Many decisions have been made in 2020, and many more are to come, including who to vote for in the upcoming election. This voter guide will provide the residents of Longmont with instructions on where to register to vote, how to vote and information on candidates. If you have questions that are not answered here, please email us at [email protected]. We'll be updating throughout the election season.
How to register to vote
Voters can register online with a valid Colorado driver’s license or ID Card. Those without either form of identification or who prefer a paper option can print and fill out the Colorado Voter Registration Form and mail it to Colorado Department of State, Elections Division, 1700 Broadway, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80290 or scan the signed form and email it to the county clerk and recorder:
Boulder County Clerk and Recorder, Molly Fitzpatrick
Weld County Clerk and Recorder, Carly Koppes
When to register to vote
Colorado allows for voters to register until 7 p.m. on Election Day. However if voters would like to receive a ballot in the mail, the deadline to register is Oct. 26. Voters are also encouraged to review and update their information prior to the Oct. 26 deadline to receive a mail ballot.
Who is eligible to register to vote
- You must meet the following requirements to register to vote:
- are a United States citizen
- are 16 years old, but you must be at least 17 to vote in a primary election if you will be 18 on or before the next general election
- are 16 years old, but you must be at least 18 to vote in any other election
- are a Colorado resident for at least 22 days immediately before the election you intend to vote in
- are not currently serving a term of imprisonment for a felony conviction
Those arrested for or convicted of a crime are eligible to register to vote if they: - are on probation for either a misdemeanor or felony
- are a pretrial detainee awaiting trial;
- are currently in jail serving a misdemeanor sentence only; OR
- are no longer serving a term of imprisonment due to a felony conviction.
- Colorado prefers that those registering have a Colorado driver’s license or an ID card issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue. If these nor a social security number can be provided the applicant may be required to provide an alternative acceptable form of identification.
How to cast your ballot
Mail in your ballot
Ballots are scheduled to be mailed out to ALL registered voters by Oct. 9.
Newly registered voters who complete the form at least eight days prior to the election, Oct. 26, will automatically receive a ballot in the mail.
Boulder County Ballot box (Photo by Shona Campton)
Drop off your mailed ballot
Boulder and Weld County voters can drop their ballots in drop boxes. Find the locations here:
Boulder County drop box locations
Weld County drop box locations
Vote in person
In-person voting centers will open throughout Boulder and Weld counties starting Oct. 9. A current and valid ID is required.
Boulder County is offering a “ballot-to-go” option in which voters can have ballots delivered to their cars. Voters with updated registration information can call 720-440-7886 and follow the prompts to choose a time and location to pick up their ballot at a voter center. Officials are recommending that voters then fill out the the ballot in their cars and drop it in the drop box there.
Those who vote in person in Boulder County must wear a mask and practice social distancing.
How to know your ballot is being processed
Weld and Boulder Counties participate in Ballottrax, which allows you to track your ballot once you drop it in the mail or a ballot box. To register or login, click here for Boulder County and here for Weld County.
What’s on your ballot
You can look up your exact ballot here, so you can see ahead of time what choice you’ll have to make.
Other voter resources
League of Women Voters information
Colorado Voter Guide from the Colorado News Collaborative
Key races
Here's a rundown of key races and ballot questions. We'll do further exploration of these races, including Q&As with some candidates, throughout the election season, so check back.
Federal offices
U.S. Senate
Cory Gardner (R, incumbent) Q&A,
John W. Hickenlooper (D) Q&A
Republican incumbant Senator Cory Gardner is seeking reelection to serve a second term against Democratic former Governor John Hickenlooper. This race is one of the most watched across the nation as it may determine whether the Democrats take over the Senate in the 2020 election.
Related articles: Colorado polls: How Cory Gardner and John Hickenlooper are polling in the 2020 U.S. Senate election
Sen. Cory Gardner defends his seat against Democrat John Hickenlooper in Colorado
U.S. House District 4
Ken Buck (R)
Ike McCorkle (D)
Colorado's 4th Congressional District covers most of the eastern part of Colorado and parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas and Weld counties. Ken Buck has held the seat since 2014, when he took over after Cory Gardner did not seek reelection. This seat has been held by a Republican candidate since 1990 with the exception of Betsy Markey (D) in 2008.
