Rocky Mountain Voice

Author: Brian Porter

Rinard loses CU board of regents bid in missed opportunity for Republicans
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Rinard loses CU board of regents bid in missed opportunity for Republicans

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Eric Rinard lost his bid at the at-large seat on the University of Colorado's board of regents Tuesday and with it Republicans lost an opportunity to earn a 5-4 majority on the board. The board of regents is comprised of one elected member from each U.S. House district in Colorado -- there are eight -- and one at-large seat. Republicans entered Election Night needing to defend two of the four seats it held and flip the at-large seat. Democrat Elliott Hood earned 50.5% of the 2,332,032 votes cast in the at-large election to defeat Rinard, who earned 46.8% of the vote, according to results with 72% of ballots reported. The election map read largely like President Donald Trump's in the state, with the Eastern Plains, Southern Colorado and the We...
Analysis: Harris dominated in seven Front Range Colorado counties, deciding election
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Analysis: Harris dominated in seven Front Range Colorado counties, deciding election

By BRIAN PORTER | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As middle America largely was a sea of Red on Tuesday evening and into the morning, Colorado was a liberal outlier, going with Kamala Harris for President. While conservatives woke Tuesday morning to celebrate the election of Donald J. Trump as the 47th U.S. President, a glance at the election map details Coloradans still reside in a Blue state. Harris earned 54.6% of the 2,517,989 votes cast, defeating Trump by an 11.5% margin, according to results with 72% of ballots reported. Six of the seven states surrounding Colorado are projected to go for Trump. Wyoming to the north of Weld County to the western state line gave him 72.3% support, Nebraska bordering the northeastern plains of the state provided 60.2% support, Kansas the nei...
All eyes remain on 8th District race where Caraveo, Evans are split by 3,817 votes
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

All eyes remain on 8th District race where Caraveo, Evans are split by 3,817 votes

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Whether Democrats will retain a majority or the seats will be a split for the Colorado caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives appears as if it will come down to the one race most political observers always anticipated. Republican Gabe Evans, a former police officer and veteran, is trailing Democrat Yadira Caraveo, a pediatrician, by 3,817 votes in a virtual replay of the 8th District U.S. House race from 2022, when it took some time before Caraveo was declared the winner over Barb Kirkmeyer. Caraveo leads Evans by 1.59%. The state requirement to trigger a recount is a difference of 0.5% or less. As was the case in 2022, the competitive district sets up as Weld County versus Adams County. In Weld County, Evans earned 57.6% of the vote ...
Navarro flips 8th District seat on board of education, Democrats grasp on board loosened
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Navarro flips 8th District seat on board of education, Democrats grasp on board loosened

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Yazmin Navarro appears to have wrestled the 8th District seat on the State Board of Education away from Rhonda Solis, and with it loosened the Democratic Party's grasp on the board. The State Board of Education is comprised of one elected member from each U.S. House district in Colorado -- there are eight -- and one at-large seat. Republicans entered Election Night needing to defend two of the three seats it held and flip the 8th District seat. The 2nd District seat was uncontested by Republicans. Navarro, who ran on a platform of restoring education as a keystone in the success of young Coloradans, earned 51.0% of the 233,696 votes cast in the 8th District, defeating Democrat Rhonda Solis who had 49.0%, according to results Wednesday, Nov. 6...
District court denies Libertarian Party’s plea for a hand-count of ballots in Colorado following password leak
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

District court denies Libertarian Party’s plea for a hand-count of ballots in Colorado following password leak

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Denver District Court Judge Kandace Gerdes has denied an appeal to seek a hand-count of election returns and other relief sought by the Libertarian Party in a suit against Secretary of State Jena Griswold and the State of Colorado. Counsel for the Libertarian Party had argued the public disclosure of passwords on the secretary of state's website for a period lasting four months before removal was unprecedented, and so an unprecedented resolution was needed. The case was filed Friday, Nov. 1, and heard in Gerdes' courtroom Monday afternoon. https://rockymountainvoice.com/2024/11/unprecedented-mistake-by-secretary-griswold-calls-for-unprecedented-ruling-libertarian-party-argues-in-district-court "In dismissing the petition, the district...
Entering Election Day, 62% of ballots had been cast, with Democrat women holding a 104,241 lead over GOP women
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Entering Election Day, 62% of ballots had been cast, with Democrat women holding a 104,241 lead over GOP women

