CD 3, CD4, some state and local ballot measures remain undecided
Ballots from Tuesday’s election are still being counted across the state. Yesterday, we brought you the latest on several races and ballot measures across the KVNF listening area that were still too close to call. And as of 7:30 this morning, some of those contests remain undecided, as election officials continue counting the remaining votes.
Republican Jeff Hurd is maintaining his lead against Democrat Dwayne Romero to maintain his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Hurd is now about 6,000 votes ahead, with 97% of the vote counted. Some outlets have started to call the race in Hurd’s favor, but that call isn’t universal yet.
Across the state in District 4, Democrat Eileen Laubacher continues to hold a small lead over incumbent Republican Lauren Boebert. Boebert is about 3,000 votes behind. The margin is slim, but not slim enough to trigger an automatic recount as it currently stands.
Turning to ballot measures, state proposition 134 has officially passed. It requires student athletes to participate on teams that match their sex assigned at birth, and requires schools, colleges and athletic associations to designate sports teams as male, female or coeducational. Proposition 135, which would ban gender affirming surgeries for minors, also seems set to pass. Those two measures, along with the newly-passed increased fentanyl penalties, have raised questions about implementation.
CBS News spoke with University of Colorado Law professor Scott Skinner-Thompson about the measures targeting transgender kids. He said since these measures change Colorado statutes, rather than the constitution, state lawmakers can later revise or repeal them. Given Colorado’s liberal state legislature, it’s unlikely that the sports ban will be become a strictly-written law.
Montrose County gives update on ballot count
Montrose County is continuing to process ballots from Tuesday night’s election. As of 1 p.m. yesterday, the county said it had scanned over 21,000 ballots.
Some of those scanned ballots are awaiting adjudication.
The adjudication process is detailed and secure, to make sure every ballot remains anonymous and is counted correctly. This means getting updates in the system can take a while, as election judges complete adjudication by hand in batches of 50.
The county also says that the complexity of the 2026 General election ballot caused many voters to change their mind on how they wished to vote for a candidate or measure. When voters change their mind and mark through their initial vote then fill in the oval for their choice, the system cannot determine how a voter intended to vote in that particular contest, but sends these ballots to adjudication as an overvote. At that point, a bipartisan team of election judges reviews the voter’s marks for that contest and must agree on the voter’s intent.
Montrose ballots are also making their way in from other parts of the state. Voters who are traveling or temporarily away from their county of residence can drop off their ballots at any other Colorado county office.
There are also 198 ballots that contain some type of issue that voters can correct through the “curing” process. Curing allows voters to address a missing or mismatched signature on the ballot envelope or to provide required identification. Voters have until the end of next Thursday to make corrections. If a voter with a signature mismatch does not resolve it by the deadline or tells the clerk’s office they did not cast the ballot, the clerk’s office sends the signature records to the district attorney for investigation. Check to see if your ballot was counted through the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.
After the November 12 deadlines, election officials will conduct an audit, and will then certify the election the week of Thanksgiving.
Moab 240 cancelled mid-race
Heavy rain in southeast Utah last month led to the cancellation of one of the toughest ultra marathons in the world: The Moab 240.
The 240-mile course winds through southeast Utah, including Bears Ears and the La Sals.
Runners have just under five days to finish, often sleeping only a few hours along the way.
For many, simply crossing the finish line is the goal.
But this year, about a day and a half into the race, the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel brought dangerous winds and flash flooding to the region.
And, for the first time in the race’s history, organizers called it off.
For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, KZMU’s Margaret Osborne tells the story of the canceled race through the experiences of three Moab runners.
