Vote on the Ballot Issues!

This year in Boulder the ballot issues seem to be generating more interest than the candidates. I hope this guide helps you wade through the 10 ballot issues that city of Boulder voters will see.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 1. All ballots must be delivered to the county clerk and recorder’s office by 7 pm. This is an all-mail ballot election. County clerks must mail ballots to active voters by Oct 14.

Please note that the ballot issue descriptions below are very brief! Each ballot issue has its own blog entry if you would like more information or would like to make comments about the ballot issue. Please limit comments on this blog entry to general comments about the process or the election.

Below my list of ballot endorsements are links to lots of websites for more information. I only included websites that gave some analysis of ballot issues. Individuals or groups who made endorsements without explanations are not included.


COLORADO BALLOT ISSUES

Proposition 103
5-Year Tax Increase for Public Education
Temporarily increases state income and sales and use taxes to fund education.
yes


BOULDER COUNTY BALLOT ISSUES

County of Boulder 1A
Increase Sheriff’s Term Limit to Four Terms
Allow the sheriff to be elected to 4 terms.
YES


CITY OF BOULDER BALLOT ISSUES

City of Boulder 2A
Bonding for Capital Improvement Program
Borrow $49 million to pay for deferred maintenance and capital improvements.
against

City of Boulder 2B
Increase and Extend the Utility Occupation Tax
Increase the utility occupation tax from about 3% to about 4½% and collect it for up to two more years.
lean toward for

City of Boulder 2C
Light and Power Utility
Authorize the city to plan for and create a municipal electric utility.
lean toward for

City of Boulder 2D
Clean-up: Organizational Structure
Change the city charter to reflect the actual job titles and departments of certain city employees.
FOR

City of Boulder 2E
Increase Penalty for City Charter Violations
Change the maximum penalty for a misdemeanor in the city charter to match the Boulder Revised Code.
for

City of Boulder 2F
Clean-Up: Elections
Deletes obsolete wording about voting machines and makes mostly minor changes to the election process.
for

City of Boulder 2G
Change Initiative Petition Procedures
Requires citizens’ initiatives to be previewed by the city manager, puts a limit on the amount of time to collect signatures, and increases the time for the city government to respond to the petitioners.
for

City of Boulder 2H
Call to Abolish Corporate Personhood
States that the people of Boulder want an amendment to the US constitution to limit the rights of corporations.
for


Check Your Voting Status
http://www.voteboulder.org
Click on Check Your Voter Information and enter the requested data. Your voting status, precinct number, etc will appear.

Ballot Issue Conversation on Facebook
http://www.thisismyballot.com
Show your friends how you are going to vote and see how they are voting with the MyBallot Facebook Application.


OTHER BALLOT ISSUE SITES

Government sites

Blue Book online (Colorado Legislative Council)
The real name of the Blue Book is the 2011 State Ballot Information Booklet. Available in English and Spanish.
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CGA-LegislativeCouncil/CLC/1200536134742

County of Boulder Ballot Issue webpage
Includes other districts in Boulder County not covered in this blog.
http://www.bouldercounty.org/government/pages/countyballotissues.aspx

City of Boulder Election webpage
http://www.voteboulder.org


Media sites

Boulder Weekly Ballot Issues webpage
http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-6635-vote-2011-boulder-city-county.html

Camera Election Section
http://www.dailycamera.com/election


Nonpartisan sites

Ballotpedia
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Colorado_2011_ballot_measures

League of Women Voters of Boulder County
http://lwvbc.org/2011StateandLocalBallotIssues.html

League of Women Voters of Colorado (English and Spanish)
http://www.lwvcolorado.org/


Partisan sites

Boulder Chamber of Commerce
http://www.boulderchamber.com/pages/2011ChamberEndorsements/

Boulder County Democrats
http://bocodems.com/VotingInfo/BallotIssues.aspx