State offices
State Senate District 17
Sonya Jaquez Lewis (D)
Matthew D. Menza (R) Q&A
League of Women Voters Boulder County Candidate Forum
Colorado state senators are elected into four-year-terms with a two consecutive term limit. As of September 2020, the Democratic Party held 19 seats and the Republican Party held 16 seats out of the available 35 seats in the Colorado State Senate. District 17 has two new names on the ballot as incumbent Senator Mike Foote has served his two terms.
State House District 11
Mark Milliman (R)
Karen McCormick (D) Q&A
State House District 12
Tracey Bernett (D) Q&A
Eric J. Davila (R) Q&A
League of Women Voters Boulder County Candidate Forum for Districts 11 and 12
The Colorado House of Representatives includes 65 representatives elected from the district in which they live for a two-year term and are allowed to serve up to eight consecutive years. Of those 65 seats, 41 are held by the Democratic Party and 24 are held by the Republican Party. The incumbents in Districts 11 and 12 did not file for re election, leaving the seats open.
County offices
Boulder County Commissioner District 2
Marta Loachamin (D) Q&A
James Crowder (R) Q&A
Boulder County commissioners serve four-year terms. The winner of this race will replace current Commissioner Deb Gardner.
Judicial retention questions
Find more information here.
Ballot questions
Ballot question explanations are directly from Colorado's "2020 State Ballot Information Booklet." You can find the full language for each of the ballot questions there.
Amendment B: Repeal Gallagher Amendment
This question is asking voters whether or not they wish to repeal the Gallagher Amendment from the Colorado State Constitution. The Gallagher Amendment requires “residential and nonresidential property taxes to make up the same portion of total statewide property taxes,” states the 2020 State Ballot Information Booklet. These rates were set in 1982, when the amendment was drafted and set the nonresidential rate at 29%. Assessment rates would remain the same.
Yes: Voting yes repeals the sections of the Colorado Constitution “that set a fixed statewide ratio for residential and nonresidential property tax revenue,” according to the 2020 State Ballot Information Booklet.
No: Voting no would leave things as they are.
Organizations in support:League of Women Voters Colorado
Organizations opposed: Boulder County Republicans
Amendment C: Conduct of Charitable Gaming
Voters are being asked to decide to reduce the number or years a nonprofit organization must operate in Colorado from five to three before applying for a bingo-raffle license and to eliminate the requirement that bingo-raffle workers be members of the organization and to allow people working at such events to be volunteers or to be compensated for their time in either food or payment, not to exceed the minimum wage.
Yes: A “yes” vote on Amendment C means you agree to allow the changes.
No: A “no” vote on Amendment C means nothing will change.
Organizations in support: Boulder County Democrats, Boulder County Republicans
Organizations opposed:
Amendment 76: Citizenship Qualification of Voters
This is asking whether there should be an amendment to the Colorado constitution requiring that to be qualified to vote at any election an individual must be a U.S. citizen.
Yes: A “yes” vote means you want to constitutional language to specify that only U.S. citizens age 18 and older are eligible to participate in Colorado elections.
No: A “no” vote means you want to preserve thge current constitutional language allowing every eligible U.S. citizen to vote in Colorado elections.
Organizations in support: Boulder County Republicans
Organizations opposed: League of Women Voters Colorado
Amendment 77: Local Voter Approval of Casino Bet Limits and Games in Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek
This amendment is asking voters to allow voters in Central City, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek to increase or remove bet limits and to approve new games in each city. It would also allow community colleges to expand how casino tax revenue is used to include student retention and completion programs.
Yes: A “yes” vote means that the voters of Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek will be allowed to increase or remove casino bet limits and approve new casino games to help fund community colleges.
