2023 Coordinated Election: What's on the ballot and where to vote in Teller County

TELLER COUNTY — In addition to the two statewide ballot measures regarding taxes, voters in Teller County will decide on the leadership of Cripple Creek, Victor, and local school districts, plus local measures regarding taxation issues.

News5 is helping you prepare for the November 7, 2023, Colorado Coordinated Election with guides to find out what's on the ballot, what it means to you, and where to deliver your ballot across the region.

Deadlines for the General Election:

• Monday, October 16 - First day ballots can be mailed out
• Friday, October 20 - Deadline for all ballots to be mailed out
• Monday, October 30 - Last day to submit an application to register to vote through the mail, a voter registration agency, a local driver's license examination facility, or online to receive a mail ballot for the 2023 General Election.
• Tuesday, November 7 - Election Day - All ballots must be received by county clerks no later than 7:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, November 15 - Last day for military and overseas elector ballots to be received by county clerks
• Friday, November 17 - Deadline for County Clerks to tabulate all mail-in and in-person votes

Not sure if you are registered to vote in Colorado? Use the state's Find My Voter Registration system.

See the Teller County Sample Ballot
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Information from the Teller County Official Sample Ballot for the 2023 Coordinated Election

Statewide Propositions:
Ballot questions referred by the general assembly or any political subdivision are listed by letter, and ballot questions initiated by the people are listed numerically. A ballot question listed a "proposition" proposes a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes. A "yes/for" vote on any ballot question is a vote in favor of changing current law or existing circumstances, and a "no/against" vote on any ballot question is a vote against changing current law or existing circumstances.

The information for each proposition comes from the 2023 State Ballot Information Booklet (aka The Blue Book) compiled by the Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly

Proposition HH Reduce Property Taxes and Retain State Revenue
Shall the state reduce property taxes for homes and businesses, including expanding property tax relief for seniors, and backfill counties, water districts, fire districts, ambulance and hospital districts, and other local governments and fund school districts by using a portion of the state surplus up to the proposition HH cap as defined in this measure?

• YES: A “yes” vote on Proposition HH lowers property taxes owed, allows the state to keep additional money that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers, temporarily changes how taxpayer TABOR refunds are distributed, and creates a new property tax limit for most local governments.
• NO: A “no” vote on Proposition HH maintains current law for property taxes, TABOR refunds, and state and local government revenue limits.

Proposition II Retain Nicotine Tax Revenue in Excess of Blue Book Estimate
Without raising taxes, may the state retain and spend revenues from taxes on cigarettes, tobacco, and other nicotine products and maintain tax rates on cigarettes, tobacco, and other nicotine products and use these revenues to invest twenty-three million six hundred fifty thousand dollars to enhance the voluntary Colorado preschool program and make it widely available for free instead of reducing these tax rates and refunding revenues to cigarette wholesalers, tobacco product distributors, nicotine products distributors, and other taxpayers, for exceeding an estimate included in the ballot information booklet for proposition EE?

• YES: A “yes” vote on Proposition II allows the state to keep and spend $23.65 million in tax revenue that has already been collected from the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products, including interest, and to maintain the current tax rates on cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products. The tax revenue will be spent on preschool programs.
• NO: A “no” vote on Proposition II means that $23.65 million will be refunded to wholesalers and distributors of cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products, and tax rates on cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products will be reduced.

Local Races & Ballot Measures

City of Cripple Creek Mayor (Four year term) (Vote for one)

• Lester Batson Jr
• Melissa Trenary
• Annie Durham

City of Cripple Creek - Ward 4 (Four year term) (Vote for one)

• Write-in

City of Cripple Creek - Ward 5 (Four year term) (Vote for one)

• Jared Bowman

City of Cripple Creek Ballot Issue 2A
Shall City of Cripple Creek taxes be increased by an estimated amount between $300,000 and $600,000 in the first fiscal year and by such amounts as may be generated annually thereafter by an additional sales tax at the rate of 1% (one cent per dollar), for a total city sales tax rate of 3.30%, commencing January 1, 2024, and ending December 31, 2027, for the purpose of funding the continuation and expansion of the Vocational and Career/Technical Education Programs including Construction Trades/Mini-Factory, Culinary Arts and Adult Education Certification Program, and shall the city be authorized to enter into a multiple fiscal year financial obligation with the school district which provides for the payment of such tax revenues to the school district; and shall the revenue from such tax increase and any earnings from investment thereof constitute a voter approved revenue change that may be collected, retained and spent by the city for the purposes set forth above notwithstanding the limitation contained in Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution or any other law?

• YES/FOR
• NO?AGAINST

City of Victor Clerk/Treasurer (Two year term) (Vote for one)

• Brandy Davis

City of Victor Mayor (Two year term) (Vote for one)

• Autumn Wallace
• Barbara Manning

City of Victor Ward 1 (Four year term) (Vote for one)

• Joshua Mestas
• Mark Gregory

City of Victor Ward 2 (Four year term) (Vote for one)

• Frances "Frankie" Ashton

Cripple Creek-Victor School District RE-1 Board of Directors - District A - City of Cripple Creek (Four year term) (Vote for one)

• Write-in

Cripple Creek-Victor School District RE-1 Board of Directors - District B - City of Victor (Four year term) (Vote for one)

• Write-in

Woodland Park School District RE-2 Board of Directors - District A (Four year term) (Vote for one)

• Seth Bryant
• Mick Bates

Woodland Park School District RE-2 Board of Directors - District C (Four year term) (Vote for one)

• Keegan Barkley
• Dave Illingworth

Woodland Park School District RE-2 Board of Directors - District D (Two year term) (Vote for one)

• Mike Knott
• Cassie Kimbrell

Special District Ballot Measures

Ute Pass Regional Health Service District Ballot lssue 7A
Shall Ute Pass Regional Health Service District taxes be increased $2,200,000 annually in the first full fiscal year, or by such amount as may be raised annually thereafter by the imposition of an additional one percent (1.0%) uniform sales tax, beginning January 1, 2024, for a total sales tax rate of one and one-half percent (1.5%) throughout the entire geographic area of the district upon every transaction or other incident with respect to which a sales tax is levied by the state pursuant to the provisions of Article 26 of Title 39, C.R.S., excluding groceries, subject to the exclusions provided in Section 32.1-1003 (5) C.R.S,, such sales tax to be levied and collected as provided in Section 32-19-112, C.R.S.; and shall all district revenues be collected, retained and spent notwithstanding any revenue limits provided by law to fund, sustain and improve ambulance, community paramedic, response services, including but not limited to improving ambulance and crisis services, reducing response times, funding the district resident insurance only billing program, additional paramedics and ambulances, purchasing medical equipment and supplies, and funding future facility and other capital improvement projects?

• YES/FOR
• NO/AGAINST

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