Colorado local trial court judicial elections, 2019
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Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in America's 100 largest cities by population. This coverage extends to every office on the ballot for residents of these cities, including local trial court judges. In 2019, Ballotpedia covered the following local elections in this state:
- Aurora, Colorado - Mayor and city council
- Colorado Springs, Colorado - Mayor and city council
- Denver, Colorado - Mayor, city auditor, city clerk, and city council
If the above list includes local trial court judgeships, click the links for more information about the elections. Click here to learn more about how the judges in this state are selected. Ballotpedia did not cover all local trial court judicial elections in this state in 2019. Please consider donating to Ballotpedia to help us expand our coverage of these elections.
Election rules
District courts
- See also: Assisted appointment
There are 164 judges on the Colorado District Courts, each appointed by the governor from a list of names compiled by a nominating commission. Initial terms last at least two years, after which judges must stand for retention in a yes-no election. Subsequent terms last six years.[1]
The court's chief judge is appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court to serve indefinitely.[1]
Qualifications
To serve on the district court, a judge must be:[1]
- a qualified elector in the district;
- licensed to practice law in state for five years; and
- under the age of 72 (retirement by 72 is mandatory).
County courts
Judges of the Colorado County Courts are each appointed by the governor with the help of a commission—except in Denver, Colorado, where judges are appointed by the mayor rather than the governor.[2] Judges are initially appointed to two-year terms and then run in retention elections for four-year terms afterward.[3] To serve on this court, a judge must be a qualified elector and resident of the county and licensed to practice law in the state. Some small counties only require a high school degree or equivalent but require judges to attend an institute to learn about county court duties.
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Four of 64 Colorado counties—6 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Conejos County, Colorado | 3.56% | 9.22% | 12.93% | ||||
| Huerfano County, Colorado | 6.61% | 8.27% | 11.23% | ||||
| Las Animas County, Colorado | 15.60% | 2.65% | 7.04% | ||||
| Pueblo County, Colorado | 0.50% | 13.99% | 14.97% | ||||
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Colorado with 48.2 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 43.3 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Colorado voted Republican 63.3 percent of the time and Democratic 36.7 percent of the time. Colorado voted Republican in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, but voted Democratic in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 elections.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Colorado. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[4][5]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 37 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 27.3 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 40 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 24.8 points. Clinton won four districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 28 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 21.2 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 25 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 25.8 points. Trump won one district controlled by a Democrat heading into the 2018 elections. |
| 2016 presidential results by state House district | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | Party Control |
| 1 | 63.79% | 34.04% | D+29.8 | 59.82% | 32.28% | D+27.5 | D |
| 2 | 72.48% | 24.78% | D+47.7 | 75.22% | 16.32% | D+58.9 | D |
| 3 | 52.36% | 45.33% | D+7 | 53.90% | 37.16% | D+16.7 | D |
| 4 | 79.17% | 18.39% | D+60.8 | 76.84% | 15.60% | D+61.2 | D |
| 5 | 76.41% | 21.06% | D+55.3 | 74.82% | 16.97% | D+57.9 | D |
| 6 | 66.55% | 31.98% | D+34.6 | 70.34% | 23.22% | D+47.1 | D |
| 7 | 82.54% | 16.11% | D+66.4 | 79.82% | 14.64% | D+65.2 | D |
| 8 | 84.00% | 13.75% | D+70.2 | 83.59% | 9.56% | D+74 | D |
| 9 | 63.82% | 33.80% | D+30 | 64.82% | 26.84% | D+38 | D |
| 10 | 79.29% | 17.98% | D+61.3 | 80.62% | 12.47% | D+68.2 | D |
