Elections and Voting

Scott Gessler pushes new bill that would allow him to remove non-citizen voters from the rolls

This week in print, we take an in-depth look at Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who has faced ongoing accusations of suppressing voters. We published the story the same day that Republican lawmakers at the start of the new legislative session put forth a bill they crafted with Gessler that would ... More >>

New public murals cause the wrong kind of awe

Your vote doesn't matter: Why there are better things to do on election day

Editor's note: Election day is almost here, and if you haven't voted early, you have decisions ahead of you -- including whether to vote at all, according to Westword contributor Josiah Hesse. Disagree? Chris Utterback takes the opposite position in "Your vote matters: Why you should head to the pol ... More >>

Gary Johnson wants to "shout from the rooftops" that Colorado can change the world

Election day is rapidly approaching and it couldn't be clearer in Colorado where residents are bombarded with nonstop ads and weekly traffic jams due to Obama and Romney rallies. But those two aren't the only presidential candidates showing the state some love. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian pick, st ... More >>

Scott Gessler's office shares evidence of voter fraud in Colorado

Secretary of State Scott Gessler has gotten a lot of attention for his effort to weed out illegal voters and frequent clashes with voter rights advocacy groups that complain he is devoting too much time to a wild goose chase. Here, we take you behind the scenes at Gessler's office, where his staff ... More >>

Scott Gessler's office running checks on thousands of more potential non-citizens

In August, Secretary of State Scott Gessler ran the names of 1,416 individuals through a federal database in hopes of weeding out illegal immigrant voters. Months later, a total of fourteens voters have been removed from voting rolls in Colorado. But the story doesn't end there. As it turns out, Ges ... More >>

Presidential debate winner: The University of Denver

No matter how the presidential candidates do in tonight's debate -- whether Mitt Romney continues to do his imitation of Bert on Sesame Street or Barack Obama trips over his teleprompter -- a clear winner has already emerged: The University of Denver.

Scott Gessler v. Denver clerk Debra Johnson in latest lawsuit to target Secretary of State

After responding to some negative headlines surrounding a botched voter registration mailing, Secretary of State Scott Gessler is fielding more criticism this week -- this time from a lawsuit that first reached his office via reporters' inquiries. The suit comes from Denver Clerk and Recorder Debra ... More >>

Scott Gessler registration drive errors cause confusion, more voter suppression claims

This is not quite how Scott Gessler's plan was supposed to go. When Colorado's Secretary of State announced an unprecedented voter registration initiative last month, he told reporters that the effort wasn't a direct response to criticisms of voter suppression, though he said it would hopefully di ... More >>

Thousands of possible non-citizens Scott Gessler targeted are legal voters

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Scott Gessler asked nearly 4,000 registered voters to prove that they are citizens as part of an effort, he said, to prevent fraud. The results are now in and one in eight voters who showed a non-citizen document to the Division of Motor Vehicles remain ineligi ... More >>

Blue State v. Red State: Which Colorado do you live in?

Colorado is a key swing state in the upcoming presidential election, with polls suggesting a toss-up between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. And no wonder, since Colorado is a purple state, with nearly equal numbers of Democrats, Republicans and independents. Still, parts of Colorado are definitely D ... More >>

Ryan Call, GOP chairman, on women's issues and Todd Akin: Democrats are desperate

In this week's feature, "Purple Haze," we outline how the close fight for Colorado's nine electoral votes could determine the next president of the United States. And a key part of that battle, nationally and in Colorado, involves the women's vote. Here's more from our interview with state GOP Cha ... More >>

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney covet Colorado's swingers

Exactly four years after Barack Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in Denver, he returned to Colorado, telling a crowd of students and other fans at Colorado State University that this state's vote is key in his re-election -- and that whoever wins Colorado will win the presidency ... More >>

American Constitution Party faces major headaches as a major Colorado party

The Colorado Republicans held their caucuses last month. The Colorado Democrats have launched a caucus locator to help members find their caucus sites tonight. And the American Constitution Party, the state's third major party? "We're going to do the best job we can," says Doug Campbell. "Let the ch ... More >>

Proposition 8 ruling: Could it make legislatures gun shy about civil unions?