No: A “no” vote means that current casino bet limits and games will remain in the constitution, and a statewide vote will continue to be required to make any changes to these restrictions.
Organizations in support:
Organizations opposed: Boulder County Republicans
Proposition EE: Taxes on Nicotine Products
If approved this proposition would increase taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products while creating a new tax on nicotine products including vaping products. The new taxes collected would expand preschool programs across the state as well as help fund k-12 education, rural schools, affordable housing, eviction assistance, tobacco education and health care.
Yes: A “yes” vote on Proposition EE increases taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products, and creates a new tax on nicotine products, including vaping products. The new tax revenue will be spent on education, housing, tobacco prevention, health care, and preschool.
No: A “no” vote on Proposition EE means taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products will stay the same, and there will be no new taxes on nicotine or vaping products.
Organizations in support: League of Women Voters Colorado
Organizations opposed: Boulder County Republicans
Proposition 113: Adopt Agreement to Elect U.S. President by National Popular Vote
This proposition would enter Colorado into an agreement with other states that have agreed to elect the U.S. president according to the popular vote, but only once enough states have agreed to do the same.
Yes: A “yes” vote on Proposition 113 approves a bill passed by the legislature and signed by the governor joining Colorado with other states as part of an agreement to elect the president by national popular vote if enough states enter the agreement.
No: A “no” vote on Proposition 113 rejects a bill passed by the legislature and signed by the governor and retains Colorado’s current system of awarding all of its electors for the president to the winner of the Colorado popular vote.
Organizations in support: League of Women Voters Colorado
Organizations opposed: Boulder County Republicans
Proposition 114: Reintroduction and Management of Gray Wolves
This proposition would amend the Colorado statues to require the state to reintroduce and manage gray wolves in Colorado by Dec. 31, 2023. It would also make an allowance to pay fair compensation for livestock losses caused by gray wolves.
Yes: A “yes” vote on Proposition 114 means that the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission will develop a plan to reintroduce and manage gray wolves west of the Continental Divide.
No: A “no” vote on Proposition 114 means that Colorado will not be required to reintroduce gray wolves.
Organizations in support:
Organizations opposed: Boulder County Republicans
Proposition 115: Prohibit Abortions after 22 Weeks
Proposition 115 would amend the Colorado statues to prohibit abortions afer 22 weeks gestational age of the fetus except when required to save the life of the pregnant woman. It would also create a criminal penalty for the person who performed the abortion and require the state to suspend the medical license of any physician who violates the measure for three years.
Yes: A “yes” vote on Proposition 115 prohibits abortions in Colorado after 22 weeks gestational age, except when an abortion is immediately required to save the life of a pregnant woman.
No: A “no” vote on Proposition 115 means that abortion in Colorado continues to be legal at any time during a pregnancy.
Organizations in support: Boulder County Republicans
Organizations opposed: League of Women Voters Colorado, Boulder County Democrats
Proposition 116: State Income Tax Rate Reduction
This proposition asks should there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes reducing the state income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.55%
Yes: A “yes” vote on Proposition 116 reduces the state income tax rate to 4.55 percent for tax year 2020 and future years.
No: A “no” vote on Proposition 116 keeps the state income tax rate unchanged at 4.63 percent.
Organizations in support: Boulder County Republicans
Organizations opposed: League of Women Voters Colorado, Boulder County Democrats
Proposition 117: Voter Approval for Certain New State Enterprises
Enterprises are self-funded government-owned businesses that charge fees for services provided. Currently these businesses are excluded from the rules under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). Proposition 117 would require voters to approve new enterprises that expect to have a revenue of over $100 million over five years.
Yes: A “yes” vote on Proposition 117 requires voter approval for new state government enterprises with fee revenue over $100 million in the first five years.
No: A “no” vote on Proposition 117 retains the state legislature’s authority to create new enterprises as under current law.
