown (UNVERIFIED).
No Pollution in the Constitution ($317K, almost all from Conservation Colorado), Vote Common Sense, Sierra Club Colorado (per search snippet; page blocked).
Gas is the main heating fuel for most Colorado homes, cheap and reliable in deep cold. Electrification mandates can raise upfront costs for renters, low-income and rural households, and some cities are banning gas hookups. A constitutional guard gives certainty.
Burning gas emits greenhouse gases and air pollution; entrenching it hampers climate and health policy and local control of building codes. It protects utilities' right to sell, not just consumers' right to buy. Vague 'right' language invites lawsuits against safety and emissions rules, and no other state has comparable constitutional language.
Shares 'section 17, article XVIII' with Amendment 81. One Legislative Council web page mislabels it 'Amendment 83'; the ballot calls it 82.
Makes child sex trafficking a class 1 felony with mandatory life in prison without parole (today it's a class 2 felony: 8–48 years). Also expands the crime to include buying sex with a minor, so buyers face life too. Cost is small and delayed: about $180,000 starting in 2041-42.
Protect Kids Colorado (the same committee as 134 and 135, which CLAUDE.md listed only for those two). No reporting found tying it to Advance Colorado, Heritage/Project 2025 or Alliance Defending Freedom (UNVERIFIED).
Vote Common Sense and the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (per Colorado Politics). The state Democratic Party had no position on its summary page (UNVERIFIED).
Child sex trafficking is among the worst crimes; someone who buys or sells a child should never be free to harm another. A bright-line penalty is clear, closes the 'buyer' gap in the definition, and many voters across parties will find it reasonable.
Certainty of punishment deters more than severity; a no-discretion rule can't tell a trafficker from a coerced teen recruiter; automatic life may make victims less willing to testify and give prosecutors plea-deal leverage; life without parole for a non-homicide offense is a values question for anyone opposed to permanent incarceration.
Same sponsor as 134/135; the popular item may build turnout for the other two (my observation, not reported). Voting Yes or No here does not commit you on 134 or 135.
Requires ballot titles to be written in plain language at no more than an eighth-grade reading level. It also bars laws that require specific wording in citizen-initiative titles when that wording interferes with plain language; referred measures from the legislature are not subject to that part. Current law already requires plain language but sets no grade level.
Advance Colorado. Committee A Brighter Colorado raised $306,625 by mid-Sept, including $250K from Common Sense America (undisclosed donors, D.C.-area mailbox address). Also supported by Amber McReynolds (unaffiliated, former Denver elections director), Courageous Colorado's advocacy arm, African Leadership Group, Let Colorado Vote.
Vote Common Sense (about $495K, liberal coalition) and Bell Policy Center. Reports differ on the League of Women Voters (UNVERIFIED).
Colorado ballot questions are among the hardest to read in the country; a concrete benchmark helps ordinary voters, and a constitutional shield stops legislators from adding confusing boilerplate.
The standard is vague and redundant with a 2026 law, and the override clause could strip existing disclosures (taxpayer impact, cuts to the three largest budget areas for tax-cut initiatives). Even the word 'fiscal' may exceed eighth-grade level, per Bell's Joshua Mantell.
Directs the existing state sales tax on sporting goods (bikes, camping, hunting and fishing gear, boats, RVs) to conservation and exempts it from TABOR. No new tax. About $175M in 2027-28: 47.5% to Great Outdoors Colorado, 47.5% to wildfire mitigation and forest and watershed work, 5% to outdoor equity programs. The transfer can shrink if it would reduce the Family Affordability or expanded EITC credits.
Protect Colorado's Land and Water and Prevent Wildfires, about $2.96M by late Aug: The Nature Conservancy $1.57M, a California fund $300K, Trust for Public Land $200K+. Backers include GOCO, Western Resource Advocates, Denver Water board, former officials Salazar, Udall and Ritter. Donors are disclosed (press figures; UNVERIFIED on TRACER).
League of Women Voters of Colorado, the Colorado Democratic Party's State Central Committee (budget concerns), a small committee (Protect Colorado's Land, Communities, and Tax Dollars), and two forest-science groups skeptical of thinning. No well-funded opposition committee found.
No new tax; links people who buy outdoor gear to protecting the outdoors; nearly doubles GOCO, multiplies wildfire and forest funding about 5×, and funds outdoor equity programs. Parks & Wildlife has about $900M in five-year capital needs and federal support is unreliable.
Locks about $175M+ a year of the general fund into one purpose while the state faces roughly $1B annual shortfalls and federal cuts; in down years health care, education and human services lose. It reduces TABOR refunds in surplus years and reduces what Prop NN can retain. Less annual legislative review of how it's spent.
Creates a constitutional right to hunt, fish and 'take' fish and wildlife by 'traditional methods' (undefined), except nongame, endangered or federally protected species. Declares hunting and fishing the state's preferred way to manage wildlife, leaves trespass law alone, and keeps state power to regulate when 'necessary' for science, public safety or preserving hunting and fishing.
Vote Yes on 83, about $1.8M through Sept 21, the most of any committee: Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Alliance (Virginia, $412K of $647K by two committees), Safari Club International $50K. No Advance Colorado or Heritage tie found (UNVERIFIED; TRACER not retrieved).
Colorado's Wildlife Deserve Better, Project Coyote (First Gentleman Marlon Reis quoted), Sierra Club Colorado (per search snippet).
About a third of Parks & Wildlife's budget (about $115M) comes from license sales; a constitutional right guards that heritage and rural economy from future ballot bans, and 24 other states have similar clauses. The text excludes endangered species, keeps trespass law and preserves regulatory power.
Constitutions should protect fundamental rights, not recreation, and hunting isn't under threat. 'Traditional methods' and 'necessary' are vague and could invite suits against rules voters and Parks & Wildlife already adopted, including the 1996 trapping restrictions (Project Coyote's reading; a court outcome is UNVERIFIED).
Period 2
Statewide and federal races; forecasters rate all of them Solid or Safe Democratic, and no general-election polls turned up.
Two-term Attorney General, term-limited; beat Sen. Michael Bennet in the June 30 primary. Campaign says no corporate PAC money and ~88% of donations from Coloradans; raised ~$5.6M by April (campaign figures). Running mate Lesley Dahlkemper is a Jefferson County commissioner and former CPR journalist. No Advance Colorado or Project 2025 tie found.
Bennet's campaign alleged 'pay-to-play' over Comcast and TurboTax donations while his office litigated against them; his spokesperson called the claims old and disproven. In 2022 he was the oil-and-gas-friendly establishment choice. A 2025 campaign-finance complaint was reported; outcome UNVERIFIED.
