Vote on the Ballot Measures!

We have two particularly high-profile and controversial ballot measures this year which led to, what some would call, government interference. Question 302 at the local level and Prop 120 at the state level were basically incapacitated by government action before the voters get their say. In the case of Question 302, a petition is being circulated to get a question on a future ballot asking the voters to overturn the city council’s preemptive decision.

In Boulder, many new groups, some with almost the same lists of board members, have popped up. The cloned groups, not surprisingly, make basically identical endorsements. This may be a record year for endorsements, but I’ve chosen not to include most of the new groups in the listing below. In addition, a story of at least one group taking control of a board and sabotaging a candidate’s endorsement speaks to the importance of all of us paying attention and being involved. These multiple groups are also enabling “bundling” of campaign funds, allowing the groups to legally bypass the city’s campaign finance rules.

Inter-campaign tensions are also ugly in Boulder this election season. Alleged social media attacks led to cease-and-desist letters followed by a lawsuit which was countered with charges of campaign finance violations. If only we could discuss the issues face-to-face in a civil manner!

And last but not least, Boulder’s 2018 well-intentioned Ballot Question 2E is tying the hands of city council. The 2018 measure prevents city council from altering or modifying the “basic intent” of a measure passed by voters. Perhaps we all thought that writers of ballot measures would do such a fabulous job that no changes would be necessary. What we are seeing this year and last is that citizen initiatives (and charter amendments about petition signatures) are not so easy to write well. Boulderites are discussing what “basic intent” means and whether we can risk adopting potentially flawed changes to city code.

Off-year elections are typically low-turnout elections, but competitive elections increase turnout because people feel like their vote will really count. The city of Boulder has 5 referred charter changes and 3 citizen initiatives on the ballot, not to mention council and school board races. Turnout could be high. Three statewide ballot measures have not been getting as much attention, but they are also important so please educate yourself and vote the whole ballot.

In Colorado you can register and vote as late as Election Day, Tuesday, November 2, 2021. You have 3 ways to vote:
1) In person at one of your county’s Voter Service and Polling Centers
2) Mail your ballot with appropriate postage and allowing for adequate delivery time
3) Drop off your ballot at any Colorado polling place or ballot drop box, even outside of your county.

Each of the 11 ballot measures has its own post if you’d like more information or if you would like to make a comment on a specific ballot measure. Please limit comments on this introductory post to general comments about the process or the election.

At the bottom of this blog entry are other ballot issue websites as well as a link to the Boulder County Clerk’s website. The links will be updated as more information becomes available.


VOCABULARY

Amendment = Constitutional change
Any non-repeal amendments require 55% of the electorate for passage

Proposition = Statutory change


Initiatives - denoted by numbers
Electors signed petitions to put these on the ballot.

Referenda - denoted by a number and letter for cities
The city council put the referenda on the ballot.


Ballot Issues = Tax or debt measures
Ballot Questions = Others


2021 BALLOT MEASURES

STATE OF COLORADO

Amendment 78
Require Legislative Authority for Spending State Custodial Money
Require “custodial money” for a designated purpose be appropriated by the state legislature after a public hearing
NO/AGAINST

Proposition 119
Fund Out-of-School Enrichment and Academic Programs by Increasing Marijuana Taxes and Reallocating State Funds
Create the Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress (LEAP) Program and fund LEAP through a 5% increase in retail marijuana sales and by reallocating some of the Public School Lands income
no/against

Proposition 120
Reduce Select Property Tax Assessment Rates and Allow Short-Term Retention of Limited Compensatory Excess Revenue
Reduce the residential rate for multi-family housing from 7.15% to 6.5%, reduce the commercial rate for lodging properties from 29% to 26.4%, and allow retention of compensatory excess state revenue up to $25M for 5 fiscal years to offset loss of property tax revenue and state reimbursement of local homestead tax exemption
NO/AGAINST

CITY OF BOULDER

City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2I
Extend Community, Culture, (Resilience) and Safety Sales and Use Tax for 15 Years
Renew again the 0.3% tax until Dec 31, 2036 to fund capital improvement projects and grants for non-profit organizations
leaning yes/leaning for