Organizations in support: Boulder County Republicans
Organizations opposed: League of Women Voters Colorado, Boulder County Democrats
Proposition 118: Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program
Proposition 118 proposes amending the Colorado statutes to:
-
create a paid family and medical leave insurance program for Colorado employees administered by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment;
-
require employers and employees in Colorado to pay a payroll premium
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to finance paid family and medical leave insurance benefits beginning Jan. 1, 2023;
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allow eligible employees up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave insurance benefits annually beginning Jan. 1, 2024; and
-
create job protections for employees who take paid family and medical leave.
Yes: A “yes” vote on Proposition 118 means the state will create an insurance program to provide paid family and medical leave benefits to eligible employees in Colorado funded by premiums paid by employers and employees.
No: A “no” vote on Proposition 118 means the state will not create a paid family and medical leave insurance program.
Organizations in support: Boulder County Democrats, League of Women Voters Colorado
Organizations opposed: Boulder Country Republicans
St. Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy District Ballot Issue 7A
Ballot issue 7A proposes a district tax increase that equates roughly to $9 per $100,000 home each year for ten years starting in 2021. The increase would end, or sunset, in 10 years. The promoters of the question say the tax revenue would be spent to protect water quality, maintain healthy rivers and creeks, safeguard and conserve drinking water supplies, protect forests and reduce wildfires.
Yes: A ‘yes’ vote would mean that you approve the St. Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy district to raise taxes to 1.25 mills bring in $3.3 million dollars more to the district annually for ten years.
No: A ‘no’ vote would mean that no new taxes would be approved, leaving St. Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy at its current mill levy (0.156 mills) bringing in its current $416,000 annually.
Organizations in support:
Organizations opposed: Boulder County Republicans
City of Longmont Ballot Question 3D: Charter Amendment to Allow for 30 Year Leases
This questions asks if the City Of Longmont Home Rule Charter should be amended by revising Section 12.4 of the Charter to allow for leases of city property for up to 30 years.
The current city of Longmont Charter states that organizations leasing city owned property can sign a lease agreement for 20 years. This question is asking voters whether or not they would approve changing the city charter to extend the lease agreement to 30 years.
Yes: A yes vote would allow the city of Longmont to update its charter to extend leases to a 30 year agreement.
No: A no vote would keep the charter as is and organizations would only be allowed to sign leases for 20 years.
Organizations in support: Our Best Longmont, Longmont Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters Boulder County, Longmont Economic Development Partnership, Longmont Performing Arts Initiative, Longmont City Council, Longmont Chorale, Centennial State Ballet, Joseph Zanovitch, executive director of HOPE, Elliot Moore, conductor of Longmont Symphony Orchestra
Organizations opposed: Boulder County Republicans
City of Longmont Ballot Question 3C: Revenue Bonds for Funding Water System Improvements
The Revenue Bonds for the upgrades to the water treatment plant was approved by Longmont City Council when they increased utility rates in late 2019. However, since the city of Longmont charter mandates that any time debt is issued by the city of Longmont that it goes to voters for approval. Question 3C is asking Longmont voters whether the city is authorized to issue debt to pay for the upgrades.
The bond amount was included in the rate increase on utilities so no new taxes would be issued. Regardless of the approval of 3C, utility rates will remain on the increased scale approved by Longmont City Council in late 2019.
Yes: A yes vote means that the city of Longmont will use the increases in utility bills to issue bonds for the upgrades to the water system and improvements will begin sooner than later.
No: A no vote means that utility bill increases will remain, however, the city of Longmont will not be able to issue bonds for the water system upgrades and will have to find alternative ways to use the funds to upgrade the water system over time.
Organizations in support: Boulder County Democrats, League of Women Voters Boulder County
Organizations opposed: Boulder County Republicans
If you have questions that are not answered here, please email us at [email protected].
Voter submitted questions
Q: I'm a registered voter and residing in the city of Longmont seasonally. I'm leaving out of country, tomorrow. Can I pickup a ballot today and mail it in after?
A: Yes, voters in Boulder County can stop by the Elections Division office, 1750 33rd Street, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and pick up a mail-in ballot. Ballots can be mailed in later or returned upon pickup. The other option is for voters to update their registration as an overseas voter.