Ministry founder, first-time candidate, Marine veteran; narrowly won the GOP primary over Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer. About $2.3M raised through April. State assessed a ~$57,647 fine for over-limit contributions. Résumé issues: a site claim of rescuing 45,000 women and children was removed after being disproved; a claimed Bill Owens endorsement was denied by Owens; he skipped most debates. No Trump endorsement found (UNVERIFIED). Calls Colorado abortion 'wholesale slaughter' (via progressive Colorado Times Recorder). No Advance or Heritage money found.
Retired Marine colonel; said in 2025 he disagreed with nothing Trump had done so far and would have voted yes on the 'Big Beautiful Bill.'
Greg Lopez (Unaffiliated; ex-GOP congressman) / Taralyn Romero; Erik Mulder (L) / Wayne Harlos; Stephen Hamilton (AC); Jeff Peckman (Unity); Erik Underwood (Approval Voting). Nothing notable. Official ticket list not checked against the SoS (page 404'd).
Age 74, ex-Denver mayor and governor, Senator since 2021; beat Julie Gonzales by about 15 points. Raised ~$10.3M by June 30 (FEC via Wikipedia). Now opposes the Iran war, tariffs and ICE tactics, and supports dismantling ICE (per KUNC).
Gonzales criticized him for voting to confirm many Trump nominees (Wright, Burgum, Bessent; the count is disputed, 10 vs. 'nearly half'), 'poll-tested incrementalism,' and refusing primary forums. Opposes Medicare for All and a fracking ban. A partisan release claims $333K+ from AIPAC-linked donors (UNVERIFIED against FEC).
State senator from Woodland Park, age 71, ex-aerospace engineer; raised only ~$138.6K by June 30. States United lists him as promoting election conspiracy claims (I did not read the original). No Project 2025 or Advance tie found. Platform: shrink government, property-tax reform, water tunnels.
Blake Huber (L), Adam Withrow (Unity), Bob Chew (Forward), Christopher Baum (Approval Voting). Nothing notable. A protest vote for a minor party is your call.
Secretary of State since 2019, term-limited; won the primary with ~44%. Calls Trump's actions a 'campaign of retribution' and pledges to take on monopolies, grocery mergers and data centers. Endorsed by labor unions, Everytown, EMILYs List and others. No Advance or Project 2025 tie found; itemized donors not retrieved.
A 2024 spreadsheet exposed election-equipment BIOS passwords; an independent review found it unintentional but a policy violation, and the Denver DA called it 'sloppy,' not criminal. 2025 campaign-finance complaints (missing employer data on 492 contributions); final outcome UNVERIFIED. She has never been a practicing prosecutor, which is a fair criticism.
El Paso/Teller DA since 2021, Navy veteran, 20+ years a prosecutor, prosecuted the Club Q shooter. Criticizes Weiser's ~82 suits against the administration and has pledged to withdraw from many. Per Griswold he opposes laws protecting Coloradans from ICE and backed a gestational abortion ban (her characterization; his statement UNVERIFIED). Backed by police unions, Bill Owens, John Suthers. Funders not retrieved.
Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder, ex-head of Colorado Common Cause, attorney; beat Sen. Jessie Danielson ~63–37. Backed by Our Revolution, Colorado Working Families Party, EMILYs List, Everytown. Pledges to defend mail voting. No scandals, no Advance tie found; itemized donors not retrieved.
Former executive director of the Libertarian Party of Colorado, switched to the GOP; ran unopposed in the primary. Self-stated platform: decertify electronic voting machines, one-day in-person voting with ID, paper ballots and hand counts, end universal mail ballots. Reported: delete the voter rolls and require in-person re-registration (a similar 2024 bill carried a $9.3M fiscal note; a Republican clerks-association leader called it 'stunningly stupid'). Reportedly believes Trump won 2020 (his own words not located; UNVERIFIED as a quote). Supporters see these as security reforms.
Sean Vadney (L) replaced Alex Astley after Astley withdrew and a Denver judge allowed it; Amanda Campbell (AC); Celeste Landry (Forward).
Army Ranger veteran, House Armed Services, seeking a fifth term. Raised ~$3.2M by June 30, no corporate PAC money. Voted against the July 2026 NDAA over Trump's Iran war; one of six lawmakers in the Nov 2025 video urging troops to refuse illegal orders (Trump called it sedition; the DOJ contacted Crow). Pressed oversight of the GEO ICE facility in Aurora.
Palantir executives and employees gave $15,500, drawing protest at a May town hall; protesters also criticized his Gaza policy. No AIPAC link found.
Aurora financial advisor; Colorado Politics calls him a 'perennial hopeful.' $0 raised as of June 30. Probably the same Jason Clark who ran for governor in 2010 and 2014 (UNVERIFIED). Replaced Mel Tewahade as the Republican nominee. No Trump statement, Advance or Project 2025 tie found.
Patty McMahon (L) per one source, John Kittleson (L) per another; Meredith Ryan (Unity); Samir Ezzeldin Witta (Unaffiliated). Check your ballot for the Libertarian.
State senator and Joint Budget Committee chair; wants more state investment in housing, infrastructure and renewables, keep PERA on track to zero unfunded liability by 2048, and stop raiding the Unclaimed Property Fund. Prime sponsor of Proposition NN per reporting. No scandals, no Advance tie found; funders not retrieved.
Fremont County commissioner and former state Senate President (2017–18); would cut treasurer's-office staff growth and press harder on PERA liability. Funders and Trump stance not found.
Jodie Barr (L) would move new PERA hires to defined contribution; Marilee Langner Sturgis (Approval Voting), nothing notable.
Period 3
Your district, city, county and local questions.
I found no Democratic primary challenger to Brown in 2026. The scrutiny you remember is from older events and Edling's attack lines.
2021 bar altercation: the Denver DA declined charges but called his conduct 'irresponsible and unprofessional.' July 2024: county commissioners stripped his spending authority over claims his office diverted $300K+ via a school-resource-officer payment split (he denies wrongdoing; says the $190K was repaid; the DA-review outcome is UNVERIFIED). Voters rejected a $464M jail by over 2 to 1. In Oct 2026 he fired and had arrested a deputy over alleged misconduct with an inmate. ICE: his office says it won't hold anyone solely on an ICE detainer. But on July 20, 2026 deputies detained and cited four protesters outside the ICE field office in Centennial (ACLU criticized; no Brown statement found). Campaign has tiny funds ($875 raised in the July filing).
Retired Denver police commander (26–27 years) and Air National Guard member, lost to Brown in 2022 (55.6–41.4). Platform: car-theft arrests, adopt Aurora's chase policy, oppose a costly new jail, 'restore ethics.' Trump, ICE and 287(g) stances not found (UNVERIFIED). Tiny funds ($2,499 balance).
25+ years in the office, elected clerk in 2018 and 2022. In 2025 her office corrected the public 2020 cast-vote-record file after a redaction and formatting error; critics say the fix was posted quietly. The clerks association said no votes were altered and the election was audited; even a critical Gazette columnist called it incompetence, not theft.
