City voters were once again very generous and approved all the ballot measures except 310, the initiative which would have made municipalization of the electric utility harder to achieve. State voters approved the follow-up to Amendment 64 – marijuana sales and excise taxes – but didn’t pass the two-tier income tax to improve funding of public education.
Meanwhile, this year’s new election law, House Bill 1303, is in the spotlight in the close Broomfield fracking ballot issue. On Election Night, the fracking ban failed by 13 votes, but when outstanding ballots were counted and certified, the ban passed by 17 votes. The small vote margin triggers an automatic recount which will start on Monday morning. The Secretary of State’s office has complained about improprieties including a discrepancy in residential requirements. A Broomfield resident for only 22 days can register and vote on state ballot issues, but municipal issues have a 30-day residential requirement. It seems that such a voter received the standard Broomfield ballot rather than a ballot with just state issues. On Nov 4, the day before Election Day, Denver District Judge Michael Martinez rejected a lawsuit against HB 1303 which included the discrepancy in residential requirements in its arguments.
As many of you know, there were 2 Democratic state senators recalled in September, the first legislators recalled in Colorado’s history. Conflicting election laws and a third-party candidate meant that voters didn’t have a mail-ballot election despite HB 1303. In-person elections have lower voter turnout, and the recall elections were no exception. On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, Evie Hudak, another endangered state senator, resigned her seat effective immediately. The recall effort against her was reportedly close to turning in the required number of signatures. If her seat had switched from Democrat to Republican, the state senate would also have switched from a one-seat majority Democratic body to 18-17 majority Republican. The resignation stops the recall effort in its tracks. A vacancy committee will choose a Democratic replacement for her in December before the new legislative session begins.
Meanwhile, this year’s new election law, House Bill 1303, is in the spotlight in the close Broomfield fracking ballot issue. On Election Night, the fracking ban failed by 13 votes, but when outstanding ballots were counted and certified, the ban passed by 17 votes. The small vote margin triggers an automatic recount which will start on Monday morning. The Secretary of State’s office has complained about improprieties including a discrepancy in residential requirements. A Broomfield resident for only 22 days can register and vote on state ballot issues, but municipal issues have a 30-day residential requirement. It seems that such a voter received the standard Broomfield ballot rather than a ballot with just state issues. On Nov 4, the day before Election Day, Denver District Judge Michael Martinez rejected a lawsuit against HB 1303 which included the discrepancy in residential requirements in its arguments.
As many of you know, there were 2 Democratic state senators recalled in September, the first legislators recalled in Colorado’s history. Conflicting election laws and a third-party candidate meant that voters didn’t have a mail-ballot election despite HB 1303. In-person elections have lower voter turnout, and the recall elections were no exception. On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, Evie Hudak, another endangered state senator, resigned her seat effective immediately. The recall effort against her was reportedly close to turning in the required number of signatures. If her seat had switched from Democrat to Republican, the state senate would also have switched from a one-seat majority Democratic body to 18-17 majority Republican. The resignation stops the recall effort in its tracks. A vacancy committee will choose a Democratic replacement for her in December before the new legislative session begins.
