Officials raise concerns with TABOR book ballot measures in Colorado

By Conor McCue

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    COLORADO (KCNC) — Election Day is just over two weeks out, and Coloradans are already filling out their ballots and dropping them off. In the meantime, some people are raising concerns about the TABOR books meant to help them make informed voting choices.

Earlier this month, errors were found in Denver’s voting booklet, including proofing errors for ballot questions in the Spanish version of Ballot Measures 2J and 2K, as well as omitted comments for Ballot Measure 2I and Ordinance 307. The clerk’s office spent $191,000 to send out mailers with the correct information.

Douglas County School leaders have also spoken out about what they labeled misinformation in TABOR books sent to voters in the county.

In the arguments section, one opponent urges people to vote no while claiming there’s “woke ideology indoctrination” in the curriculum. Other arguments against the ballot measures incorrectly inflate the ultimate cost to voters by saying they’ll increase with an upcoming reappraisal, the district superintendent said.

“I just want it to be based off of accurate information,” superintendent Erin Kane told CBS News Colorado last week.

But Matt Crane, a former clerk and executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said voters shouldn’t expect changes to be made.

“A mistake in the way the book is put together is different in this case than somebody putting something that’s factually inaccurate in one of those ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ statement,” Crane said.

According to Crane, it all starts with state law, which requires voters receive a notice about any measure that could affect taxes.

The Colorado Legislative Council sends out the state “blue books,” and county clerk and recorder offices send out TABOR books, which include information on local ballot measures.

Each includes ballot language, fiscal information, and arguments for and against each measure. But while the legislative council comes up with the arguments for the blue books, registered voters submit them for the county TABOR books.

“[The county clerks] take what is submitted and then they put it into the TABOR notice,” Crane said. “So long as it meets certain guidelines like length, how long it has to be, no endorsements of any candidates, no foul language, nothing like that, they will put it verbatim as for what’s submitted.”

According to Crane, a large part of it comes down to local offices lacking the staff and resources to fact check each voter statement that’s submitted. In many other cases, clerks will avoid making those corrections to remain impartial.

“Anything that’s done in that way where it makes it look like they favor one side or another, then that undermines public confidence in the election, and we should not be calling balls and strikes like that,” Crane said.

Some counties include warnings in their TABOR books, but ultimately, fact checking is up to the voters. Crane called the books a valuable resource but said they shouldn’t be the only one voters use.

“With all of the disinformation and lies that permeate our elections right now, I think there’s a heightened sense about inaccurate information and I think that’s why we’re hearing from so many more people,” Crane said. “Go through them, read them, study them, and then don’t be afraid to do research in other places too.”

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