Platform: restore walk-in DMV service and 'restore trust.' Her answers lean on election-fraud framing ('way too many doors open for fraud'), cite the 2024 SoS password posting and the 2025 records episode, and call for voter ID. No explicit 2020-denial statement found; background not found (UNVERIFIED).
Former Littleton at-large councilmember; won the seat in 2024. No scandals found. Funders and voting record not pulled (UNVERIFIED).
Qualified by petition after the Republican nominee withdrew in March for illness; Republicans helped gather signatures. Founder of an anti-trafficking hotline; self-reported positions: opposes Prop NN, pro-life, 'parental rights,' school choice, pro-gun. Source is a conservative-leaning outlet, so this is her own framing.
Tim Martin (Center Party) and Norm Olsen (Libertarian); no campaign sites or answers found.
No State Senate race should be on your ballot (HD38 pairs with SD16, Kolker, next up 2028). Not address-verified; see the check box below.
Spiegel, incumbent since 2020, declined CPR's interview. Burbage (R) is a first-time candidate who wants more Republicans on the board and to protect free speech for 'Christians, Jews, and white boys.' Johnson (L), a Frederick town trustee, wants to privatize Colorado universities. Funders and Trump stances not found (UNVERIFIED).
Raises property taxes about $10.29M in 2026 (collected 2027), then up to one mill a year, for teacher recruitment and retention, safety and career-tech programs. About $25 per $100,000 of assessed value per the district; roughly $150 a year on a $600,000 home. Funds a 2% raise for all staff and cancels an $800,000 furlough day.
The school board voted unanimously to refer it; Superintendent Todd Lambert supports it. Committee: Citizens for Littleton Public Schools. Donors not pulled from TRACER (UNVERIFIED). The campaign says it's unrelated to Prop NN.
No committee or published opposition found (UNVERIFIED that none exists). LPS's 2020 override passed with about 57.9%.
The $10.6M gap comes from the state funding formula change and enrollment falling from ~18,000 to just under 13,000. The district has already cut central-office staff and froze wages; this would be levy-funded staff pay for the first time since 2010. Neighboring districts are asking for far more.
A property-tax increase with annual hikes and no sunset in the ballot text. Falling enrollment is structural; voters may prefer consolidation or administrative cuts first. Renters pay indirectly. No one has made this case publicly yet, so this is my construction.
Only voters inside the district vote on 7A. Littleton is a listed district city, so you're eligible only if your address is inside the City of Littleton limits (unconfirmed). A printing error put 7A on about 800,000 ballots outside the district, including ~262,000 in Arapahoe County; only eligible voters' 7A votes count, so seeing it on your ballot doesn't mean you can vote on it. Confirm with the county clerk (303-795-4511) or frprdistrict.com.
Creates a 0.333% sales and use tax (exempts gasoline, food, residential utilities, prescriptions) with no end date, about $295M a year, and authorizes $580M in bonds ($785M total repayment) for Pueblo–Fort Collins passenger rail on existing freight tracks. Littleton is a planned stop. Starter Denver–Fort Collins service proceeds without the tax; a $1.5B local-return program is included.
The Front Range Passenger Rail District board (referred 14–1). Coloradans for CoCo raised about $341K: Sterling Ranch LLC $125K, Eric Laufer $100K, the Rockies $50K. Six pro teams, the Colorado Democratic Party and transit advocates support.
Affordable Colorado and Let's Go Colorado committees (funding unknown), Jon Caldara of the libertarian Independence Institute, El Paso County commissioners, ex-RTD board member Natalie Menten. No Advance Colorado link found.
I-25 is a single point of failure; rail is the one mode never given dedicated funding; it uses existing freight track; it cuts emissions and gives non-drivers an option; audited annually.
A permanent, regressive sales tax; $785M debt; a new, untested agency; ridership and railroad agreements unproven; RTD's FasTracks cost more and delivered less; the ballot error undermines confidence.
Kaiser ran several times before winning. Lind did not answer the Q&A; Ormiston (L), no information found. No scandals, no Trump relevance.
The Littleton Independent called this race uncontested, but the county's sample ballot lists a Libertarian, and the sample ballot governs.
15 Yes, 10 No, 3 Mixed across 28 items.
Lynette · Denver · Washington Park area · CD1 · HD2 · SD31
Period 1
14 measures, highest impact first. Constitutional amendments need 55%; statutes need a simple majority (Amendment 87 is a simple majority per the Blue Book). Vote No on 136 if you vote Yes on 87.
Replaces the flat 4.4% income tax (people and corporations) with six brackets from 2027: 3.7% up to $25K, 4.2% to $100K, 4.4% to $500K, then 7.4%, 7.9%, and 8.4% above $1M. The Blue Book estimates about $2B a year in new revenue, earmarked for K-12, health care and early childhood, and exempt from the TABOR cap. Most filers get a cut of up to $325; only taxable income above about $510K pays more. Brackets are not indexed to inflation.
Protect Colorado's Future: Bell Policy Center, Colorado Fiscal Institute, parent and school-funding groups, Colorado WINS (state workers). Roughly $0.7M–$1.1M raised by late September, much of it in-kind from nonprofits. Donors are disclosed, but these are press figures, not checked on TRACER (UNVERIFIED).
Prop 136 (Advance Colorado, Colorado Chamber), the Brighter Colorado committee (mostly undisclosed-donor Common Sense America $250K and Advance $20K), Americans for Prosperity, NFIB. Also Gov. Polis, a Democrat, who called it 'bad policy that would destroy our economy.'
Nearly everyone pays less, while about $2B a year goes to schools and health care as federal cuts and Medicaid costs squeeze the budget. Graduated taxes are the federal norm and used by 27 other states; sales and property taxes fall harder on lower earners. Spending must add to, not replace, existing budgets, with an annual audit.
A $2B tax hike concentrated on high earners, many of them small-business owners (about 30,850 of 53,640 filers over $500K have pass-through income, per the low-tax Tax Foundation). A one-time business sale can trigger the top rates. Marriage penalty, no inflation indexing, and volatile revenue. Even a Democratic governor calls it harmful.
If 87 and 136 both pass, the Blue Book says the result is unclear and courts or the legislature decide. A suit to remove 87 from the ballot over signature-gathering is pending (no ruling found; UNVERIFIED status). Advance Colorado's billionaire backing is reported by progressive outlets, not documented.
Caps the state income tax rate at today's 4.4% starting 2027. The rate is already 4.4%, so there is no fiscal impact by itself.
Advance Colorado (undisclosed donors) and the Colorado Chamber of Commerce. Committees A Brighter Colorado ($306K by mid-Sept; $250K from Common Sense America, $20K from Advance) and Keep Colorado Affordable.
