Election Commission Under Fire
Don't forget to vote Tuesday in Denver. Here's the precinct finder from DenverGov. Here's the link to the Denver Election Commission website. You can also download voting addresses here. It's in Excel format - not very inclusive of the Commission. Coyote Gulch chooses not to beat them up over it.
However, there are many waiting to beat them up, according to the Rocky Mountain News [October 29, 2005, "Commission promises an error-free election"]. From the article, "Hatchett said critics have overmagnified mistakes that occurred as the commission strains to respond to myriad mandates of new federal and state election laws. An on-going reorganization 'is going to alleviate a lot of the bottlenecks and staff overloads that lead to mishaps and mistakes,' she said."
The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff urges voters, again, to vote yes on Referendums C and D today [October 29, 2005, "Yes on the state refs"]. They write, "We support C and D because they're vital to maintaining customary state support for transportation, higher education and some social programs. If you're comfortable with the likelihood of a radical restructuring of state government, then opposing the measures may make sense. But don't vote against C and D in the belief the state is frittering away vast sums of money that can be saved when the measures fail. It's not true." The editorial also includes their other endorsements.
Tuesday's turnout is expected to be around 42%, according to the Rocky Mountain News [October 29, 2005, "Early turnout 'fair' but could reach 50 percent"]. From the article, "In Denver, about 4,500 of the city's 250,000 active voters cast early ballots as of late Friday afternoon, the early-voting deadline. In addition, Denver mailed out 42,394 absentee ballots, and about 27,717 had been returned by Friday, Dillard said. Absentee ballots may be returned through Tuesday. Denver will hold a traditional election with precinct-based polling places on Tuesday. Denver expects a 42 percent turnout overall, keeping in step with previous odd-year elections, officials said."
Coyote Gulch reminds voters that 77% of Iraqi registered voters showed up to vote last weekend under the threat of violence. 
Jason Salzman defends the newspaper coverage of the Referendum battle in his column in today's Rocky [October 29, 2005, "Salzman: Critics of Refs C, D slam newspapers"]. He writes, "I sympathize with activists whose unconventional ideas run counter to the establishment, which has certainly lined up behind Referendums C and D. But if you're going to buck the establishment and have journalists listen, you need to have credible information and workable alternatives in hand. This is what the Andrews/ Bruce/Caldara cabal has lacked, and so many of their accusations of media bias ring hollow. They say that the Denver dailies have missed important angles on the TABOR debate. For example, in a brief interview Wednesday, Caldara said the dailies have not adequately analyzed government savings that could accrue from 'competitive contracting,' which would involve putting government services, such as health care, up for bid. But even Caldara cannot produce data showing how much could be saved with this vague idea. And it's not as if the Denver dailies have been shy about digging into the details of the C and D debate. Media critics complain that daily newspapers in America don't cover complicated civic issues like they used to. Instead, the argument goes, they're going the way of local TV news: thin and fluffy. Well, if this is true, you'd never know it from reading the Denver dailies' (ed. and Coyote Gulch) coverage of C and D."
Bob Ewegen urges voters to say yes to Referendums C and D in his column in today's Denver Post [October 29, 2005, "C&D for balanced transportation"]. He writes, "For months, you've been infused with information and bombarded with bombast about Referendums C and D on Tuesday's ballot. But many voters are still confused about the effect the Colorado Economic Recovery Act twins will have on Colorado's crumbling and congested transportation network. Do you think C is all about colleges and health care while D is all about highways? Wrong. Both measures include money for transportation needs - and both earmark some of that cash for mass transit. Yes, Referendum D would authorize the state to issue $1.2 billion in bonds to build 55 specific transportation projects. But C would also allocate a comparable sum for transportation needs before its five-year timeout from the Byzantine rules of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights expires in 2010."
Category: Denver November 2005 Election
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