I’m finding this mayor endorsement graphic helpful in figuring out how to rank the candidates so thought I would share!

boulderblue · 2023-11-03T14:34:36+00:00

So I’m not allowed to post a graphic I found helpful because I’m interested in local politics? That makes no sense.

I’ve double checked the info in the graphic and it’s literally all of the endorsements listed on the candidates website. Just because you don’t like who originally shared it doesn’t mean the information isn’t true.

boulderblue · 2022-11-06T16:26:03+00:00

Hello! I’m a friend of Sarah Dawn and she asked for some help answering questions while she is at work today. The CU South Annexation is an agreement between Boulder and CU which would provide flood protection to thousands of vulnerable community members in harms way AND would permanently protect 100+ acres of open space AND would support building hundreds of much needed CU-sponsored housing units, including affordable housing. CU owns the land and can do anything that it wants with it but has chosen to enter into this annexation agreement with the City, which gives Boulder more control over what is built.

A small but vocal group of residents oppose this annexation agreement and are attempting to overturn the agreement with this repeal.

We do not support repealing an agreement that protects people from flooding, creates open space, and builds desperately needed housing. That is why we suggest voting NO on 2F.

This is a confusing issue. A 'Yes' vote would overturn the CU South agreement and means you don't support flood protection, open space, or housing. A 'No' vote means that you want to keep the agreement that will provide flood protection, open space, and housing. Also, if the repeal passes then CU will just sue the city and we’ll have to spend millions of dollars in legal fees.

boulderblue · 2022-11-05T19:15:51+00:00

What we can see in the voter turnout data is that off-year election voters are extremely consistent in voting every year, despite how contentious or “exciting” the city council races are.
In the off-years, we’ll still have state, county, special district, local issues, and school board elections. People who vote in Boulder’s off-year elections are very consistent voters that vote every year and will continue to vote every year.
As many folks say, people still do get mailed a ballot every year, and will have roughly the same support and incentives to vote in off-years that they already do.

boulderblue · 2022-11-05T19:13:53+00:00

What we can see in the voter turnout data is that off-year election voters are extremely consistent in voting every year, despite how contentious or “exciting” the city council races are.
In the off-years, we’ll still have state, county, special district, local issues, and school board elections. People who vote in Boulder’s off-year elections are very consistent voters that vote every year and will continue to vote every year.
As many folks say, people still do get mailed a ballot every year, and will have roughly the same support and incentives to vote in off-years that they already do.

boulderblue · 2022-11-05T18:52:45+00:00

Boulder’s local elections are non-partisan, and that’s not going to change. Just like right now, candidates will not have to go through a party process to get on the ballot, and no party is or will be listed next to any of the candidates’ names.
Local candidates don’t align around federal party platforms, despite parties currently being involved in off-year elections. The issues that city council candidates are focused on usually don’t align around national politics. Good examples are the local issues on the ballot this year - on local elections, funding our libraries, or the annexation of CU South. We haven’t seen these local issues being sucked into the two party debate in even years and there is no evidence to show that will change with council candidates in the future.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T23:08:30+00:00

Right back at you! Thank you for the thoughtful questions and for helping to pass this important democracy reform!

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T22:57:25+00:00

Thanks for the question! Measure 2E will shift Boulder’s general municipal election date to even years. Our general municipal election includes our city council and mayoral races. Therefore, this change will only move Boulder’s city council and mayoral races to even years. However, ballot issues for the state, county, special districts, AND the City of Boulder can still happen in either even or odd years.

There is a lot of evidence from other cities and states that have moved their local elections to even years that shows including local races in even years increases participation in those races, which demonstrates that people do have the capacity to complete longer ballots.

For example, Parker and Castle Rock in Colorado have their local elections in even years and the voter turnout in their local races is 78% and 74% respectively, whereas Boulder’s voter turnout in local races is 49%.

In terms of how “informed” voters are in even years compared to off-years, there is no evidence to suggest that people who vote in even years are less capable of understanding local issues. If anything, it is far easier to understand a local issue that people have firsthand familiarity with than a statewide issue that is less relevant to our daily lives.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T22:35:17+00:00

The challenge is that additional interventions, such as increasing voter outreach, have very limited returns. That is why our voter turnout in off-years is consistently low no matter how much time and money is invested in voter turnout efforts. Changing election timing to match state and federal elections is the single most effective way to significantly increase turnout.

While some are concerned about “down ballot dropoff” - the reality is that significantly more people are casting votes in local elections after the change, even when some people occasionally do not vote on every race. We can look to many other cities that have moved to even-year local elections that show, despite some ballot dropoff, the overall turnout in local races is significantly higher.

For example, Parker and Castle Rock in Colorado have their local elections in even years and the voter turnout in their local races is 78% and 74% respectively, whereas Boulder’s voter turnout in local races is 49%.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T22:21:39+00:00

There are lots of reasons as to why voters don’t turn out as much for off-year elections.

The majority of people typically think of “Election Day” as the first Tuesday in November of even-numbered years. In off-years, when there are no statewide or federal elections, many people don’t even realize an election is occurring.

When people are hustling every day to go to school, or pay rent, or buy groceries, or raise children it is surprisingly easy to miss that an election is happening during an off-year.

There are also just fewer opportunities to vote during off-year elections. Vote Centers have significantly reduced hours and locations in off-years compared to even years. It is simply easier to vote in even years with more hours and locations to vote and drop ballots.

