Denver Politics
On My Block · Denver Politics

ElectionsBallot Measures

Updated Denver count: every city measure still passing as turnout tops 52%

About 31,000 more ballots were counted by 5 p.m. Wednesday. Margins on 2H, 2I, 2J, 2K, 311 and DPS's 4A barely moved. Here's where each stands and what comes next.

By Denver Politics staffUpdated

Denver's latest unofficial count, posted after 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, shows every city ballot measure still passing by wide margins. The Denver Elections Division's report counts 252,086 ballots, 52.74% of the city's 477,955 registered voters. That's 31,045 more than the 221,041 counted in the final election-night update at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, when turnout stood at 46.25% (5 p.m. report, 11:30 p.m. report).

Why it matters: three of these questions change the city charter, one approves a 20-year utility franchise and one writes a new city law by petition. The new ballots didn't change the direction of any of them.

All figures are unofficial until certification and canvass, scheduled for Nov. 24, according to the Elections Division. The city's results page matched the 5 p.m. report when we checked Thursday morning.

Yes share, election night vs. Wednesday

Shares below are of votes cast on each question, from the city's two reports.

  • 2H, Auditor's wage enforcement: 86.42% Tuesday, 11:30 p.m. → 86.50% Wednesday, 5 p.m. (199,390 yes, 31,125 no)
  • 2J, Civil Service Commission: 79.78% → 79.71% (179,385 yes, 45,661 no)
  • 4A, DPS tax increase: 68.00% → 68.40% (163,067 yes, 75,321 no)
  • 2K, Xcel franchise: 68.49% → 67.58% (155,484 yes, 74,586 no)
  • 311, foie gras ban: 66.55% → 66.91% (155,973 yes, 77,123 no)
  • 2I, two-year budgets: 65.52% → 65.62% (146,039 yes, 76,528 no)

The biggest move was on 2K, where the yes share fell by about nine-tenths of a point. It still leads by more than 80,000 votes.

Skipped questions. More voters left 2I blank than any other city question: 28,414 of 250,995 ballots, about 11%. For 2H the figure was about 8%, and for 4A about 5%.

One regional measure. Denver voters also favored Ballot Issue 7A, the Front Range Passenger Rail District's proposed 0.333% sales tax for the planned Colorado Connector line, 65.69% to 34.31%. That measure covers a multi-county district, so Denver's count alone doesn't decide it, Axios Denver explained.

What our records add: what each result sets in motion

2H. The charter will say the Auditor's Office may enforce wage laws the Council passes. The Council's part was the referral, Council Bill 26-0687, which passed 11-0 in July. Any new wage law for the office to enforce would come as separate legislation.

2I. It lets the Council adopt two-year budgets by ordinance, but one year stays the default. No such ordinance was among the bills filed since Oct. 25, our search of the city's legislative records found Thursday. The referral, 26-0864, passed in July with Flor Alvidrez and Kevin Flynn voting no (our story).

2J. The Council already passed the matching code changes, 26-1055, alongside the referral, 26-1048, so that part is done.

2K. The new Xcel franchise would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, when the current one expires. The Council sent it to voters 10-2 in July, a year after an earlier version died 6-7 (our story).

311. The ban takes effect July 1, 2027. It reached the ballot by petition, with no Council vote, and our transcript search found no Council discussion of it (our explainer).

4A. A school district measure. The Council's related item, $3.7 million in city climate money for DPS student programs, 26-1410, cleared a Council committee by consent on Wednesday (our story).

What's next