{"id":65053,"date":"2020-04-06T17:28:30","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T23:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/clock-ticking-for-citizen-ballot-measures-but-campaigns-paused-for-coronavirus\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:59:16","slug":"clock-ticking-for-citizen-ballot-measures-but-campaigns-paused-for-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/clock-ticking-for-citizen-ballot-measures-but-campaigns-paused-for-coronavirus\/","title":{"rendered":"Clock ticking for citizen ballot measures, but campaigns paused for coronavirus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold at an event with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Dec. 6 in Denver.<\/span>Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The coronavirus pandemic is making it harder for candidates and initiatives to qualify for the ballot in Colorado, and leading to concerns about disenfranchisement.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s stay-at-home and social distancing orders are preventing advocates for eight ballot campaigns from collecting the 124,632 valid voter signatures each need to make the November election. Likewise, the efforts for more than a dozen additional citizen initiatives are essentially frozen in place until the statewide lockdown lifts.<\/p>\n

But the clock continues to tick. The deadline to submit signatures for one measure arrives in June and most others must return their petitions in early August.<\/p>\n

The voter-initiated questions in jeopardy include a major overhaul of the state\u2019s tax system, a tobacco tax to generate money for preschool education, regulations on oil and gas drilling, a paid leave program for workers and much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will expect to see fewer citizen initiatives,\u201d said Wendy Underhill, the elections director at the National Conference of State Legislatures, a Denver-based bipartisan organization. In the states where they are allowed, she said, \u201cthey are having a hard time \u2026 because right now is when they would be out gathering signatures, and gathering signatures doesn\u2019t seem like a good idea when people are in stay-at-home mode.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Jared Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold, both Democrats, are considering executive action to give ballot campaigns more flexibility in collecting signatures, possibly by extending the due dates. \u201cYou should not be collecting signatures under the stay-at-home order,\u201d Griswold said during a virtual town hall Thursday.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s current stay-at-home order continues through Saturday, but the governor is considering extending the mandate, following the actions of Denver.<\/p>\n

The state constitution prohibits obtaining voter signatures online, but the governor could ask the state Supreme Court to waive the requirement for in-person collection. Utah\u2019s governor in late March suspended a similar law to allow for electronic submission.<\/p>\n

Asked in an interview Friday whether he could take action, Polis would not discuss his thinking on the issue. \u201cI can\u2019t really talk about what\u2019s being worked on,\u201d he told The Colorado Sun.<\/p>\n

The pandemic already is making it harder for candidates to qualify<\/div>\n

Regardless of whether the governor takes action, the impact of the COVID-19 virus already is apparent on the ballot.<\/p>\n

The fears of the disease escalated in Colorado just ahead of the deadline for candidates to submit signatures to qualify for the June primary ballot, and some claimed it kept them from reaching the threshold.<\/p>\n

Others are anxiously waiting to find out if they collected enough by the March 17 deadline. Many of the candidates at risk of not making the primary ballot are women and people of color, as well as newcomers to the political process.<\/p>\n

The alternative method to qualify for the ballot in Colorado also is plagued by the pandemic and leading some to miss the cut. The candidates who are seeking to gather at least 30% support at political party assemblies are having a difficult time adapting now that most are taking place online.<\/p>\n

Democrat Hazel Gibson lost her bid to qualify for the ballot in State House District 6 by a single vote in Denver County\u2019s virtual assembly. She received 29.5% support \u2013 just shy of the threshold needed to secure her name on the June 30 primary. State Rep. Steven Woodrow, who was appointed to the seat in February, qualified with 70.5%.<\/p>\n

Gibson called the process confusing and unfair. \u201cIn a normal situation, I would have been able to talk to (the delegates), to see them face-to-face, and I wasn\u2019t given that opportunity,\u201d said Gibson, a veteran political organizer. Her virtual campaign became more difficult after she and her children became sick with symptoms that matched COVID-19. They were not tested, however.<\/p>\n

The result \u2013 along with the tallies from two other drum-tight contests at the Denver County assembly \u2013 were challenged and led to a review by the state Democratic Party. In all three cases, the outcome was reaffirmed, party officials said.<\/p>\n