Protect Colorado's Future (the Amendment 87 coalition) and Vote Common Sense. Their argument: after the election 136 has no function except to confuse and litigate 87.
Locks in the rate voters approved in 2022 and guards against a $2B tax increase; supporters say 87's tax cuts could still take effect while its hikes are blocked.
Redundant on its own; its only effect is as a spoiler against 87, and it could erase 87's middle-class cuts too, setting up court fights.
Neutral-sounding title, poison-pill purpose. If both pass, the Blue Book calls the outcome unclear; generally the measure with more yes votes wins, but a court would decide.
Lets the state keep money above the TABOR limit that would be refunded, under a much higher new cap (the headline $4.6B is a cap, not what will actually be raised; about $500M expected above the limit). Money first reimburses senior and disabled-veteran property tax breaks, then goes to a Children's Account: at least half to K-12 for 10 years (teacher pay, class size, career-tech), the rest to preschool and child care. After year 10 K-12 gets a flat amount and the legislature can spend the rest on anything. The Blue Book projects refunds are eliminated in 2026-27 ($330M) and 2027-28 ($521M).
Democrats in the legislature (Sen. Jeff Bridges, also the Democratic Treasurer nominee, per reporting). Yes for Colorado Kids is led by the Colorado Education Association with about 70 groups; roughly $2M raised, including $1M from Gary Advocacy LLC and $950K from a CEA fund (disclosed; not checked on TRACER).
Advance Colorado (verified), the Brighter Colorado committee, the Anschutz-owned Gazette editorial board. Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer says about 75% of the money would not reach schools, and Common Sense Institute estimates $850.9M in refunds lost through 2028 (both from search summaries; UNVERIFIED).
State adequacy studies found a $3.5–4.1B yearly school shortfall. NN uses money already collected, changes no tax rate, and funds pay, class size, preschool and child care with an audit. Most households' refunds are small (tens of dollars).
It ends refunds in the likely years and permanently raises the ceiling. After year 10 it's a blank check. Voters rejected comparable measures three times in the past seven years. School funding rose about 25% since 2021 while enrollment fell about 2% (Blue Book argument).
Title says 'other purposes' but undersells that refunds vanish. It interacts with Prop 137 (137 shrinks what NN can retain). Opposition money is undisclosed-donor groups; support money is union plus one big nonprofit.
Any mid-decade change to congressional maps must be approved by the independent redistricting commission (after 3+ public hearings) and adopted by the Colorado Supreme Court, and can't intentionally favor a party. Today the constitution has no process for mid-decade redraws; maps are redrawn after each census (next 2031).
Colorado Democrats' own mid-decade redistricting measure was struck unanimously by the Colorado Supreme Court in June on single-subject grounds. Amendment 86 is the Republican-aligned counter that would make such a redraw much harder, as other states redraw.
Advance Colorado (Michael Fields). Fair Redistricting Colorado received $250,000 in August from American Revival PAC, created by House Speaker Mike Johnson. Advance's donors are undisclosed; the Anschutz tie is reported, not documented.
Colorado Draws the Line (Democratic issue committee; no money reported by early Sept). The failed Democratic effort said it won't campaign against.
Even-handed on its face: bars partisan gerrymanders by either party, requires public hearings and independent review, honors the 2018 vote for an independent commission.
Unilateral disarmament while Republican states redraw freely, and it puts a double veto (commission plus Supreme Court) between voters and any new map. Constitutional, so it takes another 55% vote to undo.
Requires police, jails and DA staff to notify the federal Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours of filing charges if the person's lawful presence can't be confirmed after a 'reasonable attempt' and the charge is a violent crime, or any charge at all if they have a prior felony. Notice happens at charging, before guilt is determined.
Reported as an Advance Colorado measure (Colorado Politics). Committee A Brighter Colorado raised $311K by Sept 21; top donor Common Sense America ($250K), a group that does not disclose donors. Direct TRACER pull not done (UNVERIFIED).
Colorado Communities First ($200K+; Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition $158K, ACLU $58.6K), The People's No, Vote Common Sense, several district attorneys and immigrant advocates.
Colorado's 2019 law bars proactive reporting even when someone unlawfully present is charged with serious violence. Supporters say the state shouldn't shield people accused of violent crimes or repeat felons, and one statewide rule beats a patchwork. It targets violent charges and prior felons, not otherwise law-abiding immigrants.
Charges are allegations; a person may be innocent or legally present and unable to prove it in 72 hours. 'Reasonable effort' and 'lawful presence' are undefined (profiling risk). The prior-felony prong sweeps in any minor charge, however old. Fewer immigrants may report crimes. As a constitutional change, the legislature couldn't fix it.
Amendments 81 and 82 both add 'section 17, article XVIII' to the constitution; if both pass, the numbering collides (how it gets resolved is UNVERIFIED).
For federal and statewide elections, mail voters must write the last four digits of a Social Security number, Colorado driver's license or ID number on the return envelope, in addition to signing. A missing or non-matching number means the county contacts the voter, and the ballot isn't counted unless fixed within 8 days after Election Day. Cost: up to $2.7M in year one, about $1.2M a year after.
Committee Colorado Voter Trust Initiative raised $4.2M by Sept 21: Coalition for American Prosperity and Growth (Ohio) $2.25M, A Public Voice (VA) $1M, American Jobs and Growth Fund (VA) $1M. Ultimate donors are undisclosed. Colorado Politics lists it among six Advance Colorado measures, but I found no Advance donation to this committee, so that funding link is UNVERIFIED.
Defend Our Ballots, Vote Common Sense (about $495K), League of Women Voters.
ID numbers are objective compared with subjective signature matching; most voters have one; it builds public confidence. The sponsor argues two factors could allow looser signature matching and fewer rejections.
Adds a hurdle to a system used by about 92% of 2024 voters with no demonstrated security gain; eligible ballots can be lost to typos; young, elderly, low-income and new-citizen voters are likelier to be hit; unfunded county costs; constitutional, so hard to fix.
Makes possession of any fentanyl amount a felony (under 1 gram becomes a treatment-mandated felony, reducible after treatment) and requires 8–32 years in prison for distributing any amount, including sharing. Removes the Good Samaritan reduction and the 'didn't know it was fentanyl' mitigation. State cost rises from $0.9M in year 1 to about $68.2M a year by year 5, plus possible prison construction, with no funding source.
Advance Colorado, per Rocky Mountain Voice and the designated representatives' filings. Supporting committees: A Brighter Colorado ($250K from Common Sense America is not clearly 132-specific) and Eagle County Republican Women Club. Advance's donors are undisclosed.
Coloradans for Real Safety Solutions ($1.1M: Lynn Schusterman $500K, ACLU of Colorado $200.5K, others), The People's No, Vote Common Sense, and the Colorado Democratic Party.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of overdose death in the state and lethal in tiny amounts. Supporters say the 2019/2022 reforms were too lenient, that mandatory prison takes dealers off the street, and the under-1-gram treatment track pushes users toward rehab. Many DAs and sheriffs backed tougher law.
