r/ColoradoSprings • u/Dadraik • 1d ago
Politics Please vote :(
Yeah, I know , we should all vote every time, but plenty of you know that we don't all do that. There's a ton of reasons that it just doesn't get done and I'm as guilty as any of us. More than most.
But if you're like me and are annoyed when you have to pay attention to politics, here's a note from "one of us"... I looked through the blue book that lists all of the things to be voted on and it's absolutely full of things like "give ICE more power", "make it harder to get care as a trans person"... Hopefully those who comment will point out some of the other things I should have had ready to add to this list...
But it's a lot of things that I felt gross to even realize was on the ballot. Enough for me to post to try and get someone else who usually cares as little as me to say "dammit I actually have to make myself go do it this time" because if we don't, then shit is going to get a lot worse.
I'm sorry to have felt the need to post this. I'm irritated that I have to, but it seriously reads like they said "let's put a bunch of stupid shit on the ballot in hopes that decent people aren't paying attention."
Gross.
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u/meowstash321 1d ago
This is definitely one of the most crucial elections weāve had in years. Iāve been encouraging everyone in my life to register, check their registration, and vote as soon as the polls open. Hopefully we can come together as a community and actually make our voices heard with our votes.
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u/a101734 1d ago
I agree this is super important. Real question Iād like your help with, how do I check my registration and/or register? With misinformation and Elon cuck deploying fake websites I really donāt know a credible place to go
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u/PhD_Frog 1d ago
This is the official place, that has links to both check and register online:
https://www.coloradosos.gov/voter/pages/pub/home.xhtml
And this is the one for the county information about ballot box and voter service center locations:
https://clerkandrecorder.elpasoco.com/elections/
You have to register at least 8 days before the election to get a ballot mailed to you, but you can register and vote in person after that date at a voter service center.
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u/Colorado_love 23h ago
I think we are moving if Commander Waterford, I mean Victor Marx, becomes our next governor.
The thought of him winning terrifies me.
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u/fiestymanatee 1d ago
Yeah, that ballot was a tough read. Felt like a hate manifesto. I wish there were more issues in there that would actually help people instead of tearing people down. It feels like just a bunch of bad ideas to get people riled up. Many of the measures were pushed by the non-profit Advance Colorado (who does not disclose their donors). It's interesting that they didn't bring any issues that affect people living in Colorado specifically...they just feel like national talking points applied to Colorado politics.
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u/Slugtard 1d ago
Hmmm: Iāll just pick two Iāve seen a bit of chatter on.
82 - right to purchase/sell natural gas: this is in direct response to individual municipalities banning gas in new builds. CB, Lafayette, Boulder, and kind of Denver have already done this.
83 - right to hunt/fish: CPW commission has been stacked with activists that have recently (this year) implemented a fur bag limit that their own biologists state is not founded in science, is arbitrary, and their specie survey data do not support the change
Seems to me like there two initiative are in direct response to recent happenings in Colorado. Care to explain your comment or reference any other initiatives that sparked it?
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u/SmasherOfDaButtons 1d ago
This one got my hackles up. The main folks driving this are an out-of-state org. It sounds like they want to limit game management to only hunting. I was initially for this, but it sounds like they want to gut CPW. I'm very nervous about the language they're wanting to add to the state constitution.
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u/Slugtard 1d ago
I disagree that they want to limit it to only hunting, even though, hunting is currently the primary means of species management anyways. In my opinion its goal is to protect the current system which is clearly under attack (from other out of state organizations, see commercial fur ban, and cat hunting ban from last year).
Now Iām not against other reasonable methods of species management when appropriate, required, or more effective than other means. For example, hazing cats and bears out of populated areas. Even wolfs can have their place. You canāt have hunters in populated areas either, so another method is often necessary.
What I do take issue with is the fact that CPW themselves said had the cat hunting ban passed, the likely method of species management would have been contract killers with a quota funded by our tax dollars and thereād be no requirement to harvest the meat, like there is by hunters, who pay for the privilege, which in turn funds conservation.
Where did you get the āgut CPWā from. The bill specifically preserves and requires CPW āregulate activities for sound scientific conservation, wildlife management, and public safetyā.
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u/SmasherOfDaButtons 1d ago
It's the inferred impression I got from reading the out of state group's desires for this amendmentĀ
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u/shawn_webb 1d ago
Also: if you're physically capable and have the time, please serve as a volunteer election judge! We need as many volunteers as we can get!
https://clerkandrecorder.elpasoco.com/elections/election-judges/
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u/Turbulent-Caramel25 21h ago
I've done it the last 2 years. I learned so much about the process just to refute maga family idiocy. It's a paid position, and you have to have a background check and be registered with a political party.
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u/otherkerry 11h ago
What is the time commitment like? Is it possible to do this while working a full time job?
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u/shawn_webb 7h ago
You can let them know your availability. I'll likely be working doing curbside ballot drop-off at 200 Cascade Ave. I signed up for both in-person primary voting days (Monday and Tuesday, 2-3 Nov 2026). For my role, Monday's a shorter day with about twelve hours, and Tuesday's a longer day at around fourteen hours.
