Vote on or Before November 5th!

Ballots for the election this November will be mailed out to voters starting on October 11^th.  Ballots must be returned to the Larimer County Clerk by 7:00 p.m. on November 5^th.  Be sure to return your ballot by or before that time.  Getting a postmark on your ballot envelope by November 5^th doesn’t count! For more details on election mechanics in Larimer County, visit this webpage.

The Northern Colorado Alliance for a Livable Future (NCALF) has reviewed all State and local ballot measures, and offers the following recommendations on twelve of them:

Statewide Measures

• Amendment I – Constitutional Bail Exception for First Degree Murder – No.  A person is innocent until proven guilty.  Judges are still free to impose restrictive bail conditions if the person charged with murder is deemed especially violent and likely to commit an offense before their trial.
• Amendment J – Repealing the Definition of Marriage in the Constitution – Yes.  It’s time to reverse the failure to recognize same-sex marriage that is currently written into the Colorado Constitution.
• Amendment 79 – Constitutional Right to Abortion – Yes.  This shouldn’t be necessary, but the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision puts this basic healthcare right at risk throughout the country.  We need to ensure that no one’s right to obtain abortion services in Colorado as originally described in Roe vs. Wade can be denied.
• Amendment 80 – Constitutional Right to School Choice – No.  Using public funding to pay for private education that is not subject to governance by publicly elected school boards is a form of taxation without representation and is wrong.
• Proposition KK – Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax – Yes.  The widespread availability of firearms in our society has led to levels of gun violence far higher than in other economically well-off countries.  A tax on firearms and ammunition is a small step toward helping mitigate the damage these products cause.
• Proposition 128 – Parole Eligibility for Crimes of Violence – No.  This additional restriction on parole eligibility gives people less incentive for good behavior while in prison and will expand Colorado’s prison population.  Increased prison time has not been shown to reduce crime.
• Proposition 130 – Funding for Law Enforcement – No.  This measure would vastly increase state spending on local law enforcement agencies without creating any new funding for those expenditures.  This would come at a time when adequate funding for healthcare, education, and environmental programs is at risk due to TABOR limits.  State funding to augment spending on local law enforcement should be subject to the legislative process, just like state funding for other governmental services.
• Proposition 131 – Establishing All-Candidate Primary and Ranked Choice Voting General Elections – Yes.  This proposition would make two changes to how elections are conducted in Colorado for most state and federal offices: establish open primaries with the top four vote-getters advancing to the general election, and establish ranked choice voting in the general election.  Fort Collins voters approved ranked choice voting for municipal elections in 2022.  NCALF supported that ballot initiative as a way to increase participation by both candidates and voters in the political process.  The benefits of an open primary are less clear, although we do not see them as likely to prevent candidates from the two major parties from being on the ballot in most cases.  We’re therefore willing to support this measure to increase the use of ranked choice voting in Colorado.

Local Measures

• Larimer County Ballot Issue 4A – Poudre School District R-1 Property Tax Increase – Yes.  Despite its many imperfections, the public education system helps provide young people with the information and skills they need to be better world citizens and be more successful economically than they would be otherwise.  Colorado spends significantly less on public education than the national average.  That needs to change, and approving this ballot issue would be a step in the right direction.
• Larimer County Ballot Issue 5A – Thompson School District R2-J Property Tax Increase – Yes.  Same reason given for supporting Issue 4A.
• Larimer County Ballot Issue 5B – Thompson School District R2-J Property Tax Increase and Bond – Yes.  Same reason for supporting Issue 4A.
• Larimer County Ballot Issue 5C – St. Vrain Valley School District RE-1J Bond – Yes.  Same reason for supporting Issue 4A.

As a non-profit organization, NCALF cannot endorse or oppose candidates for public office.  We can, however, make non-biased information available concerning candidates for public office.  The Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate, which is a project of NCALF, asked all candidates running for the State General Assembly this November to respond to a questionnaire concerning climate, clean air and clean energy.  To see candidate responses to that questionnaire, visit this webpage.

Remember: be sure to vote on or before November 5^th!