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Colorado state government spending increases outpaced inflation, report says
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The Center Square, Approved, State

Colorado state government spending increases outpaced inflation, report says

By Tom Joyce | The Center Square Colorado has vastly grown its government spending over the past 20 years, according to a new report from Common Sense Institute. CSI's "Then and Now" report found that government spending in Colorado has vastly outpaced inflation over the last 20 years. Adjusted for inflation, the state government has increased spending by 35% in that stretch from $5,140 per Coloradoan to $6,924. Healthcare is a big reason for that spending increase over the last 20 years. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing grew its budget by 429% from Fiscal Year 2005 to Fiscal Year 2025, from $3 billion to $15.9 billion; that department went from 22% of the budget to 37%. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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Entering Election Day, 62% of ballots had been cast, with Democrat women holding a 104,241 lead over GOP women
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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...
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An open letter to voters from Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

An open letter to voters from Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross

By Bobbie Gross | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As your Mesa County clerk​ & recorder, I am deeply committed to the transparency, security, and integrity of our elections. I want to address a recent oversight by the secretary of state’s office, which inadvertently published BIOS passwords — one of the many layers that protect our voting equipment. I assure you that your vote remains secure and will be counted accurately. Our election system, here in Mesa County, is protected by multiple layers of security. Access to voting equipment is strictly limited to authorized personnel who pass background checks, and every entry and exit from secure areas is logged. These areas are monitored by 24/7 surveillance cameras, and we are immediately alerted to any unusual activity. O...
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It’s Election Day in Colorado. Here’s detail on how to vote in-person or via drop box
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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...
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Jeff Lindsey has been named to 11th Judicial District DA post following disbarment of Linda Stanley
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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...
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‘Unprecedented’ mistake by Secretary Griswold calls for unprecedented ruling, Libertarian Party argues in District Court
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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...
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Three senior judges in Colorado still haven’t filed personal financial disclosures with state
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Three senior judges in Colorado still haven’t filed personal financial disclosures with state

By David Migoya | Denver Gazette, via Colorado Politics Just months after Colorado officials reminded dozens of senior judges they were required by law to annually file personal financial disclosure statements with the Secretary of State's Office —  and 14 months after it was exposed that nearly none of them had — three still have not complied, The Denver Gazette has found. A fourth did so only after he was contacted by The Gazette earlier last month. One of those senior jurists, former 5th Judicial District Chief Judge W. Terry Ruckriegle in Breckenridge, hasn’t filed the document with the state since 2008, two years before he left the full-time bench, records show. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Schumann: Griswold’s apology for election security breach draws comparisons to Tina Peters’ case
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Schumann: Griswold’s apology for election security breach draws comparisons to Tina Peters’ case

By Jen Schumann | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In a recent turn of events, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is now expressing regret over the actions coming from her office. In a November 4th press release, Griswold stated, "I am regretful for this error. I am dedicated to making sure we address this matter fully and that mistakes of this nature never happen again." Griswold's sentiment is in response to her office’s exposure of BIOS passwords for election equipment in 63 counties. The passwords, vital for securing voting system components, were posted on a subpage of the Department's website and had been accessible online since June. This apology, however, has drawn attention due to Griswold’s previously strict stance on election security breaches, especially in t...
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Collared gray wolf activity observed south of I-70 for the first time
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Approved, Out There Colorado, State

Collared gray wolf activity observed south of I-70 for the first time

By Piper Russell | Out There Colorado Biologists with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) have noted GPS locations from a collared gray wolf south of Interstate 70. This update comes after the Collared Gray Wolf Activity Map was updated on Wed., Oct. 23. CPW does not usually provide location information on the wolves outside of updating the map on the fourth Wednesday of each month. However, CPW is providing this update because it is the first time GPS data points have been observed south of I-70. READ THE FULL STORY AT OUT THERE COLORADO
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Amid dropping enrollment, Colorado districts deciding what to do with closed schools
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Amid dropping enrollment, Colorado districts deciding what to do with closed schools

By Ann Schimke , Melanie Asmar and Yesenia Robles | Chalkbeat Colorado Construction workers in hardhats and safety vests bustled around the 7,000-square-foot Loveland building, installing fixtures and painting. It was late October, and they had two months to go before the grand opening. Soon, the former Thompson School District preschool would become “The Landing,” the first shelter for homeless youth in northern Colorado. Leaders of the effort say the state-of-the-art-building will give young people ages 15 to 20 a safe place to live and receive services while they get their lives back on track. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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