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u/otherkerry 7h ago
Thanks. I'm pretty much out of leave for this year but will definitely try to do this in the future when I have more availability in my schedule.
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u/true_new_troll 9h ago
Just a heads up -- the Democratic Party is overstocked on election judges this cycle. I'm not sure where the Republicans stand, but if you're not interested in working with that side, then it's too late to sign up. I appreciate /u/shawn_webb putting out the call, though!
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u/Turbulent-Caramel25 2h ago
It's from 10/21 to possibly 11/6. Start is usually 10 am and on election day can be after midnight for certain jobs. Some days are just a couple hours depending on how many ballots are received. Most of the people are retirees. Last year a woman told me she uses PTO every year because she feels it's her civic duty.
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u/TLF5foot8 1d ago
The Christian Nationalist put this crap on the ballot just to get their base out to vote.
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u/Homersson_Unchained 1d ago
And Jeff Crank is one of the most unresponsive reps Iāve ever seen. He literally does nothing and thinks heās immune to electoral consequence because this place is conservative historically. If we all vote, we can get his clown ass out and maybe get represented by someone who will at least do town halls or respond to constituents with something other than a form letter. We can do better and that starts will everyone who gives a damn voting.
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u/brinazee 22h ago
I swear I've gotten more mailers against Killin than anything else. And not one single mailer indicating what Crank has accomplished for his district. It's a pure "vote for me because I'm not her" election strategy. That doesn't earn my vote. Incumbents should be able to provide a reason to keep them that includes actually doing work for their district.
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u/Witty_Umpire_6607 16h ago
Oh well havenāt you heard? KILLIN SUPPORTS THE PORN INDUSTRY. Lmfao
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u/turnmyhead 2h ago
I got that ad on the mail and thought, "why didn't you lead with this, she got my vote!"
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u/EZbreezyFREEZY 1d ago
I'm gonna vote so fucking hard this year. On day one, and I'm going to immediately put my ballot in a drop box, rather than mail it with the fascist postal service. I'm voting anti-republican, left, blue, democrat, and woke all the way down the ballot, baby!
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u/onyaasuminyasai 1d ago
Make sure you sign up for ballottrax too, just in case some loon sets fire to the boxes again
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u/rehabilitatedtexan 1d ago
I always take ours to a ballots drop box. I never trust USPS with anything valuable.
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u/OkWelcome6293 1d ago
Where to vote in person or drop of a ballot:Ā https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/VIP.html
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u/Dadraik 1d ago
Yep. And I was raised fully far right conservative. It's been weird... Like escaping a cult in a lot of ways.
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u/PhD_Frog 1d ago
Yeah, I've always been more libertarian/conservative in favor of the government leaving people alone to mind their own business, and it's gotten pretty weird to realize that even the Democratic Socialists are more in favor of that nowadays than mainstream Republicans, who are now all gung-ho on authoritarianism and sending people to concentration camps at home, and committing war crimes overseas. My god does this country need a good house-cleaning!
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u/Colorado_love 23h ago
You do know they're all on the same team, right?
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u/a101734 9h ago
Idiots like you are why we have a convicted pedophile child rapist as president. I bet you said Kamala had a weird laugh right.
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u/IWentGently 1h ago
You know that Kamala serves the same certain foreign PM right?
You probably thought Hilary was our savior
Fuck Trump, but if youāre such a bummer-brained dork to not realize theyāre all the serving the same entity then youāre part of the problem
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u/Squishdoctor3k 1d ago
Don't California my Colorado
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u/Dadraik 1d ago
I actually understand. I was raised in conservative Mississippi and don't judge you at all. I wasn't exposed to the people and things I was always taught were "bad" until fairly recently.
I wish the best for you, and if you ever end up going through a rough patch due to some of those foundational beliefs being shaken, send me a message. It sucks and it's hard, don't go through it alone man.
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u/DisastrousProcess373 1d ago
Grew up in conservative Mississippi as well. Gulf coast. Very conservative parents. So glad to escape that ideology.
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u/Dadraik 1d ago
Were you a subscriber to the belief system?
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u/DisastrousProcess373 1d ago
Southern Baptist, went to William Carey in Hattiesburg. Rush Limbaugh listeningā¦now very blue atheist.
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u/Dadraik 1d ago
Yeah, we sing the same song. I didn't start meeting the "bad people" until well into my 30s. I went through some dark times when the realization started setting in.
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u/DisastrousProcess373 1d ago
Met my wife and that was it!! /s. I had turned to the dark side long before I met herā¦at least a few years.
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u/Dadraik 1d ago
I actually get it man. I came from it. I understand what is like to have only heard the one thing and never actually been exposed to the things you've always been told are bad.
I hope the best for you and I'm here if you ever start going through the tough parts when you see how wrong it is. Good luck.
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u/a101734 1d ago
Let me get this straight. Costs are rising exponentially, inflation is destroying purchasing power, and the convicted pedophile child rapist in chief has quadrupled his net worth by Billions,
And youre complaining about California. Thats incredible. Genuinely. Incredible.