Shared use between friends becomes an 8–32 year offense; Good Samaritan protection is removed, which may discourage calling 911; no evidence longer sentences cut deaths; about $68M a year diverted from treatment, schools and housing; felony convictions can carry immigration consequences.
Every school-based team, public to private, elementary through college, must be male-only, female-only or coed, by biological sex. Girls may play on a boys' team if no girls' team exists in that sport. Bars CHSAA and accreditors from penalizing schools that keep a girls' team female-only. No verification method is set. Replaces the current CHSAA process, which evaluates transgender students case by case.
Protect Kids Colorado (co-founders Erin Lee and former GOP state Sen. Kevin Lundberg); about $135K–$160K across its three measures from Pikes Peak Citizens for Life, groups tied to evangelist Andrew Wommack, and an undisclosed-donor 501(c)(4). No reporting found tying it to Advance Colorado, Heritage/Project 2025 or Alliance Defending Freedom (UNVERIFIED either way).
Families Not Politics (about $1.39M: One Colorado Education Fund, Cobalt, ACLU, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and others), No on 134 and 135, Protect Trans Kids, The People's No, and the Colorado Democratic Party. Opponents have roughly 8–9 times the money.
Sex-separated sports exist because average physical differences matter for fairness, injury risk and scholarships. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2026 that states may keep sex-separated sports by biological sex, and the NCAA and 27 states follow similar rules. Transgender students keep a place on coed teams.
Targets a very small group with a statewide ban reaching 8-year-olds in intramurals; forces every school to police sex, risking invasive scrutiny of any athletic girl; may conflict with Colorado's anti-discrimination act; the science on transgender girls who haven't gone through male puberty is disputed. The Supreme Court ruling lets states do this; it doesn't require it.
Bans surgery on anyone under 18 performed to alter biological sex characteristics 'in response to a minor's perception of sex or gender,' and bars state, federal, Medicaid and private insurance funds from paying for it. It names no procedures; the ban turns on purpose. Exempts circumcision and medically verifiable disorders of sex development (terms undefined). It does not restrict hormones, blockers, counseling or social transition.
Protect Kids Colorado (same committee as 133 and 134). No reporting found tying it to Heritage/Project 2025, Alliance Defending Freedom or Advance Colorado; the national context is a broad movement (27 states restrict youth gender surgery per KFF), not evidence of a specific group's involvement (UNVERIFIED).
Families Not Politics, No on 134 and 135, Protect Trans Kids, The People's No, Vote Common Sense, One Colorado, ACLU, Planned Parenthood; the Colorado Democratic Party.
Surgery is permanent, minors may not grasp lifelong consequences, long-term data are limited and some people regret it. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recommends delaying gender-related surgery to age 19. The measure mostly codifies what big Colorado pediatric hospitals say they already do and leaves hormones and counseling alone.
Extremely rare procedures decided by patient, parents and doctors; the purpose-based wording could sweep in other care (for example, breast surgery for gynecomastia, which a Harvard study found is mostly cisgender boys) and insurers will resolve doubts conservatively. Medical bodies are split on surgery timing.
Adds two sentences to the constitution: consumers have the right to buy natural gas for cooking or heating in homes and businesses, and distributors and utilities have the right to sell it. No immediate change, but it may limit state and local power to enforce gas rules such as all-electric new-construction codes.
Reported as an Advance Colorado measure (Colorado Politics). The committee, Energy Freedom Alliance of the Rockies, had reported no contributions as of Sept 21, so the funders are unknown (UNVERIFIED).
No Pollution in the Constitution ($317K, almost all from Conservation Colorado), Vote Common Sense, Sierra Club Colorado (per search snippet; page blocked).
Gas is the main heating fuel for most Colorado homes, cheap and reliable in deep cold. Electrification mandates can raise upfront costs for renters, low-income and rural households, and some cities are banning gas hookups. A constitutional guard gives certainty.
Burning gas emits greenhouse gases and air pollution; entrenching it hampers climate and health policy and local control of building codes. It protects utilities' right to sell, not just consumers' right to buy. Vague 'right' language invites lawsuits against safety and emissions rules, and no other state has comparable constitutional language.
Shares 'section 17, article XVIII' with Amendment 81. One Legislative Council web page mislabels it 'Amendment 83'; the ballot calls it 82.
Makes child sex trafficking a class 1 felony with mandatory life in prison without parole (today it's a class 2 felony: 8–48 years). Also expands the crime to include buying sex with a minor, so buyers face life too. Cost is small and delayed: about $180,000 starting in 2041-42.
Protect Kids Colorado (the same committee as 134 and 135, which CLAUDE.md listed only for those two). No reporting found tying it to Advance Colorado, Heritage/Project 2025 or Alliance Defending Freedom (UNVERIFIED).
Vote Common Sense and the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (per Colorado Politics). The state Democratic Party had no position on its summary page (UNVERIFIED).
Child sex trafficking is among the worst crimes; someone who buys or sells a child should never be free to harm another. A bright-line penalty is clear, closes the 'buyer' gap in the definition, and many voters across parties will find it reasonable.
Certainty of punishment deters more than severity; a no-discretion rule can't tell a trafficker from a coerced teen recruiter; automatic life may make victims less willing to testify and give prosecutors plea-deal leverage; life without parole for a non-homicide offense is a values question for anyone opposed to permanent incarceration.
Same sponsor as 134/135; the popular item may build turnout for the other two (my observation, not reported). Voting Yes or No here does not commit you on 134 or 135.
Requires ballot titles to be written in plain language at no more than an eighth-grade reading level. It also bars laws that require specific wording in citizen-initiative titles when that wording interferes with plain language; referred measures from the legislature are not subject to that part. Current law already requires plain language but sets no grade level.
Advance Colorado. Committee A Brighter Colorado raised $306,625 by mid-Sept, including $250K from Common Sense America (undisclosed donors, D.C.-area mailbox address). Also supported by Amber McReynolds (unaffiliated, former Denver elections director), Courageous Colorado's advocacy arm, African Leadership Group, Let Colorado Vote.
Vote Common Sense (about $495K, liberal coalition) and Bell Policy Center. Reports differ on the League of Women Voters (UNVERIFIED).
Colorado ballot questions are among the hardest to read in the country; a concrete benchmark helps ordinary voters, and a constitutional shield stops legislators from adding confusing boilerplate.
The standard is vague and redundant with a 2026 law, and the override clause could strip existing disclosures (taxpayer impact, cuts to the three largest budget areas for tax-cut initiatives). Even the word 'fiscal' may exceed eighth-grade level, per Bell's Joshua Mantell.
