Good evening, Boulder. The county released its latest election results at around 5:00 p.m. today. We’re reporting them here. Another batch is expected later tonight. But much is already determined. We’ll be back in your inboxes early a.m. with our regular newsletter and reporting that will help make sense of what the results mean and what’s ahead. Sign up here (it’s free!) if this was forwarded to you.

For now, check out the latest rundown of where things stand race by race, on City of Boulder and Boulder County issues and races for the state legislature. In total, 138,311 ballots have been counted, out of 168,353 total mail and in-person ballots. Turnout of active registered voters is at 75%. That compares to 82% in the 2018 midterms. Thanks for reading.

— the BRL team

Key takeaways: The biggest change from election night is with the ballot measure to form a library district. It still remains tight. But there are now 1,202 more votes in favor than against. And with each count since election night, the measure has received more “yes” than “no” votes. Meanwhile, the measure to move Boulder’s municipal elections to even years is almost certain to pass — and, in fact, the gap has widened in its favor. The measure to repeal the CU South annexation agreement has stayed roughly the same and will likely fail.

City of Boulder measures

  • Ballot Measure 2F: Likely to fail, currently 46% of voters in favor (repeals CU South annexation)
  • Ballot Measure 2E: Certain to pass, currently 62% of voters in favor (moves city’s elections from odd years to even years to coincide with state and federal elections, starting in 2026)
  • Ballot Measure 6C: Too close to call, currently 51% of voters in favor (creates a new library district across the City of Boulder and much of Boulder County)
  • Ballot Measure 2A: Certain to pass, currently 70% of voters in favor (creates a new tax on utility bills to pay for climate change resilience and mitigation projects)
  • Ballot Measure 5A: Certain to pass, currently 70% of voters in favor (allows BVSD to borrow up to $350 million to pay for “critical needs”)
  • Ballot Measure 2D: Certain to pass, currently 83% of voters in favor (prevents candidates running for mayor in 2023 from also running for city council)
  • Ballot Measure 2C: Certain to pass, currently 67% of voters in favor (helps cut the library out of city government in library district formation)
  • Ballot Measure 2B: Certain to pass, currently 68% of voters in favor (allows the City of Boulder to take on debt to implement climate-related programs)

Boulder County measures

  • County Measure 1A: Certain to pass, currently 72% of voters in favor (a wildfire mitigation sale tax)
  • County Measure 1B: Certain to pass, currently 68% of voters in favor (a tax to support emergency response programs, including volunteer organizations, such as the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group)
  • County Measure 1C: Certain to pass, currently 81% of voters in favor (extends a transportation tax aimed in part at supporting people who walk, bike or take the bus) 

State House races

  • House District 49: Democratic Rep. Judy Amabile is leading Republican challenger Katie Lehr, 81% to 17%. (Daniel Lutz, the Libertarian candidate, has received nearly 2% of the vote.)
  • House District 10: Boulder City Councilmember Junie Joseph, a Democrat, is leading Republican William DeOreo, 88% to 12%.
  • House District 11: Democratic Rep. Karen McCormick is leading Republican challenger Tara Menza, 70% to 30%.
  • House District 12: Democratic Rep. Tracey Bernett is leading Republican challenger Anya Kirvan, 78% to 22%. (Bernett faces felony charges for allegedly lying about her primary residence in Louisville in order to run for reelection in HD 12.)

State Senate races

Reminder: This year marks the first election since the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission redrew political maps across the state and broke up Boulder County’s state senate districts. The redrawn Senate District 15 includes almost all of Larimer County, rural Berthoud, Estes Park, Loveland, Red Feather Lakes, Wellington and much of rural Boulder County, including Lyons, Nederland and Ward.

  • Senate District 15: Democrat Janice Marchman from Loveland is slightly leading incumbent Republican Sen. Rob Woodward from Loveland, 50.5% to 49.5%.

Boulder County races

  • Boulder County Commissioner District 3: Louisville Mayor Ashley Stolzmann is leading Libertarian candidate Bo Shaffer, 81% to 19%.
  • Boulder County Sheriff: Curtis Johnson, who faced no challengers, is the next Boulder County sheriff. He will replace Sheriff Joe Pelle, who was first elected in 2003. 

Boulder County 2022 election results: Even-year elections to pass, CU South annexation repeal poised to fail 

By John Herrick

Here’s what to know about this year’s election and how it will impact residents.

Continue reading…

Stacy Feldman is the founder and publisher of Boulder Reporting Lab. She previously co-founded and was executive editor of Inside Climate News, a Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit newsroom covering the climate emergency. She was a 2020-21 Ted Scripps Fellow in Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she developed the concept for BRL. Email: stacy@boulderreportinglab.org.