In addition to deciding on many key federal and state races, one state constitutional amendment, and multiple state-wide ballot issues, voters in Kiowa County will decide on county ballot measures, leadership for county commissioners, and judges for local courts.News5 is helping you prepare for the November 5, 2024 Election with guides to find out what's on the ballot, what it means to you, and where to deliver your ballot across the region. Key Dates and DeadlinesFri, Oct. 11: First Ballots Mailed Out to Colorado Voters & Ballot Drop-offs Open*See County Clerk's Office for locationsMon, Oct. 28: Last Day to Register to Vote and Receive a Mailed BallotMon, Oct. 28: Last Day to Mail a Ballot to meet Election Day deadlineTues, Nov. 5: Election Day - Ballots Due by 7:00 p.m.Wed, Nov. 13: Military/Overseas Ballot Due Delivered by DateFri, Nov. 15: Deadline for Counties to Tabulate All BallotsTues, Dec. 10: Last Day to Complete a RecountNot sure if you are registered to vote in Colorado? Use the state's Find My Voter Registration system.See the Kiowa County Sample BallotYou can find an up-to-date list of locations for ballot drop-offs and Voter Polling and Service Locations from the Kiowa County Clerk & Recorder's site. Days and times of operation vary by location.____Information from the Kiowa County Official Sample Ballot for the 2024 ElectionStatewide Amendment &Propositions:Ballot questions referred by the general assembly or any political subdivision are listed by letter, and ballot questions initiated by the people are listed numerically. A ballot question listed as an "amendment" proposes a change to the Colorado constitution, and a ballot question listed as a "proposition" proposes a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes. A "yes/for" vote on any ballot question is a vote in favor of changing current law or existing circumstances, and a "no/against" vote on any ballot question is a vote against changing current law or existing circumstances.The information for each proposition comes from the 2024 State Ballot Information Booklet (aka The Blue Book) compiled by the Legislative Council of the Colorado General AssemblyAmendment G (CONSTITUTIONAL)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning the expansion of eligibility for the property tax exemption for veterans with a disability to include a veteran who does not have a service-connected disability rated as a one hundred percent permanent disability but does have individual unemployability status?Amendment H (CONSTITUTIONAL)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning judicial discipline, and, in connection therewith, establishing an independent judicial discipline adjudicative board, setting standards for judicial review of a discipline case, and clarifying when discipline proceedings become public?Amendment I (CONSTITUTIONAL)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning creating an exception to the right to bail for cases of murder in the first degree when proof is evident or presumption is great?Amendment J (CONSTITUTIONAL)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution removing the ban on same-sex marriage?Amendment K (CONSTITUTIONAL)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning the modification of certain deadlines in connection with specified elections?Amendment 79 (CONSTITUTIONAL)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be a change to the Colorado constitution recognizing the right to abortion, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting the state and local governments from denying, impeding, or discriminating against the exercise of that right, allowing abortion to be a covered service under health insurance plans for Colorado state and local government employees and for enrollees in state and local governmental insurance programs?Amendment 80 (CONSTITUTIONAL) (Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution establishing the right to school choice for children in kindergarten through 12th grade, and, in connection therewith, declaring that school choice includes neighborhood, charter, and private schools; home schooling; open enrollment options; and future innovations in education? Proposition JJ (STATUTORY) (Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Without raising taxes, may the state keep and spend all sports betting tax revenue above voter-approved limits to fund water conservation and protection projects instead of refunding revenue to casinos?Proposition KK (STATUTORY)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall state taxes be increased by $39,000,000 annually to fund mental health services, including for military veterans and at-risk youth, school safety and gun violence prevention, and support services for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes by authorizing a tax on gun dealers, gun manufacturers, and ammunition vendors at the rate of 6.5% of the net taxable sales from the retail sale of any gun, gun precursor part, or ammunition, with the state keeping and spending all of the new tax revenue as a voter-approved revenue change?Proposition 127 (STATUTORY)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning a prohibition on the hunting of mountain lions, lynx, and bobcats, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting the intentional killing, wounding, pursuing, entrapping, or discharging or releasing of a deadly weapon at a mountain lion, lynx, or bobcat; creating eight exceptions to this prohibition including for the protection of human life, property, and livestock; establishing a violation of this prohibition as a class 1 misdemeanor; and increasing fines and limiting wildlife license privileges for persons convicted of this crime?Proposition 128 (STATUTORY)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning parole eligibility for an offender convicted of certain crimes, and, in connection therewith, requiring an offender who is convicted of second degree murder; first degree assault; class 2 felony kidnapping; sexual assault; first degree arson; first degree burglary; or aggravated robbery committed on or after January 1, 2025, to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before being eligible for parole, and requiring an offender convicted of any such crime committed on or after January 1, 2025, who was previously convicted of any two crimes of violence, not just those crimes enumerated in this measure, to serve the full sentence imposed before beginning to serve parole?Proposition 129 (STATUTORY)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes creating a new veterinary professional associate profession, and, in connection therewith, establishing qualifications including a masters degree in veterinary clinical care or the equivalent as determined by the state board of veterinary medicine to be a veterinary professional associate; requiring registration with the state board; allowing a registered veterinary professional associate to practice veterinary medicine under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian; and making it a misdemeanor to practice asProposition 130 (STATUTORY)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning state funding for peace officer training and support, and, in connection therewith, directing the legislature to appropriate 350 million dollars to the peace officer training and support fund for municipal and county law enforcement agencies to hire and retain peace officers; allowing the fund to be used for pay, bonuses, initial and continuing education and training, and a death benefit for a peace officer, police, fire and first responder killed in the line of duty; and requiring the funding to supplement existing appropriations?Proposition 131 (STATUTORY)(Vote Yes/For or No/Against) Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes creating new election processes for certain federal and state offices, and, in connection therewith, creating a new all-candidate primary election for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, CU board of regents, state board of education, and the Colorado state legislature; allowing voters to vote for any one candidate per office, regardless of the voters or candidates political party affiliation; providing that the four candidates for each office who receive the most votes advance to the general election; and in the general election, allowing voters to rank candidates for each office on their ballot, adopting a process for how the ranked votes are tallied, and determining the winner to be the candidate with the highest number of votes in the final tally?County Ballot Measures Kiowa County Ballot Issue 1A (Vote Yes/For or No/Against)Shall Kiowa County taxes be increased for general county purposes and county roads and bridge construction and maintenance purposes by the proposed 1.5% countywide sales and use tax which is to be levied and imposed, commencing January 1, 2025 and continuing for 15 years; which is estimated to generate the first full fiscal year increase of $460,000 and by such amounts as are received in any year thereafter, more or less, to be allocated and expended as determined during the county budget review process on an annual basis; and be imposed as follows: a sales tax at a rate of 1.5% on the sale of tangible personal property at retail and the furnishing of services in the county; a use tax at a rate of 1.5% on the storage, use or consumption in the county of any construction and building materials purchased at retail and motor vehicle and other vehicles purchased at retail on which registration is required; provided that this question does not authorize the county to increase any other fee or tax, including property taxes; and shall this tax increase constitute a voter approved revenue change and exception to the limits that otherwise would apply to the county under Article X, section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, commonly known as the taxpayer's bill or rights or TABOR; all in accordance with the resolution adopted by the board of County Commissioners of Kiowa County and set forth in resolution no. 2024-06?Kiowa County Ballot Issue 1B - Lodging Tax (Vote Yes/For or No/Against)Shall Kiowa County taxes be increased by $10,000 