The new environment may make it \u201cimpossible\u201d for ballot questions<\/div>\n

Even if the stay-at-home orders are lifted, the ballot initiative campaigns are concerned about collecting signatures given that public health fears are expected to linger.<\/p>\n

Jennie Peek-Dunstone, a Democratic strategist who works on ballot campaigns, said the mechanics all need to change.<\/p>\n

The canvassers need to carry hand sanitizer and possibly hundreds of pens so the person who signs can keep it, rather than using one for everyone. In addition, events with big crowds that are ripe for signature gathering may not be as large, so it will take longer to reach the number needed.<\/p>\n

The campaigns facing August deadlines may struggle to make the ballot given the huge numbers of signatures needed, Peek-Dunstone said. And the well-funded interests will hold the advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of it depends on when things get back to the new normal. If that happens in late May or early June, you may be able to do it,\u201d she said. \u201cBut you\u2019re going to be cutting it close.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel Hayes, a Golden resident behind a ballot measure to limit housing growth in 11 Front Range counties, said his effort is doomed because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Hayes has until June 5 to turn in the necessary signatures, but he\u2019s throwing in the towel. \u201cIt failed \u2013 there\u2019s no way,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cIf it hadn\u2019t been for the virus, we would have been there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan Lynch, a Republican consultant working on the so-called \u201cgreen giveback\u201d citizen initiative, which would create a tax break for people who drive their cars less than 12,000 miles a year, said executive action is needed to loosen the rules on petitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be impossible for anything not already on the ballot to get on with the current rules,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Three questions are qualified for the ballot so far: a repeal of the state\u2019s national popular vote law; a requirement for U.S. citizenship to vote; and the reintroduction of gray wolves.<\/p>\n

Other campaigns press forward and get creative with canvassing<\/p>\n

On Friday, the state said a measure that would ban abortions after 22-weeks failed to get the number of signatures needed to make the November ballot, as expected. But it\u2019s not a done deal.<\/p>\n

The supporters of the \u201cDue Date Too Late\u201d campaign now have 15-days to collect an additional 10,000 valid signatures. Prompted by a lawsuit filed by the organizers, a judge granted them a reprieve, saying the 15-day clock didn\u2019t start until after the state\u2019s stay-at-home order is lifted.<\/p>\n

Suzanne Staiert, an attorney working on the group\u2019s behalf, said the campaign expects to get the additional signatures and secure a ballot position. \u201cWe have an issue that is near and dear to a lot of people\u2019s hearts,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s different than circulating a petition for a different kind of issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proponents behind a major overhaul of the state\u2019s tax system are likewise undeterred. The \u201cFair Tax Colorado\u201d campaign is proposing to strike elements of the Taxpayer\u2019s Bill of Rights and create a tiered tax system that forces the wealthy to pay more and lower rates for most others.<\/p>\n

The campaign announced its launch March 5 \u2013 the same day the state confirmed its first positive COVID-19 test \u2013 and faces an Aug. 3 deadline. In the canvassing pause, the campaign is hosting webinars to educate supporters about the issue and mailing petitions to hundreds of people to get them ready to collect signatures when it\u2019s safe again.<\/p>\n

The interest level is high so far. \u201cBeing able to do something right now feels good,\u201d said Abby Vining, the campaign\u2019s director. \u201cEven if \u2018doing something\u2019 is just getting something in the mail and holding on to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the effort will restart is hard to predict, she said, so for now, the campaign \u201cis in this stay-safe-and-get-ready space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff writer Jesse Paul and correspondent Sandra Fish contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, journalist-owned news outlet exploring issues of statewide interest. Sign up for a newsletter and read more at coloradosun.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advocates wonder if Gov. Jared Polis will grant reprieve from rules<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[394,233,266,819,28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-65053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-legislature","tag-coloradosun-com","tag-election","tag-gov-jared-polis","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65053"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89520,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65053\/revisions\/89520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65053"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=65053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}