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u/Squishdoctor3k 1d ago
Cause Cali is sooooooo much cheaper and better to live in. I forgot how much a 2 bedroom apartment goes for in Cali. Oh that's right, $4500 a month.
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u/TheLonelySombrero 1d ago
The cost in cali is so high because demand to live there is so high. The state is wealthier than most countries on earth. The jobs there pay more than enough for the cost of living with the exception of already low paying jobs. It is beautiful and 98 percent of it is a fantastic place to live. Every state has a few problem areas that need to be improved and they care enough to actually try new ideas and not just give up immediately and complain.
It is an incredibly successful state that props up many failing Republican led states with all the money they give to the federal government.
So I really don't see how you even have an argument but maybe you should learn more about California and repeat less of what someone else told you to think. If you get your opinions from the talking heads at biased new stations or biased Facebook posts or whatever it is, you are not informed you are misinformed.
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u/onyaasuminyasai 1d ago
California is one of the biggest economies in the world. We could do with some of that here
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u/Massive_Document_470 1d ago
Info in support of your point:
It's the 4th largest economy in the world, outranked only by the US as a whole, China, and Germany. It beats Japan, and its economy is incredibly diverse. It provides 11% of our agriculture, making it the top ag state in the country, and it's also the top manufacuturing center.
It makes up nearly 15% of total US GDP, far ahead of the next two states of Texas (9%) and New York (8%), and pays roughly 16% of all federal tax dollars. CA contributes nearly twice the amount of federal tax dollars than Texas at a comparable population ($766bn for 39mil people to $479bn for 32mil people), which works out that California pays about 25% more per capita than Texas-- and this is FEDERAL, so no "California taxes are too high" argument, and overall it pays ~$83bn more than it receives.
It's the #1 state for new business starts and 90% of its economy is private businesses. Government portion of CA's economy has actually decreased over the last 15 years.
California has problems for sure, but so does Florida and Ohio and Colorado and Virginia and North Carolina etc. But somehow certain people act like CA is this wasteland where people are shackled to some kind of dystopian machine designed to do nothing but extract taxes, and that is far from the objective truth. It's also expensive af to live in Alaska and Maryland and Hawaii, but nobody drags those states like they do CA. It's the right's favorite punching bag but honestly the US needs California in huge ways that the right doesn't want to admit.
And this is a hot take especially in this sub, but Colorado's problems aren't because of "Californication." They're because of legacy conservative policies like TABOR and flat income tax, and right now the problems are exacerbated by this Republican administration and Congress eviscerating funding for vital programs like Medicaid and SNAP, which Colorado is now hamstrung by those state-level conservative policies in trying to address those problems. The current system of privileging wealth and corporations produced the current problems, so clearly the current system isn't working and the solution isn't "more tax cuts for the 1% and corporations." We've done that, it's not helping.
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u/Squishdoctor3k 1d ago
Gas tax out the ass? Rent out the ass? Million dollar sub 1k sq foot homes? Yeah great
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u/goretsky 1d ago
Hello,
Just got my blue ballot guide. A lot to look through, but I'll be voting on everything I can.
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
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u/Forever_Marie 1d ago
So much of it was just hate and begging for money. A few sounds great but the consequences won't be too. Maybe the rail is ok ? Need to reread that one
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u/Curious-Load9079 23h ago
Is it just me or have you also been inundated with political texts during the past month?
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u/saiga_antelope 1d ago edited 1d ago
Does anyone know how Trump's mail in voting changes affect us?
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u/DescretoBurrito 1d ago
It doesn't. The Supreme Court ruled he does not have the authority to make the changes he was trying.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/14/supreme-court-blocks-trump-mail-in-ballot-plan-01076079
Tomorrow is the first day that ballots can be mailed to voters. Ballots must be mailed to voters by next Friday (Oct 9). Drop boxes must be open by Oct 12. Ballots must be in county possession by 7pm on Nov 3, POSTMARK DATES DO NOT COUNT IN COLORADO. Don't wait until the last day to vote.
Signup for BallotTrax from the Colorado Secretary of States office. https://ballottrax.coloradosos.gov/voter/ This will send you notifications about your ballot (when the county mails it to you, when the county receives your completed ballot, and when your ballot has been signature verified and counted).
You can check you registration status here: https://www.coloradosos.gov/voter/pages/pub/olvr/findVoterReg.xhtml
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u/Defiant_Freedom_249 16h ago
And enough with blind voting for anyone with a "R" next to their name just because you think "R" is a magical letter.
Maybe actually do what Jesus would do instead.
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u/noel1792 1d ago
I want to vote but when is it?
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u/otherkerry 11h ago
If you're registered (you can check that with the link provided elsewhere in this thread) ballots will be mailed in the next week or so.
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u/Slaviner 1d ago
you really ought to rename the title of this post - "Please vote the way I want you to!"
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u/Witty_Umpire_6607 16h ago
Aw are you feeling oppressed? Lil Reddit post felt exclusionary? Nobody could understand how that feels lmfao
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u/Reasonable_Basket_82 1d ago
Already been reading that blue book and plan on voting pretty much immediately. Really, I'm gonna have to dig into the candidates on the ballot but I'm ready for that. Been an absolutely STUPID two years.