City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2J
Approve Incurrence of Debt with Repayment from Ballot Issue 2I Tax
Approve issuance of bonds to be paid from extended Community, Culture, Resilience and Safety Tax to fund capital improvements
no/against

City of Boulder Ballot Question 2K
Council-Appointed Committees
Charter amendment to codify city council’s practice of appointing 2 council members to committees with allowances for more council members and require a recruitment committee for a council hire
yes/for

City of Boulder Ballot Question 2L
Standardize Petition Signature Requirements
Charter amendment to set the signature requirement to 10% of the voters in the previous 2 municipal candidate elections
YES/FOR

City of Boulder Ballot Question 2M
Untie City Council Pay from Meeting Attendance
Charter amendment to pay council members for 52 meetings each year on the city employee schedule
yes/for

City of Boulder Ballot Question 300
Bedrooms + 1 = Unrelated People Allowed
Allow the number of unrelated occupants be equal to 1 + the number of legal bedrooms
no/against

City of Boulder Ballot Question 301
Fur-Free Products
Prohibit manufacture and sale of most new fur products in the city of Boulder
no/against

City of Boulder Ballot Question 302
Voter Approval of CU South Annexation Agreement
Require any CU South annexation agreement to include certain details and to get electorate approval
no/against


ELECTION ADMINISTRATION SITES

Colorado Secretary of State – Go Vote Colorado page
http://govotecolorado.gov

Boulder County Clerk and Recorder
303 413 7740
https://www.bouldercounty.org/elections/
Look up your voter registration, see a sample ballot, check your ballot status, and find the county Voter Service and Polling Center locations.


GOVERNMENT SITES

Blue Book / Folleto Informativo (Colorado Legislative Council)
https://leg.colorado.gov/content/initiatives/initiatives-blue-book-overview/ballot-information-booklet-blue-book
The real name of the Blue Book is the 2020 State Ballot Information Booklet – available in English and Spanish.

City of Boulder
https://bouldercolorado.gov/elections

Boulder Valley School District
no ballot measures – only candidates and a potential recall election
https://www.bvsd.org/about/board-of-education/elections2021


MEDIA SITES

Boulder Beat Voter Guide
https://boulderbeat.news/election-2021/

Boulder Weekly Election Guide
https://www.boulderweekly.com/featured/vote-guide-2021/

Daily Camera Endorsements and Election Page
https://www.dailycamera.com/tag/2021-endorsements/
https://www.dailycamera.com/tag/2021-election/
A paper copy of the Voter Guide appeared on Oct 10, 2021.

Colorado Politics Elections Page (including investigation into Mesa County Clerk)
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/elections/2021/

Colorado Public Radio Ballot Guide
https://www.cpr.org/2021/10/07/colorado-voter-guide-2021-election/

Colorado Sun Voter Guide
https://coloradosun.com/2021/10/08/colorado-voter-guide-elections-2021


INFORMATION-ONLY SITES

League of Women Voters – also listed under Advocacy Sites
vote411.org
See your ballot, learn about the issues and the candidates

Ballotpedia
https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_2021_ballot_measures
Entries for individual ballot measures list supporters and opponents, campaign finance information and more

Common Sense Institute – State and Denver ballot measures
https://commonsenseinstituteco.org/2021-ballot-issues/


ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION SITES
These sites take positions on all or most of the measures.

League of Women Voters of Boulder County Elections 2021 (English and Spanish)
https://lwvbc.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=629866&module_id=487391

Boulder Chamber of Commerce – Eye on the Ballot
https://boulderchamber.com/advocacy/election-resources/

PLAN-Boulder County
https://planboulder.org/uncategorized/vote-for-rosenblum-christy-winer-wallach-decalo/

Bell Policy Center
https://www.bellpolicy.org/2021/10/08/2021-ballot-guide/


POLITICAL PARTY SITES

Boulder County Democratic Party Voter Guide
https://www.bocodems.org/2021-voter-guide/

Boulder County Republican Party Elections Page
https://bocogop.org/local-government-advoacy/#city-of-boulder

Independence Institute – Libertarian Think Tank
https://i2i.org/guide-2021/


CITIZEN SITES

Richard Valenty
https://richardvalenty.com/2021-city-of-boulder-ballot-measures/