There's an election on Tuesday! 

If you vote by mail and haven't turned your ballot in yet, hand-deliver your ballot to your County Clerk's office Monday or Tuesday to ensure that it's received in time for your vote to count. Your county may have more than one possible drop-off location for your convenience. If you haven't received your ballot yet, contact your county clerk to find out how to obtain a replacement ballot. Below, we've included some other information that may help.

Whether you're liberal, conservative, progressive, libertarian, or a completely unaffiliated free spirit, vote.

The elections in odd years involve local issues from school boards to city council to county commissioner. There may also be bond issues, initiatives, and referenda--all very local to your city or county. Although elections call to mind voting for President, Governor, and legislature, the fact is that most of what affects our daily lives happens locally. Our schools, our city streets, our zoning boards, even our trash collection are all local issues.

If you don't exercise your right to vote in these local elections, you will miss the best opportunity you will have this year to affect change for yourself and your family.

• According to the Secretary of State, there is an election in every Colorado county except Archuleta, Hinsdale, and Phillips.
• Most Colorado counties have an all-mail election this year. If you have not received a ballot or information on where to vote, contact your county clerk right away.
• Your ballot must be received by your county clerk no later than 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd for your vote to be counted. Postmarks don't count.
• If you already voted by mail, you can make sure your ballot was received on the Secretary of State's secure voter lookup website:
  https://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/secuVoterHome.do
• If your county has a polling place election, your polling place may not be in the same location as last year. Contact your County Clerk if you are not sure where you should vote.
• If you need to contact your county clerk for any of the above reasons, you can find your county clerk's contact information here:
  http://www.elections.colorado.gov/Default.aspx?PageMenuID=1397

Editor's note: the roll-call vote shows that GOP Rep. Mike Coffman did in fact vote for the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. We regret the error and thank Rep. Coffman for his support.

By a vote of 249 to 175, the House of Representatives just passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. All of Colorado's Democratic representatives voted for the bill.

Watch Representative Polis speak during the debate, it's very good:

Watch Representative Markey speak in favor of the bill (she rocks!)

The past few months have provided a dizzying series of messages in the blogosphere praising or persecuting the new President of the United States (POTUS). Thankfully, Salon.com produced an “over the nation” report on the Republican Party today that deserves more attention, and a more in-depth analysis (from yours truly, naturally).

Here’s the Salon.com link - The state (by state) of the GOP

Once again, Dick Wadhams’ penchant for media attention provides the clue for how to defeat him and continue the GOP decline:

"This notion that Colorado has suddenly become a Democratic state is preposterous. I think Democrats who have a grip on reality know that." -- State GOP chairman Dick Wadhams

The lesson from Dick is a hard and true fact of politically strategy from today to 2012, and unfortunately, too many high level Democratic leaders are positively oblivious to the concept. While basking in the glory of Barack Obama’s victory, I am seeing too many messages ignoring recent losses and weaknesses going into future ballots. This kind of complacency and false posturing is a formula for a disaster in the 2010 General Election.

Salon.com is absolutely correct by highlighting the dominance of the GOP at the county and community level. Even in Larimer County, the Democratic Party leadership is mute on the loss of a seat on the Board of County Commissioners. Reveling in the glory of former Democratic Party Chair Betsy Markey defeating Marilyn Musgrave is apparently too intoxicating to take a clear look at the dangers of the political landscape.

Click here to tell Scott Renfroe what you think!

On the floor of the State Senate yesterday, Senator Scott Renfroe (R-Greeley) actually referred to gay and lesbian people as an "abomination" and an "offense to God."

It gets worse:

Renfroe equated gay and lesbian people with murderers and quoted the Book of Leviticus suggesting that gay people should be put to death.

He also said that women were created to be "helpers" for men, quoting the Book of Genesis.

Renfroe was referring to Senate Bill 88, a bill that would extend healthcare coverage to the same-sex partners of state employees. SB 88 is about healthcare. It's about gaining some measure of equality for gay and lesbian state employees. And regardless of how people like James Dobson and Scott Renfroe feel about gay people, their shameless hate-mongering has no place in public debate and we should reject them completely.

Respond to Scott Renfroe.

http://www.ProgressNowColorado.org/NoHateState

And please also forward this email to your friends and urge them to sign as well. ProgressNow Colorado will deliver your comments by the end of the week.

Sincerely,

Bobby Clark
Deputy Director

The British government has put a halt to the Fred Phelps sideshow before it has even begun:

The Phelpses, whose protests at military members’ funerals in the U.S. have prompted lawsuits and legislation, apparently had planned to fly to the United Kingdom to protest a performance of “The Laramie Project.”

The play about the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay student who was killed in 1998 in Laramie, Wyo., is scheduled to open today at Queen Mary’s College in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

“Both these individuals have engaged in unacceptable behavior by inciting hatred against a number of communities,” a U.K. Border Agency spokesman told the Times Online, the online site of The Times of London. “The government has made it clear it opposes extremism in all its forms.”

In America, the Phelpses have a Constitutional right to free expression, something I and others have repeatedly defended here on this blog.

Swastika Guy and Michelle Malkin, too, are certainly welcome to exercise their right to free expression as guaranteed by the Constitution, as we reserve our own right to combat their speech with free speech of our own.

It is tremendously disrespectful to the memory of 6 million dead Jews, gays, and other so-called "undesirables" during the Holocaust, not to mention the 400,000+ Americans who lost their lives fighting in World War II to cheapen their legacy by comparing a mainstream American politician to Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, or any of their associated political ideologies.

People on the right who call President Obama a socialist don't know what socialism is. People on the right or left who would call President Obama or Bush a Nazi don't know what the word means.

I don't care where the comparison occurs, whether it's on the steps of our State Capitol or on this community blog where anyone can create an account and write for free, it's wrong. So please stop it.

In some great news for progressives and the GLBT community, a new Harris Interactive poll commissioned by GLAAD finds that Coloradans overwhelmingly approve legal recognition of same-sex partnerships.

• About eight out of 10 Colorado adults (83%) say that gay and lesbian couples should either be able to marry, have all of the same rights as marriage, or be able to form domestic partnerships. Only 15% say there should be no legal recognition.
• A slight majority of CO adults (51%) favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry. This represents greater support than among U.S. adults, where, according to the recently released national Pulse of Equality survey, opinion is evenly split.
• Coloradans support gay and transgender-inclusive hate crimes laws (63%) and employment, housing and public accommodations non-discrimination laws (56%) for gay and transgender people. Such proposals are similar to those already enacted in Colorado, signaling clear public support for those policies.
• Nearly three out of four (73%) of Coloradans also oppose attempts to ban qualified gay and lesbian couples from adopting. This finding suggests strong support for existing Colorado law that allows for second-parent adoption in the state.
• Two-thirds of Colorado adults (66%) favor allowing openly gay military personnel to serve in the armed forces.

Looks like all of your effort in 2006 and beyond has really paid off.