Need some help with my absentee ballot.

[Crunchy Frog]

I'm voting straight ticket Democratic, so no worries there. I'm wondering if anyone has any info on any of the judges listed here. Anybody that I should particularly vote for or against? If there's no info, I'll just leave them blank.

Also, could use some help with some of the amendments and referendums.

I'm voting yes on Amendment 42 (raising minimum wage)

No on Amendment 43 banning gay marriage

Yes on 44 (marihuana posession)

I'm inclined to vote yes on Referendum E.

Is there any reason why I should not vote yes on I (providing for domestic partnerships)?

No clue about the other ones, and could definitely use help/feedback.

Thanks.

[hlthe2b]

1. I"m on the way out the door, but a quick...

I plan to return to the thread a bit later and will be interested in others' takes on a few issues as well...

Which district are you voting in, Crunchy Frog?

[Crunchy Frog]

2. I'm in the 2nd District, in Boulder County.

I'm in the city of Lafayette, and there's some questions for that too, but I figured that might be too obscure.

I'm currently in upstate New York, hence the need for an absentee ballot, and not being more familiar with these issues.

Any help at all will be greatly appreciated. Gotta stop procrastinating and get this thing in the mail.

[El Supremo]

3. Did you get a Blue Book?

It is a fairly well-balanced description of the pros and cons of the amendments and referenda. Mine also recommends retention of all judges (I'm in Arapahoe County).

I haven't made up my mind on the Marijuana amendment but this is how I will vote on the rest on my absentee ballot:

38 no
39 no
40 no
41 no
42 yes
43 no
E yes
F no
G yes
H no
I yes
J no
K no

If you ask me why I decided yes or no on a particular one, I'd be happy to explain. But please, one at a time. I have never seen so many ballot issues in my life!

[Crunchy Frog]

4. They didn't send me a Blue Book.

I wonder if I could find it someplace online.

I appreciate the feedback.

[El Supremo]

5. Link to Blue Book Adobe file:

http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/lcsstaff/bluebook/Bluebook2006.htm

It is a fat one! 55 pages.

[Crunchy Frog]

6. 55 pages? Yikes!

I don't think I'm going to have time to sort through that before I have to get this in the mail. Thanks for the link though.:)

[Hawkeye-X]

7. Go Y on 44.

Thanks!

This is to decriminalize MJ in the state of Colorado. The officials will have no choice but to comply with federal law which isn't easy to go after users. It's legal to own up to one ounce here in Denver, but still get busted under state law. This ballot is designed to remove that threat.

NORML recommends Y on 44.

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6978

[Irreverend IX]

11. Why no on 41?

Establishing conduct codes for govt officials, especially the no valuable gifts from lobbyists bit, seems like a good idea. Is there a hidden downside to this?

[El Supremo]

13. Sorry for not seeing your post earlier.

Here briefly is what I think about 41:

It is too draconian. It is unenforceable. It is a solution in search of a problem. It will hurt non-profits. The commission is another layer of government that could become too powerful. It does not belong in the constitution where it is harder to remove. If an official is caught taking too many gifts, then let the legislature take care of it or vote him/her out.

[buczak]

8. i voted today...

I was so excited to vote, that I had to do it. I went to the Webb Building on Colfax and it
was pretty painless. I wish I could have gotten a receipt for it, but i made sure the paper
ballot matched my choices.

Here are some of my votes....

I using don't vote for judges, because I really don't know too much about them. I did vote Yes for Judge Hoffman, mostly because I sat in his court during Jury Duty and I thought he was good.
I didn't get picked, but he impressed me as even handed. I'm sure most of the other judges are as well.

No on 38. It's one of those crazy Colorado Springs amendments
No on 40. Term limits for Judges. I'm against term limits, but having them for judges is even more crazy.
Yes on 42. I think raising the minimum wages and having a timetable based on COLA and leaving it out of politics is a good thing. It could be better than putting in the constitution, but there is it.
No on 43. Definition of marriage between man/women in constitution.
Yes on H. Tax penalty for companies that hire undocumented workers.
Yes on I. Same sex domestic partnerships.

Here are some good links:

Denver Post endorsments
http://www.denverpost.com/endorsements

Rocky Mountain News election coverage
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections

Colorado Goverment Election page including a online copy of the bluebook
http://www.elections.colorado.gov/DDefault.aspx?

[Irreverend IX]

10. Only thing about Ref. I...

It ends with "providing that a domestic partnership is not a marriage, which consists of one man and one woman." So it seems that in a backhanded way, Ref. I is denying the possibility of gay marriage.

[buczak]

12. it's not perfect., but it's a start.

It's not perfect, but it helps with those people with the 'ecky' factor..

Sometimes you have to slowly convince someone you're right because they can't accept it all.

It's more important that families with Gay members are protected with the same protection that all families have.

[Crunchy Frog]

9. I finally got my ballot in the mail.

Thanks to everyone who helped. I didn't vote on every single ammendment, but I got most of them, and I think I got the important ones, and went the right way with them.

I didn't vote on any of the judges except Judge Jose Marquez. I voted to retain him, because it looks like there's some shady, Republican associated group that's trying to swiftboat him. http://www.denverpost.com/localpolitics/ci_4534059

Anyway, it's a relief to have that out of the way. Hopefully my votes will actually get counted.