Everything you need to vote in Monument and the Tri-Lakes, in one place. Enter your address in any tool below to check your registration, register or update it, manage your mail ballot, see what’s on your ballot, and get reminders so you never miss a deadline. The Monument Independent is nonpartisan — we help you vote, we don’t tell you how.

On your ballot now: the November 3 coordinated election

Colorado’s general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. It is a coordinated election, which means one envelope carries the state’s questions, El Paso County’s contests and whatever your own town and districts have referred. Colorado is an all-mail-ballot state: every active registered voter is sent a ballot automatically. You can return it by mail, drop it in any 24-hour drop box, or vote in person — but it must be received, not merely postmarked, by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Key dates

Monday, October 5 — ballots are mailed to active registered voters.
Monday, October 19 — Voter Service and Polling Centers open.
Monday, October 26 — last day to register or update your record and still be mailed a ballot.
Tuesday, October 27 — the county’s recommended last day to return a ballot by mail. After this, use a drop box or a polling center. From this date you can still register or update your record and get a ballot in person at a Voter Service and Polling Center.
Tuesday, November 3 — Election Day. Ballots must be received by 7 p.m. Postmarks do not count.
Thursday, November 12 — last day to cure a signature discrepancy, and the deadline for military and overseas ballots.

There is no registration deadline to vote. Colorado allows same-day registration: you can register and cast a ballot in person at a Voter Service and Polling Center any time through 7 p.m. on Election Day. The unaffiliated-voter rule that applied in June — two party ballots, return only one — belongs to the primary and does not apply in November. Every voter gets one ballot.

What Tri-Lakes voters are deciding

Both Tri-Lakes towns elect their governments this year, and both have certified their ballots. Monument is choosing a mayor and four councilmembers and deciding a tax question; Palmer Lake is choosing a mayor and five trustees. In the unincorporated county, the District 1 commissioner seat is open.

Local contests on the November 3, 2026 ballot
Jurisdiction Contest On the ballot Seats and terms
Town of Monument Mayor Kenneth Kimple · Laura Kronick One seat, four years
Town of Monument Councilmember, District 1 Dan DeBoo One seat, four years
Town of Monument Councilmember, District 2 Marco P. Fiorito (incumbent) One seat, four years
Town of Monument Councilmember, at-large Scott Gilson · Alex Valderrama Two seats; the higher vote total takes four years, the runner-up two
Town of Monument Ballot issue Use tax on construction and building materials and construction equipment, 2.0% to 3.5% (Ordinance No. 19-2026)
Town of Palmer Lake Mayor Kent Hutson · Atis Jurka One seat, two years
Town of Palmer Lake Trustee Ten candidates: William Bass · Beth Harris · Tony Beltran · Dennis Stern · Rebecca “Becky” Albright · Karla Kerstner · Roger Moseley · Kathy Keeley · John Marble · Eric Alan Burton Five seats, vote for up to five; the top two take four years, the next three take two
El Paso County Commissioner, District 1 Ryan Graham · Gavin Rainey · Matt Grubesic (write-in) One seat, four years
Sources: Town of Monument Elections page and Town of Palmer Lake’s certified ballot, both read September 8, 2026; El Paso County’s official June 30, 2026 primary results and Matt Grubesic’s write-in affidavit of intent. Candidates are listed as each town certified them — Monument alphabetically by surname, Palmer Lake in the ballot order drawn by lot on August 27. The order in which names appear on the printed ballot is set separately by the county and is not reflected here.
The Monument ballot issue, in fullClick to read the certified ballot title exactly as it will appear on your ballot.
Town of Monument · Use tax on construction and building materials and construction equipment, 2.0% to 3.5%Referred by the Town Council · Ordinance No. 19-2026

Referred to the voters by the Monument Town Council through Ordinance No. 19-2026.

A ballot issue number — Monument’s past measures have run 2A, 2B and so on — is assigned through the coordinated election and will appear on the county’s sample ballot.