Directs the existing state sales tax on sporting goods (bikes, camping, hunting and fishing gear, boats, RVs) to conservation and exempts it from TABOR. No new tax. About $175M in 2027-28: 47.5% to Great Outdoors Colorado, 47.5% to wildfire mitigation and forest and watershed work, 5% to outdoor equity programs. The transfer can shrink if it would reduce the Family Affordability or expanded EITC credits.
Protect Colorado's Land and Water and Prevent Wildfires, about $2.96M by late Aug: The Nature Conservancy $1.57M, a California fund $300K, Trust for Public Land $200K+. Backers include GOCO, Western Resource Advocates, Denver Water board, former officials Salazar, Udall and Ritter. Donors are disclosed (press figures; UNVERIFIED on TRACER).
League of Women Voters of Colorado, the Colorado Democratic Party's State Central Committee (budget concerns), a small committee (Protect Colorado's Land, Communities, and Tax Dollars), and two forest-science groups skeptical of thinning. No well-funded opposition committee found.
No new tax; links people who buy outdoor gear to protecting the outdoors; nearly doubles GOCO, multiplies wildfire and forest funding about 5×, and funds outdoor equity programs. Parks & Wildlife has about $900M in five-year capital needs and federal support is unreliable.
Locks about $175M+ a year of the general fund into one purpose while the state faces roughly $1B annual shortfalls and federal cuts; in down years health care, education and human services lose. It reduces TABOR refunds in surplus years and reduces what Prop NN can retain. Less annual legislative review of how it's spent.
Creates a constitutional right to hunt, fish and 'take' fish and wildlife by 'traditional methods' (undefined), except nongame, endangered or federally protected species. Declares hunting and fishing the state's preferred way to manage wildlife, leaves trespass law alone, and keeps state power to regulate when 'necessary' for science, public safety or preserving hunting and fishing.
Vote Yes on 83, about $1.8M through Sept 21, the most of any committee: Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Alliance (Virginia, $412K of $647K by two committees), Safari Club International $50K. No Advance Colorado or Heritage tie found (UNVERIFIED; TRACER not retrieved).
Colorado's Wildlife Deserve Better, Project Coyote (First Gentleman Marlon Reis quoted), Sierra Club Colorado (per search snippet).
About a third of Parks & Wildlife's budget (about $115M) comes from license sales; a constitutional right guards that heritage and rural economy from future ballot bans, and 24 other states have similar clauses. The text excludes endangered species, keeps trespass law and preserves regulatory power.
Constitutions should protect fundamental rights, not recreation, and hunting isn't under threat. 'Traditional methods' and 'necessary' are vague and could invite suits against rules voters and Parks & Wildlife already adopted, including the 1996 trapping restrictions (Project Coyote's reading; a court outcome is UNVERIFIED).
Period 2
Statewide and federal races; forecasters rate all of them Solid or Safe Democratic, and no general-election polls turned up.
Two-term Attorney General, term-limited; beat Sen. Michael Bennet in the June 30 primary. Campaign says no corporate PAC money and ~88% of donations from Coloradans; raised ~$5.6M by April (campaign figures). Running mate Lesley Dahlkemper is a Jefferson County commissioner and former CPR journalist. No Advance Colorado or Project 2025 tie found.
Bennet's campaign alleged 'pay-to-play' over Comcast and TurboTax donations while his office litigated against them; his spokesperson called the claims old and disproven. In 2022 he was the oil-and-gas-friendly establishment choice. A 2025 campaign-finance complaint was reported; outcome UNVERIFIED.
Ministry founder, first-time candidate, Marine veteran; narrowly won the GOP primary over Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer. About $2.3M raised through April. State assessed a ~$57,647 fine for over-limit contributions. Résumé issues: a site claim of rescuing 45,000 women and children was removed after being disproved; a claimed Bill Owens endorsement was denied by Owens; he skipped most debates. No Trump endorsement found (UNVERIFIED). Calls Colorado abortion 'wholesale slaughter' (via progressive Colorado Times Recorder). No Advance or Heritage money found.
Retired Marine colonel; said in 2025 he disagreed with nothing Trump had done so far and would have voted yes on the 'Big Beautiful Bill.'
Greg Lopez (Unaffiliated; ex-GOP congressman) / Taralyn Romero; Erik Mulder (L) / Wayne Harlos; Stephen Hamilton (AC); Jeff Peckman (Unity); Erik Underwood (Approval Voting). Nothing notable. Official ticket list not checked against the SoS (page 404'd).
Age 74, ex-Denver mayor and governor, Senator since 2021; beat Julie Gonzales by about 15 points. Raised ~$10.3M by June 30 (FEC via Wikipedia). Now opposes the Iran war, tariffs and ICE tactics, and supports dismantling ICE (per KUNC).
Gonzales criticized him for voting to confirm many Trump nominees (Wright, Burgum, Bessent; the count is disputed, 10 vs. 'nearly half'), 'poll-tested incrementalism,' and refusing primary forums. Opposes Medicare for All and a fracking ban. A partisan release claims $333K+ from AIPAC-linked donors (UNVERIFIED against FEC).
State senator from Woodland Park, age 71, ex-aerospace engineer; raised only ~$138.6K by June 30. States United lists him as promoting election conspiracy claims (I did not read the original). No Project 2025 or Advance tie found. Platform: shrink government, property-tax reform, water tunnels.
Blake Huber (L), Adam Withrow (Unity), Bob Chew (Forward), Christopher Baum (Approval Voting). Nothing notable. A protest vote for a minor party is your call.
Secretary of State since 2019, term-limited; won the primary with ~44%. Calls Trump's actions a 'campaign of retribution' and pledges to take on monopolies, grocery mergers and data centers. Endorsed by labor unions, Everytown, EMILYs List and others. No Advance or Project 2025 tie found; itemized donors not retrieved.
A 2024 spreadsheet exposed election-equipment BIOS passwords; an independent review found it unintentional but a policy violation, and the Denver DA called it 'sloppy,' not criminal. 2025 campaign-finance complaints (missing employer data on 492 contributions); final outcome UNVERIFIED. She has never been a practicing prosecutor, which is a fair criticism.
El Paso/Teller DA since 2021, Navy veteran, 20+ years a prosecutor, prosecuted the Club Q shooter. Criticizes Weiser's ~82 suits against the administration and has pledged to withdraw from many. Per Griswold he opposes laws protecting Coloradans from ICE and backed a gestational abortion ban (her characterization; his statement UNVERIFIED). Backed by police unions, Bill Owens, John Suthers. Funders not retrieved.
Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder, ex-head of Colorado Common Cause, attorney; beat Sen. Jessie Danielson ~63–37. Backed by Our Revolution, Colorado Working Families Party, EMILYs List, Everytown. Pledges to defend mail voting. No scandals, no Advance tie found; itemized donors not retrieved.
