20,000-plus Ballots To Be Mailed Out Friday in Pivotal Off-Year Mandate
Rick Langenberg
The election clock has officially started ticking for casting ballots in the 2025 election, with a spree of key issues and races at stake.
Off-year elections, such as what we have now in 2025, usually amount to snoozers, with a low turnout rate. But this year is different, especially in certain parts of the county where pivotal votes could play a big role in determining the fiscal and political future of several local municipalities. Local residents won’t experience any shortage of ballot issues at the county and state level, as they cast their ballots. Altogether, area voters collectively face close to 10 ballot questions.
On Friday, Oct. 10, the election clock officially started ticking, with the mailing-out of more than 20,000 ballots in Teller County, according to County Clerk and Recorder Stephanie Kees. Voters then have until Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. to turn in their ballots at designated spots, or they can mail them in much earlier.
According to Kees, most voters have opted for using the 24/7 secure ballot boxes at designated areas. These spots are available this year at the county courthouse in Cripple Creek, the motor vehicle office in Woodland Park and the Divide Marketplace. But they can also vote the old-fashion way at a designated voter service polling center at the Woodland Park Library, if they desire.
Kees says elections of this type usually garner about a 50 percent turnout rate, considerably smaller than the presidential-year races. However, this year could be different, and may attract a much higher percentage, due to a number of key ballot propositions, along with significant board races in the Woodland Park RE-2 School District.
Key Issues and Races
For the most part, ballot issues and a few signature races will command the majority of attention in election 2025. Cripple Creek voters will decide if their town should become a home rule government, similar to the type of format followed by most cities in Colorado including fellow gaming rivals Central City and Black Hawk. More specifically, voters will cast tallies on whether a nine-member commission should be formed to draft a home rule charter. If the majority of the local voters say yes, the stage is set for the okay of the town’s first ever official commission to compile a city charter, Eight candidates have entered the fray, and one additional member will get appointed (if the first question passes).
In addition, two council seats are up for grabs, but only one of these is getting contested.
The RE-1 Cripple Creek/Victor School District, meanwhile, has placed an issue on the ballot, which doesn’t increase taxes, but would continue a previous levy voters okayed a number of years ago when the district incurred debt. The tax revenue would be used to help retain teachers and improve district facilities and do other enhancements. RE-1 district also has one uncontested board race for three seats.
In Victor, voters will grapple with a local ballot issue that would make the clerk/treasurer into an appointed position, instead having this designated as an elected position. This change to an appointed position is similar to what is currently done in Cripple Creek and many other municipalities.
Voters in Victor also will cast tallies on a mayor and two council positions, none of which feature any competition
Competition, though, is extremely stern in the Woodland Park RE-2 School District, with six candidates vying for three seats. On Oct. 6, the Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce hosted a lively candidates’ forum that highlighted the school board races. The outcome of this election will have a significant impact on the direction the district takes. More specifically, it could determine if the RE-2 District continues its current conservation stand on many issues, or if it takes a more progressive stance on certain topics, such as academic standards. The board candidates also appeared last week at a Vision Forward Rally, held at the Ute Pass Cultural Center and sponsored by Park State Bank & Trust, as part of an effort to form a WPSDForward Task Force. The goal of the project is to “promote constructive dialogue and inspire collective progress for WPSD students.”
In Woodland Park, voters will decide the fate of three ballot propositions that call for adjustments to the city charter. These deal with resident requirements for running for council and mayor, term limit changes for volunteer boards and allowing the clerk more time for reviewing petition-related recall signatures.
Voters in the Florissant Fire Protection District face a nearly $400,000 tax increase proposition for better infrastructure and equipment. And on a state-wide basis, Teller electors will cast tallies on several tax-related questions.
