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District court denies Libertarian Party’s plea for a hand-count of ballots in Colorado following password leak
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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...
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Colorado’s wolf reintroduction has cost taxpayers double what they expected when they voted to approve it
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Outdoor Life, State

Colorado’s wolf reintroduction has cost taxpayers double what they expected when they voted to approve it

By Dac Collins | Outdoor Life Bringing wolves back to Colorado has cost the state at least $4.8 million so far, according to a new financial analysis by The Denver Post. This is within the total amount appropriated by lawmakers, the Post reports. But it’s more than double the estimate that was given to Colorado voters during the 2020 election, when voters narrowly passed a ballot measure initiating wolf reintroduction by a margin of less than 1 percent. The Post’s analysis is based on a spending spreadsheet from Colorado Parks and Wildlife that was obtained through a public records request. The document breaks down all the expenses associated with CPW’s wolf reintroduction program, including the high cost of transporting and surveilling gray wolves. READ THE FULL STORY A...
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Colorado state government spending increases outpaced inflation, report says
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The Center Square, 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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