Former executive director of the Libertarian Party of Colorado, switched to the GOP; ran unopposed in the primary. Self-stated platform: decertify electronic voting machines, one-day in-person voting with ID, paper ballots and hand counts, end universal mail ballots. Reported: delete the voter rolls and require in-person re-registration (a similar 2024 bill carried a $9.3M fiscal note; a Republican clerks-association leader called it 'stunningly stupid'). Reportedly believes Trump won 2020 (his own words not located; UNVERIFIED as a quote). Supporters see these as security reforms.
Sean Vadney (L) replaced Alex Astley after Astley withdrew and a Denver judge allowed it; Amanda Campbell (AC); Celeste Landry (Forward).
Age 29, democratic socialist, former attorney (Notre Dame Law 2022; Sidley Austin associate until fired in 2023 after refusing to take down an essay answering a law-firm letter on campus antisemitism; most recently a barista while in a policy master's program). Beat Rep. Diana DeGette on June 30 by about 6 points (AP call; final certified numbers UNVERIFIED). Backs Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, getting big money out, ending U.S. military aid to Israel. Vowed to 'take the fight to Donald Trump and the oligarchy.' Bernie Sanders endorsed late.
Raised about $1.09M through June 30 (FEC), roughly $581K itemized and $461K small-dollar. Outside spending for her: Justice Democrats ~$500K, American Priorities ~$140K. Against her in the primary: Pro-Choice Majority Action $1.5M (funded by an EDW Action Fund with donors linked to AIPAC per KUNC), Project 218 $400K, Mile High Accountability Project $485K (undisclosed nonprofit funder). Next FEC report due mid-October.
No governing record. In a 9News interview she declined to call the 2025 Boulder firebombing antisemitism (KUNC). Pro-Israel outlets highlight a TV answer calling 9/11 'inevitable' in the sense of Middle East destabilization (Algemeiner, an advocacy outlet), and her essay reportedly said there is 'no justification' for the Oct. 7 attacks (secondary source). Jewish Voice for Peace members defended her. No Project 2025 or Advance Colorado ties found.
South Denver office manager and bookkeeper; raised about $2K. Platform: end mail ballots, secure the border, oppose 'communist socialism,' chemtrail and 'weather modification' concerns; backed freeing Tina Peters. Trump stance not stated (UNVERIFIED).
Chad Humphrey (L), retired Marine officer and entrepreneur, end the Fed and the IRS; Critter Milton (Unity), perennial candidate; Shimon Blau (Unaffiliated), a Denver physician who entered specifically to stop Kiros, about $185K raised, a vote for him is mostly a protest vote in a district Harris won by about 56 points. Write-ins: Kevin StClair, John Wren, Stephen Replin.
State senator and Joint Budget Committee chair; wants more state investment in housing, infrastructure and renewables, keep PERA on track to zero unfunded liability by 2048, and stop raiding the Unclaimed Property Fund. Prime sponsor of Proposition NN per reporting. No scandals, no Advance tie found; funders not retrieved.
Fremont County commissioner and former state Senate President (2017–18); would cut treasurer's-office staff growth and press harder on PERA liability. Funders and Trump stance not found.
Jodie Barr (L) would move new PERA hires to defined contribution; Marilee Langner Sturgis (Approval Voting), nothing notable.
Period 3
Your district, city, county and local questions.
Likely yes: Denver is on the Blue Book list of district municipalities and Denver's sample ballot prints 7A. The Oct 7 printing error hit Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Weld counties, not Denver. Not verified by address.
Creates a 0.333% sales and use tax (exempts gasoline, food, residential utilities, prescriptions) with no end date, about $295M a year, and authorizes $580M in bonds ($785M total repayment) for Pueblo–Fort Collins passenger rail on existing freight tracks. Denver is a planned permanent stop. Roughly $20–30 a year per $6,000–9,000 of taxable spending (my arithmetic; UNVERIFIED).
The Front Range Passenger Rail District board (14–1). Coloradans for CoCo: Sterling Ranch LLC $125K, Eric Laufer $100K, the Rockies $50K, Daniel Caruso $25K (through Oct 4). Six pro teams, the Colorado Democratic Party and Denver Democrats support.
Affordable Colorado and the Independence Institute (Jon Caldara), El Paso County commissioners, and the Anschutz-owned Denver Gazette editorial board. No Advance Colorado link found; opposition funding UNVERIFIED.
I-25 is a single point of failure; existing freight track; exempts necessities; annual audit and citizen review; Denver is a permanent station.
Regressive and permanent, $785M debt, new untested agency, the starter Denver–Fort Collins service proceeds without the tax, ridership unproven.
Lets DPS raise property taxes by up to $44M in 2026 (collected 2027) and annually after, for educator pay, career and technical education, and student mental health and special education, with audited reporting. Official cost: $11.50 per $100,000 of home value, about $72 a year on Denver's median home. Board estimate: $25.8M raises, $4M career-tech, $4.9M mental health and special ed, $9.3M for charter schools.
A CBS 'bond and mill levy totaling $827 million' story is the 2020 package ($795M bond plus a $32M override). The 2024 bond ($975M) already passed. Only 4A is on this ballot.
The DPS board voted unanimously on Aug 13, 2026; Superintendent Alex Marrero and the advisory committee support it; the teachers union supported the concept. Campaign donors not found (check TRACER; UNVERIFIED). No dark-money or Advance Colorado link found.
No comments against were filed in the Clerk's notice. The Anschutz-owned Denver Gazette editorial board says No (DPS 'poorly run'). No organized campaign found (UNVERIFIED).
DPS competes with neighboring districts for teachers; the lowest-paid staff get the biggest percentage raise; the state share of DPS revenue fell from about a third in 2005 to about 17%; modest cost, audited.
DPS's share of a typical home tax bill is up about 54% since 2020 ($1,480 to a projected $2,276 in 2026, per Colorado Politics); a $975M bond passed in 2024 and another may come; enrollment is falling; some pro-public-school voters dislike money going to charters.
Approves a 20-year franchise from Jan 1, 2027 letting Xcel use Denver streets. Keeps the 3% franchise fee (about $34.3M to the city in 2027), adds about $10M a year (1% of electric revenue) that Xcel holds and spends on undergrounding at the city's direction, and the city says it avoids about $150M a year in utility relocation costs. A companion agreement adds a $2M a year carve-out for heat pumps and EVs and $250K a year for energy navigators. A one-time $2.5M goes to utility assistance.
City Council (10–2 on July 27; Shontel Lewis and Sarah Parady dissented), city climate and transportation staff, local labor groups. Xcel's campaign spending not found (UNVERIFIED).
Together Colorado (nonpartisan community group) and some residents. Parady called the $125K a year in low-income assistance insufficient.