Our post about the 9th Circuit Court declaring Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban, unconstitutional, focused on the Colorado case that spelled doom for the state's anti-gay Amendment 2 circa the '90s. But could this ruling cause problems for measures like the civil unions bill progressing ... More >>

Ryan Call on why Colorado Republican caucuses mean more than ever

Colorado's first caucuses were modestly attended affairs that didn't have a sizable impact on the presidential choices of either major party. But turnout jumped four years ago, especially for the Democratic caucus that boosted Barack Obama. Predictably, Colorado Republican Party chairman Ryan Call i ... More >>

Marijuana legalization: Legalize 2012 objects to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act name

Tvert & Vicente.​The firestorm of invective at the Great Legalization Debate suggested that parties behind competing marijuana-reform measures for the 2012 ballot might not be exactly rooting for each other. More evidence: Legalize2012.com has created a guideline for reporters that objects to ... More >>

Denver mayor's and District 8 races just 36 hours away -- from the end of election round one

​In just over 36 hours, the polls -- or at least the hands collecting mail-in ballots -- will close, and this first, endless round of the municipal election will finally be over. And then it will start all over again, as we move on to round two and the runoff.

Carla Madison is still on ballot, with two dozen eyeing her empty Denver City Council seat

Carla Madison​Denver ballots arrived in mailboxes across town this past weekend -- and those that went to residents of District 8 still include the name of incumbent councilwoman Carla Madison, who was running unopposed when she passed away on April 5, after the ballots for this all mail-in el ... More >>

Dick Wadhams, not running to lead Republicans in CO, is tired of carping, conservative strategies

​Yesterday morning, I was talking to Dick Wadhams, the chair of the Colorado Republican Party, about the upcoming State Central Committee meeting, where he would be going for a third term. Yesterday evening, I was talking with Wadhams about his sudden announcement that he would not run again.

Amendments 60 & 61, Proposition 101: Colorado Progressive Coalition hits road to battle them

​Twentieth century French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre was keen on constructing impenetrable monoliths of text about nothingness. But his notion that the absence of something is just as important to an experience as the presence of something ties directly into this year's Colorado ballot init ... More >>

Dan Maes can't win if Tom Tancredo stays in the race, says CO Republican boss Dick Wadhams

Dan Maes.​On Monday, Scott McInnis spokesman Sean Duffy insisted his guy wasn't a dead fish. But at this writing, he's flopping on the dock, refusing to admit that he doesn't have lungs -- or that he lost last night's primary to Dan Maes. But while Colorado Republican Party boss Dick Wadhams h ... More >>

Kenny Be's Worst-Case Scenario: U.S. Senate candidate celebrity look-alikes

Colorado's political stars will shine as the candidates in the U.S. Senate race take to the stage. Don't be surprised to feel that you've seen it all before... In western wears and folksy airs, the seven Republican candidates (from left to right: Gary Kennedy, Vincent E. Martinez, Steve Barton, Jan ... More >>

Scott McInnis isn't the real tea party candidate, says rival Dan Maes

Dan Maes would like to have his tea and drink it, too.​Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is upset about the effort by GOP heavyweights to make Scott McInnis the de facto party standard bearer months before the primary -- and he says lots of tea party members will express the same sen ... More >>

Scott McInnis unity platform fix is in

Where Scott McInnis leads, all of his former rivals plan to follow.​Last Thursday, Tom Tancredo confirmed in this space that he was part of a group coming up with a unity platform Republican Scott McInnis could use against Bill Ritter in the 2010 gubernatorial campaign -- and that if all went ... More >>

A state called hope

Not exactly a voting crowd in Cole

Waits for early voting: a preview of tomorrow?

Mail-in ballot problems in Adams County

Two Denver Post reporters respond to criticism by "Block the Vote" co-author and Rolling Stone contributor Greg Palast

Early voting is quick and easy -- even though they didn't let me do it

Colorado ballot becomes NPR punchline

John McCain live on KOA this morning

Seminal Election, Centennial Race: The General Election Begins and Ends in Colorado

Game Changers and Tie Breakers:

Superdelegate to Rescue Obama

Able to cast a powerful vote with a single belch, Funny the Superdelegate will save the world.

Johnny Walking

Bob Briggs Is Off the Train

Provisionally Speaking

Election Imperfection

An Election Disaster

Off Limits

When dinosaurs ruled the earth

The Message

The Mayor's Race

Imagine a Great Campaign

It takes more than money to make a mayor. You have to know your way around Colfax, when to cry Republican and how to handle a drag queen.

Brave News World

Feeding the daily dinosaurs.

Off Limits

See Dick Run. Run, Dick, Run!

The looniness of Colorado's long-distance runner.

THE BARTENDER AS CONTENDER

PAUL WEISSMANN MIXES WELL--AND HOPES TO PARLAY THAT SKILL INTO A U.S. SENATE SEAT.

THE ROCKY CLINTON HORROR SHOW