Douglas County voters must now decide whether to grant its Republican-dominated county south of Denver “home rule” power three months after commissioners established a special election.

With a home rule charter, Douglas County commissioners seek to gain local control and fight against state policies. But whether the majority of its constituents are on board with that remains to be seen, until at least Tuesday.

Within the one-page ballot, voters decide whether the county should adopt a home rule charter and a 21-member commission to draft it. If the vote passes by majority, the committee would write a charter for voters to approve again in the November election.

Here’s what to know before Douglas County polls close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

What is home rule?

On March 25, Douglas County Commissioners Abe Laydon, George Teal, and Kevin Van Winkle held a five-minute special meeting inside chambers and approved a resolution to spend $500,000 on the June 24 special election.

Their reasoning? Create an avenue to supersede some Colorado laws and establish a unique charter for Douglas County.

While home rule municipalities are common in the state, only two of the 64 Colorado counties identify under a home rule status and are separate from the typical “statutory” counties. Pitkin and Weld County citizens established their charters in the 1970s. Denver and Broomfield are also counties but are identified as home rule municipalities.

Under Colorado law for counties, citizens may establish their own government structure, including the number of commissioners, county employees, duties, and compensation. Still, the commissioners and staff must operate the county in accordance with a more structured home rule charter, which limits what the county can do compared to a municipality.

For example, counties with a home rule charter don’t have unlimited ordinance-making powers like home rule cities.

Douglas County, which is Republican-dominated, intends to steer a different direction than Colorado is headed under a home rule charter.

During a Q&A Tuesday, a week before the vote, commissioners and staff discussed several ideas about what a home rule charter could impact.

Some of those ideas included addressing property taxes, maintaining open space and property rights, the taxpayer bill of rights, homelessness, immigration, county staffing, public safety resources, bag taxes, and even mask mandates.

Adoption process met with skepticism, pushback

Since March 25, Douglas County constituents have supported and opposed a home rule charter.

Many opponents argue that commissioners and staff rushed the process, claiming that county officials were pursuing a “power grab.”

Officials insist home rule is about citizen involvement in government, despite some opposition decrying transparency issues between the county and its residents.

County officials said they held over 32 public meetings on the matter. Nearly 9,000 people attended in person or online at the May 28 meeting, during which seven people spoke during an hour-long town hall.

In fact, the county is facing an ongoing lawsuit claiming it violated open meetings laws by adopting the off-year special election. A Douglas County judge ruled that the special election continued despite the plaintiff’s appeals.

Voting ends Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Mail-in ballots continue to pour in, and voting centers will remain operating on fixed schedules until Tuesday at 7 p.m. when polls close.

Ballot drop-off locations are situated across the county, according to the county’s website.

A county spokesperson said results are anticipated to appear on the Douglas County voter website throughout Tuesday evening.

As of Sunday afternoon, 59,399 Douglas County voters have submitted ballots. Of the total, roughly 25% are registered Democrats, 30% are Republican, and 45% are unaffiliated voters, according to the Douglas County voter website.

There are 318,870 registered voters in Douglas County: 50% unaffiliated, 31.5% Republican, and 17% Democrat voters, according to Douglas County voter statistics.

Between April 21 and May 2, Douglas County, using Hill Research Consultants, surveyed residents on various issues impacting the community. One question was whether voters would support a county home rule charter.

Out of 3,617 people polled, 54% opposed home rule, while 44% said they’d support it. The majority of ‘no’ responses came from northwest Douglas County and Highlands Ranch residents, where 64% of those polled were against becoming a home rule county.

Early poll results show that the majority of voters are from Highlands Ranch, while Castle Rock and Parker have proved strong turnouts.

Voters will face the first of two questions: “Shall the voters of Douglas County, State of Colorado, elect a County Home Rule Charter Commission to study the structure and organization of Douglas County Government?”

If ‘yes,’ voters will then be asked to choose the commission members they want to represent their respective commissioner district. There is one at-large district, and candidates are split among the three existing commissioner districts.

Let’s take a look at the 49 candidates up for the potential 21-member home rule charter committee:

At-large

Steve Johnson: Longtime investigator and former Douglas County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy.

Kevin Van Winkle: County commissioner and former state representative.

Abe Laydon: Chair of the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners

Angela Thomas: Local business owner, former Democratic commissioner candidate.

George Teal: County commissioner heading the county’s push for home rule status.

Mindy Bandimere-Jordan: Resident.

Steven Arthur Boand: Former commissioner and former Castle Rock mayor.

District 1

Matthew Lunn: Parker Parks, Recreation & Open Space chairmen.

David Weaver: Former Douglas County sheriff and commissioner. He served as a U.S. Marshal representing Colorado.

Mary Lynch: Resident. Former commissioner candidate.

Emily Roth Suyat: Host of “Red County, Blue State” podcast.

Jack Hilbert: Douglas County Water Commission chairman. Former county commissioner, former Parker councilmember, and previously served on the Cherry Creek Water Authority board.

Jason Hamel: Resident.

Darren Weekly: Douglas County sheriff.

October Ann Levy: Parker Parks secretary, Recreation and Open Space Advisory Committee member.

Jack Gilmartin: Vice-chair of the Douglas County Planning Commission, Colorado National Guard, Lincoln Club of Colorado member and legislative aide within the Colorado General Assembly.

Toby Damisch: County assessor.

Laura Hefta: Parker town councilmember.

Irene Bonham: Resident and community advocate.

Julie Gooden: Douglas County School District Accountability Committee member.

Bart Dorscheid: State Commission of Judicial Performance member and former 18th Judicial District attorney.

District 2

Jennifer E Green: Former Castle Rock town councilmember and mayor.

Kevin Leung: South Metro Fire Rescue board of directors, Castle Pines Urban Renewal Authority commissioner, and former Douglas County School District Board of Directors member.

Jae Mundt: Castle Rock attorney.

Charles O’Reilly: Rotary Club of Castle Rock elections committee member.

Julien Bouquet: Regional Transportation District board member and former Democratic commissioner candidate.

Barrett Rothe: Former House District 43 candidate.

Juli Watkins: Douglas County School District Equity Advisory councilmember.

Max Brooks: House District 45 representative and Castle Rock town councilmember.

Tom Wiens: Former state representative and state senator.

Tim Dietz: Castle Rock town council member

Douglas John Gilbert: Former Castle Pines home rule commission member, former Castle Pines treasurer and mayor pro-tem.

Dave Gill: County treasurer.

District 3

Robin Webb: Former House District 43 candidate and member of the Douglas County Republican Party.

Lora Thomas: Former commissioner, former county coroner, and Colorado State Patrol major.

Michael Lees: Resident.

Priscilla Rahn: Former commissioners candidate, previously served on the planning and zoning board and former vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party.

Bob Marshall: House District 43 representative in Highlands Ranch.

Sudee Floyd: Resident.

Frank McNulty: Former State House District 45 representative.

Alicia Jean Vagts: Local attorney.

Monica Wasden: President of the Highlands Ranch Community Association.

Matthew Burcham: Former House District 43 representative candidate.

Ted Harvey: Former state senator and former House District 43 representative.

Susan Meek: Douglas County School District board member.

Lee Hudson Frame: Resident and volunteer EMT.

Daniel Brown: Resident.