annually commencing January 1, 2025, for a one percent (1%) lodging excise tax on the rental fee, price, or other consideration paid or charged for the leasing, rental, sale or furnishing of a room or accommodation for a short-term period (a period of less than 30 consecutive days) in Kiowa County, with said revenue used for advertising and marketing local tourism, with all such operating and capital expenditures subject to an annual independent audit and spent in compliance with local government budget laws and program criteria developed and approved by the board of County Commissioners in a noticed and public meeting, and shall the first year revenues, and whatever additional amounts are raised annually thereafter, be collected and spent as a voter approved revenue change notwithstanding any limitation or condition under Article X, section 20 of the Colorado Constitution or any other provision of law.Special District Ballot Measures Kiowa County Hospital District Ballot Question 6A (Vote Yes/For or No/Against)Shall Kiowa County hospital district's taxes be increased by the imposition of an increased operating levy not to exceed 19.54 mills beginning in tax collection year 2025 and continuing thereafter upon the then current assessed valuation of all property located within Kiowa County hospital district in order to increase or improve levels of public services, including but not limited to, funding improvements to Kiowa County hospital district's aging facilities and investing in future operations to support the Kiowa County hospital district community; and shall the Kiowa County hospital district be entitled to collect, retain, and spend those revenues in addition to any other taxes, fees, or other revenues of Kiowa County hospital district as a voter approved revenue change and exception to any spending or revenue change and exception to any spending or revenue restrictions or other limits contained in Article X, section 20 of the Colorado Constitution; and shall all of the terms and conditions herein be perpetual in duration until amended?Kiowa County Public Library District Ballot Question 6B (Vote Yes/For or No/Against)Shall the Kiowa County Public Library District, without creating any new tax or increasing any current taxes, be authorized to collect, retain and spend all tax revenues collected and other funds collected from any and all revenue sources, without limitation, in the current fiscal year 2024, and continuing thereafter, to be spent for general operations and any other lawful purposes, without further voter approval, as a voter approved revenue change and as an exception to the limits which would otherwise apply under Section 29-1-301, C.R.S. or any other revenue limitation or restriction set forth in any law of the state?Elected Federal Offices Presidential Electors (Vote for One Pair)Kamala D. Harris / Tim Walz || DemocraticDonald J. Trump / JD Vance || RepublicanBlake Huber / Andrea Denault || Approval VotingChase Russell Oliver / Mike ter Maat || LibertarianJill Stein / Rudolph Ware|| GreenRandall Terry / Stephen E Broden || American ConstitutionCornel West / Melina Abdullah || UnityRobert F. Kennedy Jr. / Nicole Shanahan || UnaffiliatedWrite-In:____________Representative to the 119th United States Congress - District 4 (Vote for One)Lauren Boebert || RepublicanTrisha Calvarese || DemocraticFrank Atwood || Approval Voting(Signed declaration to limit service to no more than 3 terms)Hannah Goodman || Libertarian Paul Noel Fiorino || UnityState Offices State Board of Education Member - Congressional District 4 (Vote for One)Krista Holtzmann || DemocraticKristi "KBB" Burton Brown || RepublicanRegent of the University of Colorado - At Large (Vote for One)Eric Rinard || RepublicanElliott Hood || DemocraticThomas Reasoner || Approval VotingT.J. Cole || UnityState Representative - District 47 (Vote for One)Elizabeth Bulthuis || DemocraticTy S. Winter || RepublicanDistrict Attorney - 15th Judicial District (Vote for One)Andrew J. Hayden || RepublicanCounty Offices Kiowa County Commissioner - District 1 (Vote for One)Michael C LeningKiowa County Commissioner - District 3 (Vote for One)Donald E OswaldJudicial Retention QuestionsColorado Supreme Court Justice (Vote Yes or No)Shall Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter of the Colorado Supreme Court be retained in office?Shall Justice Brian D. Boatright of the Colorado Supreme Court be retained in office?Shall Justice Monica M. Mrquez of the Colorado Supreme Court be retained in office?Colorado Court of Appeals Judge (Vote YES or NO)Shall Judge Stephanie Dunn of the Colorado Court of Appeals be retained in office?Shall Judge Jerry N. Jones of the Colorado Court of Appeals be retained in office?Shall Judge W. Eric Kuhn of the Colorado Court of Appeals be retained in office?Shall Judge Gilbert M. Romn of the Colorado Court of Appeals be retained in office?Shall Judge Timothy J. Schutz of the Colorado Court of Appeals be retained in office?District Court Judge - 15th Judicial District (Vote Yes or No)Shall Judge Michael J. Davidson of the 15th Judicial District be retained in office?_____