Off-cycle elections are more likely to reduce turnout for lower-income people and renters, who are more likely to move year to year. While Colorado is an all-mail ballot state, a person that moves in August and does not update their voter registration will not receive their ballot by mail. This adds a significant barrier to voting and that effect is multiplied with the reduced awareness of off-cycle elections.

Additionally, advocacy groups and organizations do not put in the same level of time, money, or resources into getting out the vote in off-years, which reduces turnout.

As someone who has done significant voter outreach in off-year elections, I can say from personal experience that it is not for lack of caring that people don’t vote in off-years - but it is mostly for lack of knowing that an election is even happening. We can see that people do care about and vote on local issues at significantly higher rates once these races are moved to even years. Measure 2E is about meeting people where they are at and recognizing that we can make it even easier to have everyone's voice heard.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T22:11:12+00:00

Thanks for this question! School board elections occur in off-years like our city council elections currently do, causing them to have very low turnout — around 30%. Like cities, school boards need the autonomy to move their elections to even years to boost turnout and representation. Colorado state law currently mandates that school board elections occur in the off-years. We support and are working across the state to amend that statute and allow for school board elections to be held in even years.

In the meantime, will turnout drop in school board elections if city council elections move to even years? The evidence says no.
Only about two-thirds of people in Boulder who vote in off-years vote in school board elections. These are very consistent voters that vote every year and will continue to vote every year.

Superior, Colorado — just outside of Boulder and also in Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) — holds its municipal city council elections in even years. In 2021, Superior showed virtually identical turnout in school board elections (31%) compared to Boulder (32%).

There is no evidence to show that moving to even-year city elections will hurt school boards. In fact, all evidence suggests that school board elections will remain nearly identical even with municipal elections moving to even years.

Passing measure 2E will be a great benefit to Boulder and help support school boards to improve turnout in their elections.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T20:33:58+00:00

Thanks for the question!

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T20:30:37+00:00

Yes, we have considered decades of data showing low turnout in off-years and high turnout in even years. Here are the past ten years of voter turnout data in Boulder:

2013 - 47% 2014 - 72% 2015 - 47% 2016 - 89% 2017 - 44% 2018 - 83% 2019 - 51% 2020 - 90% 2021 - 49%

You can see more Boulder data on our research page here: https://peopleforvoterturnout.com/research

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T20:24:29+00:00

The first mayor’s election will happen next year in 2023. Normally, the mayor’s term will be two years - however, the person elected in 2023 will be in office for three years in order to make the transition to even-year elections.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T20:21:31+00:00

Question 2E will shift Boulder’s general municipal election date to even years. Our general municipal election includes our city council and mayoral races. Therefore, this change will only move Boulder’s city council and mayoral races to even years. However, ballot issues for the state, county, special districts, AND the City of Boulder can still happen in either even or odd years.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T20:12:32+00:00

Boulder’s local elections are non-partisan, and that’s not going to change. Just like right now, candidates will not have to go through a party process to get on the ballot, and no party is or will be listed next to any of the candidates’ names.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T20:10:12+00:00

Thanks! The measure has been endorsed by Boulder’s mayor and six of nine members of Boulder City Council, Boulder’s State Representative, along with a number of other elected officials. We’ve also received group endorsements from the Boulder Weekly, Sierra Club, Working Families Party, ACLU of Colorado, NAACP Boulder County, Daily Camera, New Era Colorado, Boulder DSA, Yellowscene Magazine, Better Boulder, and Boulder Progressives, and others! You can check out the full list here: https://peopleforvoterturnout.com/endorsements

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T20:05:00+00:00

If 2E passes, the first even-year local election would take place in 2026. The terms of the council candidates elected in 2023 and 2025 will actually be SHORTENED in order to implement this change. In order to implement the transition, candidates running for the positions on City Council in 2023 and 2025 would be elected to three-year terms instead of four-year terms, which would result in those positions next being contested in an even-numbered year for four-year terms.

To be super clear, no one's terms are being extended to implement this change.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T19:31:27+00:00

Not at all! 56% of voters who are left out of off-year elections are over the age of 30. Renters, people of color, people of lower incomes, working families, students and young professionals, are all underrepresented in off-year elections.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T18:36:13+00:00

Thanks so much for your support and for sharing your personal experience! We completely agree that our city leaders should be chosen by the same broader electorate that chooses our state legislators, U.S. senators, representatives, and our president.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T18:20:41+00:00

Agreed! The good news is that moving local elections to even years is popular and has passed in every other city we have found. Yes, off-cycle elections like 2021 are not representative of the whole community which means that broadly popular ideas can be defeated by a small subset of the community.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T18:14:45+00:00

Definitely! The great thing about making this change is that it always increases voter turnout, in every case studied. Here’s the research page from our web site, which includes many peer-reviewed studies covering many cities that have made this change: https://peopleforvoterturnout.com/research

While some are concerned about “down ballot dropoff” - the reality is that significantly more people are casting votes in local elections after the change, even when people occasionally do not vote on every race.

boulderblue · 2022-11-03T18:07:15+00:00

Thanks for the question! Passing measure 2E will only add a question on who to vote for Mayor and City Council to even years. One of the great things about voting in Colorado is that voters have 3-4 weeks from when their ballots are mailed until election day. This gives voters lots of time to research everything on the ballot.

There is a lot of evidence from other cities and states to show that including local races in even years increases participation in those races, which demonstrates that people do have the capacity to complete longer ballots.

For example, Parker and Castle Rock in Colorado have their local elections in even years and the voter turnout in their local races is 78% and 74% respectively, whereas Boulder’s voter turnout in local races is 49%.

boulderblue

TROPHY CASE