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In case you started the day questioning the value of democracy, let us put your mind at ease: As of Tuesday at 5 p.m., 3,145,626 Coloradans—about 83 percent of active voters—took the time to make their voices heard in this consequential election. Not only is that a state record, but it could cement the Centennial State as having the highest voter turnout in the nation. We’ll keep you posted on that.
In the meantime, the polls closed at 7 p.m., and we’re tracking the results as they roll in. Keep checking back as this story is updated throughout the evening and into Wednesday and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.
Last update: Thursday, November 5 at 4 p.m.
Presidential Race
President Donald J. Trump (R, incumbent) vs. former Vice President Joe Biden (D)
*Results pending
As expected, Joe Biden picked up Colorado’s nine electoral college votes early in the night, with more than 56 percent of the vote to Trump’s 41 percent. The presidential race is too close to call.
U.S. Senate Race
Former Governor John Hickenlooper (D) defeats Senator Cory Gardner (R, incumbent). Hickenlooper, who served eight years as Denver’s mayor and another eight years as governor, will represent the state as a U.S. Senator for the first time.
U.S. House of Representatives Races
District 1
Diana DeGette (D, incumbent) defeats Shane Bolling (R). DeGette will return to the U.S. House of Representatives for a 15th term.
District 2
Joe Neguse (D, incumbent) defeats Charles Winn (R). Neguse will return to the U.S. House of Representatives for a second term.
District 3
Lauren Boebert (R) defeats Diane Mitsch Busch (D). After a somewhat surprising win over incumbent Scott Tipton during the Republican primary in June, as well as this victory, Boebert is set to become a U.S. Representative for the first time.
District 4
Ken Buck (R, incumbent) defeats Ike McCorkle (D) to win reelection. He has held the seat since 2014.
District 5
Doug Lamborn (R, incumbent) defeats Jillian Freeland (D). Lamborn will return to the U.S. House of Representatives for an eighth term.
District 6
Jason Crow (D, incumbent) defeats Steve House (R). Crow will return to the U.S. House of Representatives for a second term.
District 7
Ed Perlmutter (D, incumbent) defeats Casper Stockham (R). Perlmutter will return to the U.S. House of Representatives for an eighth term.
Colorado Ballot Initiatives
Proposition 113: National Popular Vote
With the passage of this measure, Colorado has officially entered into a pact with 14 other states to award its nine electoral college votes to the winner of the national popular vote. This issue first passed through the state legislature in 2019, but after a citizen-led petition earlier this year, the question was sent to the voters via Proposition 113. For now, nothing changes in how votes are awarded in Colorado. The compact doesn’t go into effect until it covers at least 270 electoral votes. Right now, the compact has 196 votes.
Proposition 114: Reintroduction of Wolves
Wolves will be reintroduced in Colorado’s Western Slope after the narrow passage of this initiative. This is the first time that voters had a direct say in reintroducing the country’s most controversial canids, which already populate Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, and have been spotted in northwestern Colorado as recently as earlier this year. Now, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will work with federal officials and local stakeholders to determine a plan of how reintroduction will take place.
Proposition 115: Abortion restrictions
Colorado voters rejected Proposition 115, a proposed measure that would have banned people in the Centennial State from having abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy, except for when the mother’s life is at risk. Groups against the initiative raked in more than $9.5 million compared to just $702,543 from proponents, according to updated reporting from the Colorado New Collaborative’s FollowtheMoneyCO project.”Colorado voters agreed that there is nothing reasonable about one-size-fits-all mandates that deny people access to essential medical care,” said Lucy Olena, campaign manager for the No On 115 Campaign, in a statement following the measure’s defeat.
Proposition 116: Reducing State Income Tax
Income tax rates will be going down, thanks to the passage of Proposition 116. Colorado currently has a flat 4.63 percent income tax rate. That will now be reduced to 4.55 percent.
Proposition 117: State enterprises TABOR exemption
*Results pending
Proposition 118: Family & medical leave program
Colorado businesses will be required to provide 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, plus an additional four weeks for complications during pregnancy and childbirth, to qualified workers after Proposition 118 passed Tuesday night. The program will be funded with a 0.9 percent tax on an employee’s annual pay that will be evenly split between employee and employer. Democrats had tried and failed to pass a similar measure in the General Assembly in recent years.
Proposition EE: Nicotine tax
This initiative passed, which means Colorado will raise the current tax on cigarettes from $0.84—what it is today—to $2.64 by 2027, as well as impose a levy on e-cigarettes and vaping products for the first time ever. In the near term, the money raised by the new measure will go toward public education, universal preschool, and tobacco programs. “Voters chose to make life-changing investments in our children by providing every kid with access to preschool and implementing smart policy to keep them from getting hooked on nicotine,” said Jake Williams, executive director of Healthier Colorado—a nonprofit that helped craft the measure—in a statement celebrating its passage.
Amendment 76: Clarifying that only citizens can vote
With the passage of this amendment, the Colorado constitution will be altered by a couple words. Now, instead of saying that “every citizen” may vote, it will say “only a citizen” may vote.
Amendment 77: Shifting gambling restrictions to localities
This amendment passed, which means that voters in the gambling towns of Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek will be allowed to approve more games and higher wagers.
Amendment B: Repealing a portion of the Gallagher Amendment
Property taxes in Colorado will be going up after voters repealed a part of the 1982 Gallagher Amendment, which has limited residential property taxes to 45 percent of the total property tax base statewide. The extra funds raised will help cash-strapped schools, libraries, first responders, and more—all of which have been hit particularly hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the assessment rate on residential properties will be frozen at 7.15 percent and 29 percent for non-residential properties.
Amendment C: Charitable gaming activities
*Results pending