Today is Aug. 12, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

Shaping America's political future: How Colorado's young voters are mobilizing to engage peers

Youth participation in elections has been rising over the years in Colorado and elsewhere in the country, though the young people here are relatively more engaged than their counterparts in other states.

And groups are mobilizing anew.

Vacancy committee selects Jillaire McMillan as new Democratic candidate in HD19

A vacancy committee has selected Jillaire McMillan as the new Democratic candidate for the House District 19 election after the incumbent candidate, Rep. Jennifer Parenti, announced she was dropping out of the race las month.

McMillan, a small business owner, will face former state Rep. Dan Woog in the November election.

“I’m a first-time candidate who’s been considering public office for a long time,” said McMillan.

Harris now leads in three swing states among likely voters

Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald Trump in three swing states, according to a new New York Times/Siena College poll.

Harris is beating Trump 50% to 46% in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan — a stark change from when Trump was threatening to pull away from President Joe Biden in almost every battleground state.

The new poll further illustrates Harris’s rise to lead the presidential race after Biden dropped out of the race on July 21. Democratic excitement has reverberated through fundraising, polling, and campaign operations ever since.

Panel of Colorado lawmakers schedule meeting amid talk of property tax compromise, special session

A panel of Colorado lawmakers tasked with crafting long-term property tax policy is meeting on Monday, potentially laying down the groundwork for a special session amid speculation that parties are negotiating a potential compromise that would pull two initiatives from the November ballot in exchange for deeper reductions to people’s tax liabilities.

The agenda posted on the state’s legislative website stated that the 19-member Commission on Property Tax will convene to discuss potential changes to legislation that Democrats and Republicans passed just this last session. That measure, the product of a deal reached by Democrats and Republicans, reduced commercial property tax assessment rates and decreased property valuations.

The property tax commission had played a key role in passing that legislation, which critics said failed to provide sufficient relief against soaring taxes.

Colorado AG's office scolded by appeals court for belated shift in argument

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office received a rebuke from the state’s second-highest court on Thursday after it asked a panel of appellate judges to reverse course on a recent decision with an argument it never raised previously.

Under the state’s appellate rules, a party may submit a petition for rehearing to the Court of Appeals in response to an opinion, outlining “points of law or fact the petitioner believes the court has overlooked or misapprehended.” Occasionally, the court will modify and re-issue a decision based on the petition.

On Aug. 8, a three-judge appellate panel re-issued an opinion from a criminal appeal it decided in June that ordered a new trial for the defendant. The only change was the addition of a footnote telling the attorney general’s office, in essence, its request for reconsideration was not well-taken.