| 11 | 58.66% | 38.84% | D+19.8 | 58.25% | 33.00% | D+25.3 | D |
| 12 | 65.33% | 32.47% | D+32.9 | 66.50% | 25.52% | D+41 | D |
| 13 | 68.88% | 28.33% | D+40.5 | 66.61% | 25.99% | D+40.6 | D |
| 14 | 29.31% | 68.47% | R+39.2 | 28.41% | 61.02% | R+32.6 | R |
| 15 | 35.17% | 62.29% | R+27.1 | 30.23% | 59.27% | R+29 | R |
| 16 | 38.44% | 58.69% | R+20.3 | 33.98% | 55.52% | R+21.5 | R |
| 17 | 58.28% | 38.66% | D+19.6 | 46.07% | 43.39% | D+2.7 | D |
| 18 | 55.69% | 41.03% | D+14.7 | 50.76% | 39.01% | D+11.8 | D |
| 19 | 23.20% | 74.75% | R+51.5 | 21.00% | 70.64% | R+49.6 | R |
| 20 | 36.90% | 61.07% | R+24.2 | 36.13% | 54.67% | R+18.5 | R |
| 21 | 44.76% | 52.44% | R+7.7 | 33.08% | 56.35% | R+23.3 | R |
| 22 | 43.22% | 54.92% | R+11.7 | 41.43% | 49.83% | R+8.4 | R |
| 23 | 56.59% | 40.48% | D+16.1 | 53.37% | 37.35% | D+16 | D |
| 24 | 56.97% | 40.27% | D+16.7 | 54.87% | 35.95% | D+18.9 | D |
| 25 | 45.68% | 52.27% | R+6.6 | 46.55% | 44.77% | D+1.8 | R |
| 26 | 56.52% | 41.35% | D+15.2 | 55.34% | 36.27% | D+19.1 | D |
| 27 | 47.59% | 50.20% | R+2.6 | 45.58% | 45.51% | D+0.1 | R |
| 28 | 56.14% | 41.40% | D+14.7 | 52.88% | 38.13% | D+14.7 | D |
| 29 | 55.15% | 41.90% | D+13.3 | 49.23% | 40.65% | D+8.6 | D |
| 30 | 58.12% | 39.53% | D+18.6 | 50.98% | 40.69% | D+10.3 | D |
| 31 | 57.57% | 39.68% | D+17.9 | 49.47% | 41.26% | D+8.2 | D |
| 32 | 68.41% | 28.79% | D+39.6 | 59.50% | 32.00% | D+27.5 | D |
| 33 | 54.04% | 43.63% | D+10.4 | 54.79% | 35.90% | D+18.9 | D |
| 34 | 58.24% | 38.92% | D+19.3 | 50.21% | 40.46% | D+9.8 | D |
| 35 | 56.93% | 40.57% | D+16.4 | 53.11% | 37.98% | D+15.1 | D |
| 36 | 58.93% | 39.04% | D+19.9 | 53.58% | 37.59% | D+16 | D |
| 37 | 46.74% | 51.56% | R+4.8 | 48.68% | 42.60% | D+6.1 | R |
| 38 | 45.32% | 52.68% | R+7.4 | 46.96% | 43.84% | D+3.1 | R |
| 39 | 33.46% | 64.72% | R+31.3 | 31.36% | 61.02% | R+29.7 | R |
| 40 | 57.39% | 40.16% | D+17.2 | 53.06% | 37.39% | D+15.7 | D |
| 41 | 62.83% | 34.95% | D+27.9 | 60.91% | 31.42% | D+29.5 | D |
| 42 | 72.27% | 25.31% | D+47 | 66.99% | 25.31% | D+41.7 | D |
| 43 | 40.49% | 58.15% | R+17.7 | 42.44% | 48.85% | R+6.4 | R |
| 44 | 37.59% | 60.64% | R+23 | 37.16% | 53.68% | R+16.5 | R |
| 45 | 32.91% | 65.51% | R+32.6 | 32.80% | 58.30% | R+25.5 | R |
| 46 | 55.76% | 42.01% | D+13.8 | 45.78% | 46.05% | R+0.3 | D |
| 47 | 47.31% | 50.40% | R+3.1 | 37.98% | 54.19% | R+16.2 | R |
| 48 | 37.53% | 60.27% | R+22.7 | 30.35% | 61.19% | R+30.8 | R |
| 49 | 41.56% | 56.12% | R+14.6 | 36.54% | 54.81% | R+18.3 | R |
| 50 | 55.50% | 41.23% | D+14.3 | 45.81% | 43.71% | D+2.1 | D |
| 51 | 43.13% | 54.07% | R+10.9 | 36.83% | 53.48% | R+16.7 | R |
| 52 | 57.53% | 39.81% | D+17.7 | 55.70% | 34.08% | D+21.6 | D |
| 53 | 61.38% | 35.23% | D+26.1 | 59.03% | 29.59% | D+29.4 | D |
| 54 | 28.39% | 69.43% | R+41 | 22.69% | 70.10% | R+47.4 | R |
| 55 | 36.10% | 61.61% | R+25.5 | 32.32% | 59.26% | R+26.9 | R |
| 56 | 40.95% | 56.94% | R+16 | 36.37% | 55.99% | R+19.6 | R |
| 57 | 38.90% | 58.78% | R+19.9 | 34.52% | 58.25% | R+23.7 | R |
| 58 | 36.91% | 60.52% | R+23.6 | 31.94% | 61.10% | R+29.2 | R |
| 59 | 50.62% | 46.33% | D+4.3 | 47.02% | 43.47% | D+3.5 | D |
| 60 | 39.26% | 57.98% | R+18.7 | 31.71% | 60.43% | R+28.7 | R |
| 61 | 55.13% | 42.35% | D+12.8 | 52.90% | 39.28% | D+13.6 | D |
| 62 | 58.86% | 38.59% | D+20.3 | 47.77% | 43.64% | D+4.1 | D |
| 63 | 40.61% | 56.65% | R+16 | 33.06% | 58.29% | R+25.2 | R |
| 64 | 31.01% | 66.64% | R+35.6 | 22.78% | 70.74% | R+48 | R |
| 65 | 29.29% | 68.33% | R+39 | 20.30% | 74.27% | R+54 | R |
| Total | 51.49% | 46.13% | D+5.4 | 48.16% | 43.25% | D+4.9 | - |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
See also
| Local courts | Colorado | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Colorado," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Colorado; Limited Jurisdiction Courts," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ State of Colorado Judicial Branch, "Judicial Nominating Commissions," accessed June 20, 2014
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Colorado • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Colorado
State courts:
Colorado Supreme Court • Colorado Court of Appeals • Colorado District Courts • Colorado County Courts • Denver Probate Court • Denver Juvenile Court • Colorado Municipal Courts • Colorado Water Courts
State resources:
Courts in Colorado • Colorado judicial elections • Judicial selection in Colorado
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