Denver November 2004 Election
Over a half million Coloradans have already voted early or turned in absentee ballots, according to the Rocky Mountain News [October 28, 2004, "503,246 ballots already collected"].
Voters between 18 and 24 have registered in great numbers across the nation this year. The question now is will they show up to vote according to the Denver Post [October 28, 2004, "Young voters a wild card"]? From the article, "Almost twice as many Coloradans 18 to 24 registered to vote in 2004 than in 2000, according to state records. The 115,000 new young voters this year are mostly without party identity: Those unaffiliated outnumber Republicans or Democrats by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio...The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) shows youth-vote turnout in Colorado has declined by 27 percent since it peaked in 1972 when 18-year-olds were granted the right to vote. Nationwide, it has declined only 13 percent. Presidential elections bring out more voters but not necessarily young voters. CIRCLE reports 68 percent of Colorado citizens 25 and over voted in 2000. Only 36 percent of the 18- to 24- year-olds in Colorado made it to the polls that year. But this year, it may be different. A new national survey found that 83 percent of new voters definitely plan to vote next week. The nonpartisan survey by Pace University and Rock the Vote questioned voters who registered after the 2000 presidential election, many of whom are young voters."
Govenor Owens is still against Referendum 4A (FasTracks) according to the Denver Post [October 28, 2004, "Owens urges voters to nix FasTracks"]. From the article, "The governor said the Interstate 70 and West Sixth Avenue corridors in metro Denver might be candidates for a combination of road improvements and rail. Critics of Owens' alternative say voters throughout the area will never support a tax increase to pay for improvements in only a few transportation corridors. FasTracks, in comparison, promises to deliver new rail lines, or rail extensions, in every direction from downtown Denver, including Golden and Lakewood, Arvada and Wheat Ridge, Boulder and Longmont, north Adams County, Aurora, Denver International Airport, Lone Tree and Highlands Ranch. Owens said a pro-FasTracks vote would raise Denver's sales tax to 8.2 percent. In fact, the city's sales tax would rise to 7.6 percent with passage of the transit tax increase."
For those of you that would prefer pictures with your reading Westword explains FasTracks as a Worst Case Scenario.
Westword has the lowdown on endorsements.
6:46:34 AM 
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