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Colorado elections, 2013
Colorado election information for 2013 is listed below. Below are the dates of note:
- Signature filing deadline: August 5, 2013 (ballot measures)
- Statewide ballot measures elections: November 5, 2013
| On the 2013 ballot | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Exceptions included special elections. Find current election news and links here. | ||||
| U.S. Senate | ||||
| U.S. House | ||||
| State Executives | ||||
| State Senate | ||||
| State House | ||||
| Ballot measures | ||||
| Click here for all November 5, 2013 Election Results | ||||
2013 elections
Special elections
Several local ballot measures, two statewide ballot measures and two recall efforts were put to vote in Colorado in 2013.
Elections by type
Statewide ballot measures
Statewide ballot measures in Colorado
- See also: Colorado 2013 ballot measures
Two statewide ballot measures were on the November 5, 2013 statewide ballot in Colorado.
Colorado's state legislative session began January 9, 2013, and concluded May 8, 2013. The signature deadline for initiatives was August 5, 2013. Supporters of Amendment 66 submitted 160,000 signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State on August 5 to qualify their measure for the ballot.[1] On September 4, the Colorado Secretary of State declared that 89,820 signatures out of the 160,000 submitted were valid. The required threshold of valid signatures was 86,105, meaning Amendment 66 squeezed by with only a little over 3,000 valid signatures to spare.[2]
Colorado Amendment 66 was one of only three initiated constitutional amendments on the November 5, 2013 election across the nation. The measure's support campaign, with its war chest of $10,427,029, received the most monetary donations of any other support campaign on the 2013 ballots. Colorado Amendment 66 also featured a very large discrepancy between support and opposition campaign donations. The "No on 66" campaign received only $36,043. This was only 0.3% of what had been donated to the campaign in favor of Amendment 66.
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRSS | Proposition AA | Taxes/Marijuana | Impose a 15% excise tax and a 10% sales tax on all marijuana sales in the state | |
| CICA | Amendment 66 | Taxes | Raise additional taxes for funding public schools, and implement the new School Finance Act (SB 213) |
- Related: 2013 ballot measures
Local ballot measures
Local ballot measures in Colorado
- See also: Colorado 2013 ballot measures and Local ballot measures, Colorado
- There were five articles about local measures proposing a moratorium or permanent ban on fracking in cities across Colorado. Four of these measures were on the ballot on November 5 and one, a City of Loveland Two Year Fracking Suspension Initiative, was awaiting a court case decision and was put on a later special election ballot.
- There were also sales tax increases for recreational marijuana on the ballot in the cities of Denver and Boulder, which was on the ballot in concert with the proposed state-wide measure seeking a excise and sales tax on all recreational marijuana, Proposition AA.
- In eleven counties, voters voted on a resolution requiring their respective county commissions "to Pursue the Creation of a 51st State" in concert with the other counties seeking to succeed. The counties in which this question was before voters on November 5 were:
- On April 2, 2013, five local ballot measures were put to vote. Three ballot measures were approved and two were defeated.
- 2 measures concerned the sale or zoning of city property.
- 1 measure was a charter amendment seeking to increase the City Council salary.
- 1 measure concerned the allocation of sales taxes.
- The remaining measure requested tabor override authority to retain excess tax revenue.
- Notable measure:
- Colorado Springs City of El Paso County featured a charter amendment to increase the City Council Salary from a little over $6,000 per year to $48,000 per year in an attempt to make it possible for young people and low-income people to run for City Council positions.
For more information about local ballot measures in Colorado, please click here.
Recall
Recall in Colorado
- See also: Political recall efforts
As of September 2013, six recall efforts to oust state legislators have been attempted. Two recall campaigns, both from Colorado, obtained enough signatures prior to their deadlines to initiate an election. Recall elections for Senators Angela Giron and John Morse were held on September 10, 2013. Both legislators were targeted for recall after passing gun control legislation through means that circumvented any possible voter referendum.[3][4][5]
Angela Giron Recall
Angela Giron was recalled from her position as Senator for District 3 on September 10. George Rivera (R) was selected to succeed her.[6]
| Shall Angelo Giron be recalled from the office of State Senate, District 3? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 19,355 | 56.01% | ||
| Retain | 15,201 | 43.99% | ||
| Candidates nominated to succeed Angela Giron should she be recalled: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| George Rivera (R) | 19,301 | 88.16% | ||
| 2,592 | 11.84% | |||
John Morse Recall
John Morse was recalled from his position as President of the Colorado State Senate and Senator for District 11 on September 10. Bernie Herpin (R) was selected to succeed him.[7]
| Shall John Morse be recalled from the office of State Senate, District 11? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 9,094 | 50.96% | ||
| Retain | 8,751 | 49.04% | ||
| Candidates nominated to succeed John Morse should he be recalled: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Bernie Herpin (R) | 8,895 | 83.2% | ||
| 1,796 | 16.8% | |||
Voting in Colorado
- See also: Voting in Colorado
Important voting information
- Colorado uses an open primary system, meaning voters are not required to declare a party preference when registering to vote.
- The deadline for registration in Colorado is 29 days prior to election day.
- Colorado has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Voting absentee
- See also: Absentee voting by state
For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in Colorado, please visit our absentee voting by state page.
Voting early
- See also: Early voting
Colorado is one of 34 states that permits early voting with no specific restrictions as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 10 days before a primary election and 15 days before a general election. Early voting ends on the day prior to Election Day.[8]
Elections Performance Index
Colorado ranked 3rd out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Colorado received an overall score of 75 percent.[9]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Associated Press, "Colorado school tax supporters turn in petitions to put measure on ballot as campaign begins," August 5, 2013
- ↑ Associated Press, "Tax proposal for Colorado schools makes ballot," September 4, 2013
- ↑ thedenverchannel.com, "Recall efforts underway for lawmakers supporting gun control legislation," May 12, 2013
- ↑ blogs.denverpost.com, "In Sen. Angela Giron recall, organizers say they’ll submit more than 13,500 signatures," June 10, 2013
- ↑ thisiscommonsense.com, "A Voter Revolt," June 11, 2013
- ↑ county.pueblo.org, "2013 Recall Election Results - Unofficial Results," accessed September 10, 2013
- ↑ elpasoelections.com, "Election Summary Report - 2013 El Paso County Recall Election - Unofficial Results," accessed September 10, 2013
- ↑ Long Distance Voter, "Early Voting Rules: Colorado," accessed December 18, 2013
- ↑ Pew Charitable Trusts, "Election Performance Index Report," accessed April 23, 2014
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