Election Oversight Failure Sends Rail Tax Question to 800,000 Ineligible Voters

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette

County clerks in at least four metro Denver counties are scrambling to deal with the immediate confusion — and other potential ramifications — in the aftermath of some 800,000 voters receiving ballots with a sales tax hike question they shouldn’t be asked.

Voters within the boundaries of the Front Range Passenger Rail District face a decision this November whether to establish a new 0.333% sales and use tax in order to generate $295 million a year and permit the jurisdiction to take on $580 million in debt to build a passenger rail line connecting several communities along the Front Range.

But not every voter in the 13 counties of the proposed rail line should have what’s called Issue 7A on their ballots. Only voters within the rail district’s boundaries should see that question.

Instead, voters in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Weld counties have been sent ballots with the sales tax hike question, the Secretary of State’s Office first confirmed to 9NEWS.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE