DENVER — The lawn signs are up, the political TV ads are on an endless repeat and the flyers are flooding mailboxes across Colorado in preparation of the 2024 November general elections. Colorado ballots will hit the mail Friday for registered voters, leaving anyone who isn't registered for a mail-in ballot just over two weeks to submit an application.
Before we get into who's running for office and what you'll be voting on this year, we should perhaps start with some key dates to keep in mind:
- Friday, Oct. 11: The first day mail ballots are sent out to registered Colorado voters.
- Monday, Oct. 21: The first day county drop boxes must be open to accept mail ballots. Drop boxes will stay open through 7 p.m. on Election Day.
- Monday, Oct. 28: The last day to register to vote to be able to receive a ballot by mail. Anyone not registered to vote by this date will have to vote in-person.
- Tuesday, Nov. 5 - Election Day: Not registered to vote yet? You can still register to vote in-person at the closest polling center in your county if you're in line before 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, Nov. 13: Last day to fix any issue with your ballot before it can be counted (for example, you forgot to sign it or election officials need to confirm your signature).
Have questions about registering to vote? The Colorado Secretary State's Office's FAQ is there to help.
Alright, now that we have that all squared away, let's dig in into who's running for what this year.
The presidential candidates
Obviously, the headliner of this November's election is the race for president and vice president.
Former President Donald Trump is vying for another shot at the White House after Joe Biden beat him in 2020, and VP Kamala Harris is hoping to step into the Oval Office after serving as Joe Biden's vice president for the last four years.
Trump has selected Sen. JD Vance as his running mate after Mike Pence moved forward with certifying the 2020 election for Joe Biden. Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to join her campaign as VP after Pres. Biden stepped out of the race and Harris moved to the top of the ticket.
Politics
Tim Walz, former president Donald Trump stop in Colorado for fundraisers
The candidates for statewide offices
Congressional District 1
There are several Congressional representatives trying to hold onto their seats. Republican Valdamar Archuleta hopes to unseat incumbent Democrat Diana DeGette to represent the City and County of Denver, Glendale and Holly Hills.
Congressional District 2
Republican Marshall Dawson is hoping to take over incumbent Democrat Joe Neguse's spot, as the Congressional representative for the northwestern suburbs of Denver, including Boulder and Fort Collins.
Congressional District 3
Democrat Adam Frisch, who narrowly lost to Republican Lauren Boebert in 2022, is running against a new opponent now that Boebert has moved districts. Frisch now faces Republican Jeff Hurd for the people's vote in parts of the Western Slope and southern portions of the Eastern Plains.
Politics
Frisch concedes to Boebert in 3rd Congressional District race
Congressional District 4
Republican Lauren Boebert made headlines for switching districts this year from District 3 to run in a more favorably red Congressional district on the other side of the state. She will go up against Democrat Trisha Calvarese.
Politics
Lauren Boebert, Trisha Calvarese meet for first debate in CD-4 race
Congressional District 6
Incumbent Democrat Jason Crow will face off against Republican John E. Fabbricatore for Colorado's 6th Congressional District encompassing much of the eastern Denver metropolitan area, including all of Aurora and portions of the southern Denver metro area.
Congressional District 7
Democrat incumbent Brittany Pettersen is running against Republican Sergei Matveyuk to hold onto her position representing the western parts of the Denver metro area, including Golden, Lakewood, Arvada and Broomfield, among many others.
Politics
Lauren Boebert, Trisha Calvarese meet for first debate in CD-4 race
Colorado House District 19
In the Colorado General Assembly, state Rep. Jennifer Parenti announced she was dropping her re-election bid for state House District 19 earlier this year. A Democratic vacancy committee selected Jillaire McMillan as a replacement nominee for the party. Republican Dan Woog will go up against McMillan for the position. He is a former state lawmaker who lose to Parenti in 2022. The winner of this race could determine if Democrats keep their supermajority.
Politics
New Democratic nominee selected for Colorado House race
Colorado Senate District 23
Also in the state legislature is incumbent Republican Barb Kirkmeyer fighting to keep her senate seat for Larimer and Weld Counties. She's facing Democrat Joseph Bobko.
Major issues going before voters statewide
Amendment 79 brings a national issue to center stage in Colorado. The ballot measure gives voters a say on whether or not to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. It would also lift Colorado's 40-year-old ban on public funding of abortions.
We broke down the arguments from those who are for and against Amendment 79 in the story below.
Politics
Amendment 79 would make abortion access a constitutional right in Colorado
Amendment 80 would also make changes to the state Constitution. It would cement families' right to school choice under Colorado law, our partners at The Denver Post report.
Guardians could choose whether their students attend public district-run schools, charter schools, private schools or homeschools. Opponents argue the ballot measure is unnecessary because state law already guarantees the right.
Amendment G would give a homestead property tax exemption to more military veterans with disabilities, according to The Denver Post.
Currently, only veterans with service-connected disabilities are eligible. State analysts estimate 3,700 veterans in Colorado would qualify for the new exemption.
Amendment H would change how Colorado's judges are investigated and disciplined for professional misconduct on the bench, The Denver Post reports.
The ballot measure would take power from the Colorado Supreme court to suspend, publicly discipline or remove a judge from the bench, and would instead give that authority to an independent board of citizens, lawyers and judges. It would also allow the public to get more information on the process when it has been historically more secretive.
Amendment I would create an exception to the right to bail for first-degree murder cases when proof is evident or presumption is great.
Amendment J would remove language in the Colorado Constitution that defines a marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Colorado is one of 30 states that still has a statewide ban on same-sex marriage in its constitution. In 2006, Colorado voters narrowly passed Amendment 43, which added the restriction that “only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.”
If passed, the Colorado Constitution would recognize same-sex marriages as valid and legal — just like they are at the federal level.
Politics
Colorado's constitution bans same-sex marriage. But voters may soon change that.
Proposition 127 would ban the "trophy hunting" of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx in Colorado.
Exceptions to Proposition 127 include killing an animal to protect people and livestock, the accidental wounding of a cat, actions by authorized wildlife officers and scientific research activities.
United Houndsmen of Colorado, a group opposed to the measure, shared the following statement with Denver7:
"Mountain lions and bobcats have been successfully managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife through hunting to create healthy, thriving populations of both species in the state. Neither one is threatened or endangered whatsoever and, as a renewable resource, can sustain a small yearly off-take of the population to maintain the health of not only the lion and bobcats, but also all the other wildlife on the landscape."
Check out the story below to hear what advocates have to say about the measure.
Politics
Why advocates hope voters approve a mountain lion hunting ban in November
Proposition 128 would increase the time some violent offenders serve in prison before they're eligible for parole, our sister station in Colorado Springs reports.
Those convicted of certain violent crimes would serve at least 85% of their sentence before they are eligible for parole or earned time reductions. A third-strike rule in the proposition would also take away parole eligibility for criminals after a third violent conviction, requiring them to serve 100% of their sentence without any earned time.
The current Colorado law requires these offenders to serve 75% of their sentence. Time reductions earned for good behavior and completed programs in prison can reduce the sentence by half in some cases.
Politics
Proposition 129 could change delivery of veterinary care in Colorado
Proposition 129 would create a veterinary professional associate (VPA), a mid-level position with duties that would overlap those of a veterinarian and a veterinary technician. This proposition came about due to a veterinary shortage in Colorado.
"One in three pet owners cannot get care for their pets, whether they can't get an appointment or they can't afford that care,” Dr. Apryl Steele, president and CEO of the Dumb Friends League, who's in support of Proposition 129, said. "By creating this VPA role in veterinary medicine, which does not exist right now, we hope that we can increase access to veterinary care and decrease cost of veterinary care so more animals can get the care that they need."
Colorado State University is working to create a program that would allow students to obtain a master’s degree to become a VPA to support veterinary teams. Under state law, however, VPAs are currently not allowed to work in veterinary clinics. Proposition 129 would change that.
Opponents, however, allege these VPAs would put pets at risk. Colorado State Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, said VPAs would not have taken a national exam and be undertrained.
Politics
Proposition 130 would provide $350 million for law enforcement in Colorado
Proposition 130 would provide $350 million for local police departments to recruit, train and retain officers. The funding, under Prop. 130, could be used to increase pay for officers, provide hiring and retention bonuses, and provide ongoing training. It would also require the state to provide a one-time $1 million death benefit to help families of police officers who are killed in the line of duty.
Because the state only has so much money to go around, Anaya Robinson with ACLU Colorado said Proposition 130 would force lawmakers to take money away from other areas like education, housing and healthcare.
Proposition 131 would give voters the chance to change how people vote in the next election, including the Open Primary and Ranked-Choice voting initiative, our sister station in Colorado Springs reports.
In Colorado right now, a Semi-Open Primary is available for voters. If you are unaffiliated, you can vote either in the Republican or Democratic Primary.
Under the Open Primary, all candidates will be on one ballot.
Then, the top four candidates from the Primary will move onto the Ranked-Choice Voting system in General Election.
Voters will rank candidates from one to four. If the candidate gets over 50% of the vote in the first round, that candidate wins.
If not, the second round continues.
The candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated.
This cycle continues until one candidate has the majority.
Proposition JJ asks voters to decide whether the state should continue returning excess sports betting tax revenue to casinos — or keep the money to spend on water projects, The Denver Post reports.
Tax revenue surpassed $29 million in the state’s 2023-2024 budget year and is projected to increase in coming years, according to the state’s Blue Book voter guide.
Politics
Prop KK: An excise tax on gun shops that would fund mental health services
Proposition KK asks voters if they support or oppose raising state taxes by $39 million annually to fund mental health services for certain groups of people, including veterans, at-risk youth, and domestic violence survivors.
A 6.5% excise tax would be placed on gun manufacturers, gun retail stores, and ammunition vendors. The businesses would decide how they wanted to pay the tax, meaning they could either absorb it and pay it themselves or pass it along to the consumer.
“The justice system should be punishing crime. Instead of punishing crime, they're just going to go ahead and punish consumers. They're going to punish people who are trying to defend themselves," Ian Escalante, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said. “And now we have all these people that would want to be able to defend themselves but aren't going to now because they simply can't afford it.”
Some of the biggest issues before Denver voters
Ballot Issue 2Q asks Denver voters to commit to funding Denver Health long-term. It has been struggling financially since 2022, our partners at The Denver Post report.
Denver Health estimates it will lose $155.5 million from uncompensated costs in 2024, an increase of 10% from last year.
Unlike other hospitals, CEO Donna Lynne said Denver Health provides care to uninsured patients beyond the emergency room, even housing patients to make sure they can get ongoing treatment.
Since 1996, the City and County of Denver has only provided $30 million in annual funding to Denver Health, despite health care costs and the number of patient visits increasing. Lynne said the Denver Health sales tax ballot initiative will help tremendously.
The Denver Health sales tax ballot initiative would increase the city's sales tax by 0.34%, generating about $70 million every year. If approved by voters in November, it would push Denver's sales tax rate to 9.15%. Analysts at the Common Sense Institute said that would surpass Boulder's sales tax rate and would be the highest sales tax rate among the 10 largest cities on the Front Range.
Denver
Denver Health says unpaid health care costs will soar to $155 million this year
Ballot Issue 2R also asks voters to increases the city's sales tax. It puts forth a measure a 0.5% sales tax increase that would pay for affordable housing in Denver.
Supporters estimate the sales tax increase would generate $100 million per year for affordable housing.
Denver
Denver voters to decide fate of affordable housing sales tax increase in Nov.
City leaders said the money would also help with accessory dwelling units (ADUs) for low/middle-income households, increase investment in mixed-income developments, and preserve existing income-restricted homeownership and rental units.
However, the opposing view is reflected in District 7 Councilmember Flor Alvidrez's comments.
"At a time when the cost of living is soaring and families are already burdened with rising property taxes, new sidewalk fees, new trash fees, this is not the moment to impose another fee," Alvidrez said ahead of Denver City Council's vote on the measure earlier this year.
Politics
Denver voters will decide on fur ban this election season
Citizen-Initiated Ordinance 308 would ban the sale, manufacturing, trade and display of fur products within Denver city limits, which could impact the local retailers who use these fur products to make a living.
Supporters advocate for the ordinance as a means for ridding the city of the "outdated practice of killing animals just to wear their fur," Rocky Mountain House Rabbit Rescue told Denver7.
For businesses who sell fur products such as fly fishing flies and custom cowboy hats, this ballot measure would greatly affect their inventory. Coleen Orr, the owner of Cowboy Up Hatters, uses beaver and rabbit fur to create custom hats for clients and explained the fur is a byproduct from Europe that she is able to utilize.
"Felt hats are matted hair fur and that's what they've been made out of for thousands of years, a lower quality felt hat would be wool but it does not stand up nowhere near as well, like one good rainstorm in a wool hat is done," Orr said.
Politics
November ballot measure threatens to shut down Denver's only slaughterhouse
Citizen-Initiated Ordinance 309 will decide the fate of Denver's only slaughterhouse and one of the nation's largest lamb processing facilities in November.
The ballot measure threatens to close the meat processing plant in 2026, putting more than 160 employees out of work, and ban all future meat processing plants in Denver. This could cost 80% of economic activity, The Denver Post reports. Just under 700 jobs would be lost across Colorado and a little more than $215 million of economic activity.
Supports say the initiative is necessary step to reduce Denver's participation in the slaughterhouse industry, mistreating animals and causing detrimental impacts on the environment and climate change, according to reporting from The Denver Post.
Dates you might want to put in the calendar
We mentioned these dates at the top of this guide, but it doesn't hurt to mention them again because they are very important, so here we go:
- Friday, Oct. 11: The first day mail ballots are sent out to registered Colorado voters.
- Monday, Oct. 21: The first day county drop boxes must be open to accept mail ballots. Drop boxes will stay open through 7 p.m. on Election Day.
- Monday, Oct. 28: The last day to register to vote to be able to receive a ballot by mail. Anyone not registered to vote by this date will have to vote in-person.
- Tuesday, Nov. 5 - Election Day: Not registered to vote yet? You can still register to vote in-person at the closest polling center in your county if you're in line before 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, Nov. 13: Last day to fix any issue with your ballot before it can be counted (for example, you forgot to sign it or election officials need to confirm your signature).
Helpful tabs you may want to bookmark
Here is the finalized ballot from the Colorado Secretary of State's Office.
Here is the certified list of candidates from the Colorado secretary of state for the 2024 November election.
Here is the official election calendar from Colorado's Secretary of State.