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Colorado parents mobilize: New ballot efforts seek to strengthen safeguards for children
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Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado parents mobilize: New ballot efforts seek to strengthen safeguards for children

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC) The Government Shutdown in our nation is now over as of last Wednesday, November 12. Our military, TSA workers, air traffic controllers, and federal workers are beginning to receive their paychecks that were due last month. In Colorado, 33,707 federal workers have been on furlough since the shutdown began. That is an incredible amount of people affected in our state, likely due to the large size of our military population here. Additionally, Colorado’s election results have furthered the class warfare in our state by raising taxes on higher earners to pay for universal school breakfasts and lunches, which are given to every child, regardless of need. Proposition MM also funnels some extra ca...
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Ballot initiative filed to give priority to roads over transit funding in Colorado
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Fox31, Approved, State

Ballot initiative filed to give priority to roads over transit funding in Colorado

By: Gabrielle Franklin | FOX31 Denver DENVER (KDVR) — The 2026 midterm elections are still over a year away, but people are already preparing for them. Several ballot Initiatives have been filed in hopes of bringing them to voters next year. Some big business groups in the state say it’s high time for Colorado to do something about its raggedy roads. They are looking into a proposal that would dedicate more money to solving the problem. “We did support Senate Bill 260 back in 2021 because it was the best deal available; that we could get some money into our highway system. We would be in worse shape today had we not passed Senate Bill 260 back in 2021, but looking over the last three of four years, it has not been enough,” said Tony Milo, CEO of the Colorado Contractors ...
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How ballot initiatives play a role in Colorado policymaking
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

How ballot initiatives play a role in Colorado policymaking

By Colorado Politics For more than a century, Colorado voters have used the ballot box not just to elect leaders but also to make laws, shaping the state’s most defining policies through citizen-led initiatives. Those two avenues of policymaking — the first by legislators, the second by citizens — yet represent another point of tension that is inherent to America’s grand experiment in representative democracy. At times, it leads to reaction and counter-reaction, both within and outside the state Capitol. The threat of a ballot measure, for one, can prompt legislators to act. Indeed, some see the initiative process as a counterbalance to the Colorado legislature, serving as a check on state policymakers, at times overriding their will. Others prefer the legislative process, with...
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Potholes and Broken Promises: Colorado’s Working Class Deserves Better
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Potholes and Broken Promises: Colorado’s Working Class Deserves Better

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Drive a mile in Colorado and you’ll know the truth: our roads are crumbling, and so is the promise that the government would take care of this basic function. Families scrape by to keep their cars running while the same political elite who’ve run this state for twenty years pour billions into pet projects and leave working people holding the bill. Colorado’s highways were built the way a farm is built — ditch by ditch, fence by fence, harvest by harvest. Generations of Coloradans invested billions so our economy could function. From rural to urban, our families could get where they needed to go. But now the ditch and fence are broken, and instead of repairing it, the political class is off buying themselves a BMW. Nice ride, m...
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Coloradans to decide 14 statewide questions on jampacked November ballot
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Approved, completecolorado.com, State

Coloradans to decide 14 statewide questions on jampacked November ballot

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado Colorado voters will see a much longer ballot than usual for this November’s election, with questions ranging from embedding abortion rights in the state Constitution to upending the primary elections system. In addition to hundreds of local measures, there are 14 statewide ballot measures his year, with an equal number split between constitutional amendments and propositions that are written into state statute. Some of the measures were put on the ballot via citizens’ initiative while others came referred by the legislature, with several highly controversial matters to be decided. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO
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Andrews: A ban on fur in Denver would only hurt this thriving cow town
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Approved, Commentary, Denver Post, State

Andrews: A ban on fur in Denver would only hurt this thriving cow town

By Paul Andrews  | Denver Post Denver is like no place else. We’re a “cow town” with a thriving food scene; a tech hub and a gateway to world-class recreation opportunities; sports teams, museums, brew pubs, and distilleries for everyone. We’ve hit on a formula for a world-class 21st-century city that honors its heritage. It’s no wonder boomers and Gen Z alike want to be here. So why mess with success? Unfortunately, some ideologues want to do just that. They have a scheme that would tear apart our heritage and what makes us a unique and desirable city. The backers of the initiative will tell you it’s no big deal, but when they put something on the ballot that will hurt the National Western Stock Show, the Denver Powwow, our fly-fishing businesses and hatmakers, that should rile u...
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Bill signing, initiative withdrawal sets November ballot at 14 measures
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Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Bill signing, initiative withdrawal sets November ballot at 14 measures

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Colorado’s November ballot took its final 14-initiative shape Wednesday as Gov. Jared Polis signed a tax-cut bill resulting in the withdrawal of two high-profile initiatives that sought to achieve even bigger tax reductions and lead to bigger revenue losses for governments. With the removal of Initiatives 50 and 108 from the ballot, the remaining issues either have no direct impact on businesses or affect only specific business sectors, such as firearms dealers and operators of veterinary practices. But former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry is pushing one voting-reform measure, Initiative 310, in hopes that it can help more moderate and often business-friendlier candidates to survive the primary- and general-election processes more often. The Democr...
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What’s on the ballot? In Denver, tax increases, new debt, nearly $1 billion school bond
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

What’s on the ballot? In Denver, tax increases, new debt, nearly $1 billion school bond

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A variety of topics will confront Denver voters on the November ballot, decisions which could shape the future of Colorado's capitol city. Voters will be asked about whether to allow illegal immigrants to serve in the fire and police departments, to weigh-in on a pair of bans related to animal fur and livestock slaughter, collective bargaining, tax increases and a nearly $1 billion bond package for Denver schools. That's all before Denver voters consider statewide measures on the ballot. Following is a brief look at each ballot item with links to the full ballot measure text provided, when available. The descriptor may not end up being the ballot title: Affordable housing funding: The measure would, if passed, increase the local sales tax...
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Larimer County may put transportation tax question on November ballot
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Approved, BizWest, Local

Larimer County may put transportation tax question on November ballot

By BizWest Larimer County officials next week will consider placing a 15-year 0.15% sales and use tax measure on the November ballot. If approved by voters, the tax would generate an estimated $15 million annually to fund various transportation projects across the county. Recent polling by Larimer County shows that community members are increasingly concerned about rising traffic and declining safety on the county’s roads and bridges. Transportation remains one of the top concerns among residents, leading the Board of County Commissioners to revisit the issue of a dedicated funding source. As part of its 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, the commissioners are again considering a transportation tax measure to address these needs. If the measure were to pass, the tax — equivalent to 15 cent...
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Report: If Initiative 91 ban of big cat hunting passes, it could cost CPW, hunting industry more than $65M
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The Center Square, Approved, State

Report: If Initiative 91 ban of big cat hunting passes, it could cost CPW, hunting industry more than $65M

By Derek Draplin | The Center Square A new report says a ballot measure banning big cat hunting in Colorado would prove costly for state wildlife management and the hunting industry. Initiative 91, which will appear on the November ballot, would ban the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx, removing them from the state’s definition of “big game.”  The report, by the Common Sense Institute, a free-enterprise think tank, estimates that Colorado’s mountain lion population would increase by 443 cats, noting an average of 508 were harvested annually since 2019. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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