Steamboat Today: Unaffiliated voters can now take part in June 26 primary
For too long, the 1.4 million Colorado voters who are registered as “unaffiliated” have been frozen out of participating in primary elections, unless they were willing to temporarily register with one of the major parties and then go through the process of reverting to unaffiliated status for November elections.
That changed with the passage in 2016 of Proposition 108, which allows registered unaffiliated voters to vote a primary ballot in one, but not both, of the major primary elections.
Historically, that apparent inconvenience has resulted in unaffiliated voters standing on the sidelines through primary elections that play the critical role of selecting the candidates most likely to prevail in the November vote.
With the deadline missed, Bureau of Reclamation plans to move forward on Colorado River operations
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 hours ago
Feb. 14 was no Valentine for the seven states of the Colorado River, which failed to come up with an agreement by that deadline on how to manage the river beginning Oct. 1. The Department of the Interior and the...
Democrat Shannon Bird qualifies by petition for primary ballot in Colorado’s toss-up 8th CD
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 1 hour ago
Former state Rep. Shannon Bird has qualified for the Democratic primary ballot in Colorado’s hotly contested 8th Congressional District by submitting a sufficient number of petition signatures, state election officials said this week. The winner of the Democrats’ June 30...
Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases about reliability of gun-to-bullet matching
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 hours ago
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will hear two cases questioning the reliability of expert testimony that purports to identify whether a specific bullet was fired from a specific gun. At least three of the court’s seven...
State Rep. Peña outlines significant inequalities in Colorado’s school finance law | A LOOK BACK
Rachael Wright, Special to Colorado Politics
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
Forty-Five Years Ago This Week: In a guest column published in The Colorado Statesman, House Minority Leader Rep. Federico Peña, D-Denver, wrote that his greatest disappointment with the legislative process was “the inability, or unwillingness, of the General Assembly to...
Colorado Politics Calendar Feb. 16-22
Rachael Wright, Special to Colorado Politics
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances,...
Michael Bennet and ‘the question’ | SONDERMANN
Eric Sondermann
eric-sondermann@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
The train usually runs only one way. The route goes from the state Capitol to Washington, D.C. State legislators become members of Congress; governors become senators. See Hickenlooper, John. Including our junior senator, no matter his years, a total of...
Colorado District Attorneys unveil 2026 legislative priorities | WHAT’S YOUR AGENDA?
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
Welcome to What’s Your Agenda?: The Colorado Politics’ weekly publication of trade association priorities for the state’s 2026 legislative session. The Colorado District Attorneys’ Council provides training, resources, and legislative support to every prosecutor in the state. In order to...
A day in the life of the Capitol: Capitol M | Week of Feb. 14, 2026
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
The lighter side of the Capitol, usually. If you were walking around the Capitol on Feb. 12, there was plenty to see and to be amused (or delighted) by. Let’s start with the high school kids from Greeley’s District 6....
Appeals court clarifies what materials judges may rely on for postconviction decisions
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 22 hours ago
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified on Thursday that trial judges who are deciding whether to grant relief to convicted defendants may rely on the materials attached to, or referenced in, the parties’ arguments. In contrast to direct appeals of criminal convictions,...
Here’s what to know about the Homeland Security shutdown starting this weekend
Deborah Grigsby
deborah.smith@denvergazette.com
Updated 21 hours ago
Another shutdown for parts of the federal government is expected this weekend, following an impasse over funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security amid a push by Democrats for changes in immigration enforcement. Funding for the federal agency is set to...
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Appointments bill sparks heated debate in Colorado Senate
Update: the Senate passed Senate Bill 43 on a party-line vote Tuesday, 18-16, with one senator excused and Sen. Cheri Jahn, an unaffiliated senator from Wheat Ridge, voting with the Democrats. While the bill reauthorizing the Colorado Division of Civil Rights and Colorado Civil Rights Commission still awaits state Senate review, Senate Democrats and Republicans […]
The Colorado Springs Gazette: Quarry plan a boon for Colorado Springs
Beautiful but flawed, Colorado Springs has been Scarface since Pikeview Quarry opened near West Woodmen Road in 1905. Enter Transit Mix Concrete Co. It inherited the scar on the mountain when it acquired the quarry from its previous owner. Today, Transit Mix offers the city a face-lift by moving quarry operations far out of town. […]