Locks in revenue, gives Denver standing at the PUC, avoids relocation costs, funds undergrounding. A failed vote could force the city to pay relocation costs (Clerk's fiscal note).
Little affordability or climate gain for a 20-year commitment to a monopoly utility; critics want a shorter or stronger deal. A prior version was pulled in 2025 after seven councilmembers asked for more benefits.
Ten names, no runoff, so the progressive vote can split. The three with real money or organization are Monica Martinez (most money), Mejia (party and labor backing) and Julissa Soto (self-funded). No polling found. Seat opened when Sarah Parady resigned effective Aug 5.
Former pastry chef and single parent; ex-Denver Planning Board member; former council aide; until recently with the Community Economic Defense Project (eviction defense). Her site claims she led the 2024 warranty-of-habitability overhaul and the state's first anti-displacement definition (self-reported; not independently verified). Denver Democrats endorsed her Sept 19, their first endorsement in a nonpartisan Denver race; state Sen. Julie Gonzales, Rep. Javier Mabrey and Aurora Councilmember Juan Marcano back her; the Denver Area Labor Federation lists her (date unclear). DSA has not endorsed. About $45.7K raised including public matching, small-dollar, no developer or outside money found. Thin on public-safety and homelessness specifics.
Executive director of The Fax Partnership (East Colfax affordable housing and anti-displacement work); the top fundraiser at about $119K including matching, from 590 donors, with one $830 gift from developer East West Partners. No endorsements or positions on the camping ban, police, Xcel or Trump found.
Founder of a Latino health-equity consultancy and Casa Inmigrante; $50K raised, all her own or family money. She and her former campaign director are in a public legal dispute over $33,500 of campaign funds and alleged misconduct, with a protective order sought and a countersuit threatened. Nothing is proven on either side, and I read it only through a search summary because the Denverite article was blocked. Her website also still showed placeholder disclosure text.
Former elected RTD director and planning board member; a 2023 profile said he works for Xcel in land rights (current job UNVERIFIED), and the Xcel franchise (2K) is on this ballot. Only $6.8K raised; in 2023 he opposed rent control.
Alfredo Reyes (former Latino Cultural Arts Center director, ~$43K with matching), Whitney Traylor (trial attorney, ~$25K with matching), Jake Browne (cannabis journalist, ~$25K; his own donor-tracking site is the source for some numbers), Cynthia Diaz (cafe owner, ~$2K), Gabriel Konkle (organizer against surveillance and data centers, ~$1K), and write-in Raymon Anthony Doane. No independent-expenditure money found in the race (UNVERIFIED; check the Clerk's campaign-finance portal).
Former Denver school board member (elected 2019 on the teachers-union-backed slate, re-elected 2023); started a construction-tech company. Backed by AFSCME, CWA, PDA Colorado, YIMBY Denver and Colorado Ceasefire (from a search snippet). In 2019 he put in $334K of his own money (over 95% of his funds), and critics said he was trying to buy a seat. He voted 4–3 to return police to schools. 2026 funders and Trump stance not found (UNVERIFIED).
Business owner; no other reporting, funders or Trump stance found (UNVERIFIED).
Rep. Steven Woodrow is retiring. HD2 is safe Democratic (Woodrow won 74% in 2024). Districts come from a Census geocoder point; confirm on your ballot. If it's HD5: Justine Sandoval (D) vs. Johnnie W. Johnson (R). If HD6: Iris Halpern (D, ex-EEOC attorney, union-backed) vs. Kathleen Angel (R).
Former Denver director of policy, chosen by a Democratic vacancy committee in January 2025 after Chris Hansen resigned (won a seven-way contest). Criticism targets the vacancy process, not Ball personally. BallotReady lists a Republican, Michael DiManna, who is not on the Secretary of State list (likely not certified; UNVERIFIED). Voting record, funders and Trump stance not researched (UNVERIFIED); no scandal found.
On the board since 2021 and vice chair since 2023; former head of the Colorado Association of School Executives and former chief accountability officer at Aurora Public Schools. Funders and Trump stance not found (UNVERIFIED); no scandal found.
Espinoza (R) and Casciato (L): background and positions not found (UNVERIFIED). Both would likely shift toward school choice and a smaller state role, but I found no platform detail.
Updates Denver's police and fire civil service charter: removes the citizenship requirement for Civil Service Commissioners, updates discipline-review timelines, lets probation be extended for approved medical or military leave, and strikes the charter caps on police (18) and fire (7) command staff. Fiscal effect de minimis.
Modernizes 1904-era language, and the citizenship change is inclusive of immigrants.
Removing command-staff caps lets leadership ranks grow without voter approval; changed discipline timelines could weaken or speed accountability depending on details (UNVERIFIED; I read only the summary and fiscal note). No against comments were filed.
Lets Council adopt a two-year budget term by ordinance (annual stays the default), moves the Mayor's budget briefing to the first Friday of September, adds a public-input process, and requires budget cuts when revenue falls 2% or 5% below projection. One-time cost about $50K.
Better long-term planning, more public input, frees staff time. Sponsors were Councilmembers Amanda Sawyer, Shontel Lewis and Stacie Gilmore.
A filed comment says Denver's revenue is 56% sales tax and a mid-2025 $200M gap shows two-year forecasts are risky, and that it shifts power toward the mayor (unverified claims).
Clarifies that the Auditor's Office may keep enforcing wage, worker-protection and workplace-rights laws as Council requires by ordinance. No fiscal impact (the Auditor already does this). The office has enforced prevailing wage since 1950 and, per a filed comment, collected about $10M and helped 15,000+ workers in the last decade (unverified).
Protects wage-theft remedies from legal challenge.
None filed. A possible argument is that enforcement belongs in an executive agency, not an independently elected auditor (my construction, not quoted).
Bans force-feeding birds to enlarge their livers and bans selling, importing or receiving foie gras and other products from force-fed birds in Denver. Fines of $1,000–$5,000 per violation and possible license suspension; effective July 1, 2027.
Pro-Animal Colorado, a volunteer-led effort with no paid circulators per the Clerk's filing. The same group's 2024 Denver fur and slaughterhouse measures lost. Funding not checked (UNVERIFIED).
Banned in NYC, Pittsburgh, Portland and California; minimal enforcement cost; widely regarded as cruel.
Government overreach on a legal food; threatens a few restaurants; broad definition (includes duck fat and pâtés from fattened livers); a local ban changes little about production. No committee found against.
14 Yes, 10 No, 7 Mixed across 31 items.
Sources: the Blue Book, county and Denver sample ballots, the Secretary of State, Colorado Politics, the Colorado Sun, CPR, KUNC, Chalkbeat and campaign sites. Colorado Politics and the Denver Gazette are Anschutz-owned; Colorado Times Recorder is openly progressive. Anything not confirmed by a primary source is marked UNVERIFIED. Research notes are in the project's research folder.