Colorado Voter Cheat Sheet (Sample Ballot) 2008

I did not find a cheat sheet (sample ballot) anywhere online similar to the one that can be found in the Colorado Voter Blue Book that was mailed to our homes. The only ones I found are ones which were filled in by different political groups with their explanation of why they wanted you to vote a certain way. What I wanted is a blank form that I could fill in as I got more information regarding the different measures that are up for vote this year. So I created one. This one is blank and has a place for you to fill in whether you want to vote yes or no. In addition, there is a small area to add notes. Finally, on page 2 I have tried to add a few links. The first few links are to general resources (such as Colorado State election center, where you can read the text in each of the measures). The last few are links to different groups and their opinions on each of these measures. I have tried to find both Democratic and Republican opinions as well as business links. They all provide good summaries on each of the measures and can be useful in making up your mind on how to vote on these issues.

Bottom line, don’t vote on measures a certain way just because that's what an ad says or that’s what your political group tells you to do. Research for yourself, you will most likely find that you might vote on certain issues just like your party does and others just like the opposite party.

This year’s ballot is long and complicated, so it will be useful to take this form (filled out, of course) with you to the voting center.\

Voter Cheat Sheet 2008 – Colorado

Google Docs version of cheat sheet

 

Update: October 22, 2008 – I have a cheat sheet with my opinions and a summary of the endorsements of various organizations in Colorado. It can be useful in making up your mind.

Colorado Voter Cheat Sheet (Sample Ballot) with Opinions 2008

Update: October 24, 2008 - I have added one more tool to help you decide on how to vote. This one is a table that summarizes the endorsements of various organizations for the different ballot issues – link.

 

The following links are available in the Voter Cheat Sheet.

References

• Colorado Elections Center
  http://www.elections.colorado.gov/DDefault.aspx?
• Vote-Co.org
  http://www.vote-co.org/Default.aspx
  Provides sample ballots, side by side comparison of candidates and can customize the information based on your address.
• Voter Reminder Sheet – Denver
  http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/639/documents/Forms/Voter_Reminder_Sheet_English.pdf
• League of Women Voters
  http://www.smartvoter.org/
• Project Vote Smart
  http://www.votesmart.org/
• FactCheck
  http://www.factcheck.org/

Opinions

The following links are to pages of different groups and how they would like you to vote with their explanations.

• Denver Democratic Party (Democratic)
  http://denverdemocrats.net/files/u2/documents/DPoDSlateCardSP.pdf
• Colorado Small Business Republicans (Republican/Business)
  http://www.smallbusinessrepublicans.com/issues/2008Ballot.htm
• Peoples Press Collective
  http://www.peoplespresscollective.org/2008-colorado-ballot/
• Colorado Ballot Initiative
  http://www.coloradoballot.net/index.htm
• Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce (Business)
  http://www.denverchamber.org/pdfs/DMCCsampleballot.pdf
• The Colorado Index (Republican)
  http://thecoloradoindex.typepad.com/the_colorado_index/2008/09/updated-voters.html
• Boulder County Democrats (Democratic)
  http://www.bouldercountydems.org/election2008/issues/
• Joshua Sharf (Republican)
  http://www.sharfcolorado.com/ballot.html
• Slapstick Politics
  http://slapstickpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/10/2008-colorado-sample-ballot-guide.html