ELECTION DAY 2012
Glenwood Springs–Garfield County Clerk and Recorder Jean Alberico expects her office to be counting votes until 1 or 2 o’clock tomorrow morning. She says with 75 percent of registered voters casting their ballots by mail, the lines at the polling stations shouldn’t be too long. The polls close at 7pm. Garfield County voters are deciding on two commissioner’s races as well as Senate District 8, House District 57 and the 3rd Congressional District. KMTS News will be on hand with live coverage through the night reporting from the Garfield County courthouse.
DENVER (AP) – Voters in some Colorado counties are facing long lines and problems meeting voting requirements. Elena Nunez of the watchdog group Colorado Common Cause said some voters on Tuesday were being asked for photo identification papers, which is not required under Colorado law. Colorado lawmakers killed a bill this year that would have required photo identification papers. Voters can still use utility bills, bank statements and naturalization documents as valid forms of identification during elections. In Arapahoe County, voters faced long lines with wait times of up to two hours. Long lines were also reported in Denver, Jefferson and other large metropolitan counties. Nunez said a number of voters have been given provisional ballots while problems are being resolved.
DENVER (AP) – A spokesman for Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler says his boss welcomes a thorough investigation to determine if Gessler violated the law by using state funds to attend a partisan event and spending $1,400 from his office account without receipts. Denver district attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough says a criminal probe has been launched into the allegations. Colorado’s Independent Ethics Commission is also investigating. Gessler’s spokesman, Rich Coolidge, says the office fund is similar to the per diem given state lawmakers where no receipts are necessary. Gessler is also under fire for using state funds to return early from the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. Colorado’s elections chief says death threats were made against his family, prompting his early return.
COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) – Economists say a wildfire that burned 346 homes and scorched 28 square miles in the Colorado Springs area could provide an economic boost over the next five years.
Insurance claims for the contents and homes damaged in the Waldo Canyon Fire this past summer have reached $350 million and still rising. Economist Tom Zwirlein says the cost of rebuilding could create more than 750 new jobs over the next five years. Refurbishing new homes and businesses could create more than 320 jobs and boost tax revenues.