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice More than a third of all active Colorado voters had not cast a ballot entering Election Day, a report from the secretary of state's office reads. Coloradans had cast 2,507,472 ballots as of the opening of polls on Election Day. There were 4,045,182 active voters as of that time. Colorado is a same-day registration state. As of the start of Election Day, 61.9% of registered voters have cast ballots. Unaffiliated voters have cast 43.1% of all ballots cast entering Election Day. Republicans have outperformed their registrations, with 26.8% of all ballots cast and Democrats matching their registrations with 28.4% of ballots cast. Republicans represent 23.3% of all registered voters. The ballot tally as of the start of Election Day indicates of...
It’s Election Day in Colorado. Here’s detail on how to vote in-person or via drop box
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

It’s Election Day in Colorado. Here’s detail on how to vote in-person or via drop box

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Election Day has finally arrived in Colorado and across the country, and gone is the opportunity to cast a ballot by mail. Registered voters may cast a ballot until 7 p.m. today via a county voting center or by drop box. Polls close at 7 p.m. “Today is Election Day, and every eligible Coloradan should have their voice heard," said Secretary of State Jena Griswold. "No matter your age, skin color, or ZIP code, every voter has a say in our democracy." More detail on where to cast a ballot and other instructional material is available at GoVoteColorado.gov or through a voter's county clerk's website. Election Night reporting of results will be available sometime after 7 p.m. on the live Secretary of State's elections page. Typically, resul...
Jeff Lindsey has been named to 11th Judicial District DA post following disbarment of Linda Stanley
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Jeff Lindsey has been named to 11th Judicial District DA post following disbarment of Linda Stanley

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Jeff Lindsey has been named the acting district attorney for the 11th Judicial District by co-Chief Judge Amanda Hunter. He was sworn in Friday. Lindsey fills the district attorney role created by the disbarment of Linda Stanley on Sept. 27. The 11th Judicial District includes the counties of Chaffee, Custer, Fremont and Park counties. Lindsey has been the chief deputy district attorney in the 10th Judicial District attorney’s office since 2021, a press release reads. He is unopposed as a candidate on the Nov. 5 ballot for district attorney in the 11th Judicial District. He has been an attorney for 29 years and a prosecutor for 27 years. Lindsey holds a juris doctorate from the University of Kansas School of Law. In June, Stanley was di...
‘Unprecedented’ mistake by Secretary Griswold calls for unprecedented ruling, Libertarian Party argues in District Court
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘Unprecedented’ mistake by Secretary Griswold calls for unprecedented ruling, Libertarian Party argues in District Court

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice DENVER -- Some daylight may have been breathed Monday afternoon into what some have called the largest coverup in the history of Colorado's mail-in balloting era, and perhaps ever in its secretary of state's office. A day before Election Day, the top ranking officials in the Colorado Libertarian Party were in a Denver courtroom down the street from where Secretary of State Jena Griswold hours earlier made what sounded like a mea culpa over a password maintenance blunder that may affect half the counties in Colorado. At issue is hundreds of passwords which were posted in a public place on the secretary of state's website and discovered by an expert of voting system components, only after they may have been public for four months. "I am regr...
Here’s why Jeffco schools didn’t ask for a tax increase from voters this year
Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, Local

Here’s why Jeffco schools didn’t ask for a tax increase from voters this year

By Yesenia Robles | Chalkbeat Colorado The Jeffco school district is one of only a few large Colorado districts that isn’t asking residents to vote for additional local revenue this election. The district is under financial strain and in the spring considered asking voters to approve a mill levy override this year, but consultants recommended putting it off. They pointed out the district has faced challenges when trying to pass tax requests, and homeowners are already struggling with a rise in property taxes. “There are many factors that would support an MLO, including a strong desire for higher teacher pay, but those supportive indicators are simply no match for voters’ current feelings against higher property tax rates,” consultants wrote in a presentation to the board. ...