SHALL TOWN OF MONUMENT TAXES BE INCREASED BY $2,272,500 ANNUALLY, BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2027, AND BY WHATEVER ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS THE TAX RATE GENERATES IN EACH YEAR AFTER BY RAISING THE TOWN’S USE TAX ON CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT FROM 2.0% TO 3.5%, TO MATCH THE TOWN’S EXISTING 3.5% SALES TAX RATE ON RETAIL PURCHASES; AS SET FORTH IN AND SUBJECT TO THE EXEMPTIONS IN ORDINANCE NO. 19-2026 AND CHAPTER 3.10 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE; THE INCREASED USE TAX IS COLLECTED ON CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT ONLY WHEN A BUILDING PERMIT OR RIGHT-OF-WAY PERMIT IS REQUESTED AND, WHEN A MUNICIPAL SALES TAX OF 3.5% WAS NOT COLLECTED WHERE THE CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS OR CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT WAS PURCHASED, AND ALL REVENUE WILL BE SPENT ON CAPITAL PROJECTS, INCLUDING:

  • STREETS, ROADS, BRIDGES, AND SIDEWALKS; AND
  • STORMWATER IMPROVEMENTS;

AND SHALL THE TOWN BE AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT, RETAIN, AND SPEND THIS TAX REVENUE AND ANY INVESTMENT EARNINGS ON IT AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE UNDER ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION (TABOR) OR ANY OTHER LAW?

Source: Town of Monument, Elections, read September 8, 2026. Reproduced verbatim; the only change is the removal of the double spaces the town’s line wrapping inserts. For what the title does and does not reach, see Six Candidates, Five Seats, One Contested Race.

Which commissioner race is on your ballot depends on where you live. Under the redistricting plan El Paso County adopted in 2023, the incorporated towns of Monument and Palmer Lake sit in District 3, whose seat is not on this ballot. The unincorporated communities of Woodmoor, Gleneagle and Black Forest sit in District 1, which is. So Tri-Lakes readers do not all vote in the same county race, and many do not vote in one at all this year.

Matt Grubesic’s name will not be printed on the ballot. Colorado counts a write-in vote only if the candidate has filed an affidavit of intent; he filed his on July 6, ten days inside the deadline, so votes cast for him will be counted — but they have to be written in by hand.

The statewide and regional measures

The Secretary of State certified the statewide ballot on September 4 and listed fourteen measures. A fifteenth question, Ballot Issue 7A, was referred by the Front Range Passenger Rail District, whose boundaries take in part or all of thirteen counties including El Paso. Click any measure below to read the ballot language in full, exactly as the state certified it.

Certified statewide and district measuresClick any measure to read the ballot language exactly as it will appear on your ballot.
Amendment 81 · Law Enforcement Reporting Requirements to Federal Authorities (Initiative #95)Constitutional amendment

Requires 55% approval because it adds language to the state constitution.

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution requiring law enforcement to notify the department of homeland security when a person is charged with either a violent crime or any crime if the person has a prior felony conviction if law enforcement cannot determine that the person is lawfully present in the United States?

Text of initiative #95 (PDF)

Amendment 82 · Right to Natural Gas (Initiative #177)Constitutional amendment

Requires 55% approval because it adds language to the state constitution.

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution creating new law granting the right for consumers to purchase natural gas for cooking or heating in homes or businesses and for distributors and utilities to sell natural gas to consumers?

Text of initiative #177 (PDF)

Amendment 83 · Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish (Initiative #302)Constitutional amendment

Requires 55% approval because it adds language to the state constitution.

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution creating a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest fish and wildlife by traditional methods, including all species of fish and wildlife managed by the state except non-game species, endangered species, or any species that is illegal to hunt under federal law, and, in connection therewith, establishing hunting and fishing as the preferred means of managing fish and wildlife populations; and preserving the right of the state to regulate hunting, fishing, and wildlife management if necessary for sound scientific wildlife conservation and management, public safety, or to preserve the future of hunting and fishing opportunities for all species?

Text of initiative #302 (PDF)

Amendment 84 · Mail Ballot Voter Identification (Initiative #362)Constitutional amendment

Requires 55% approval because it adds language to the state constitution.

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution requiring a voter to sign and include the last four digits of their social security number or their Colorado driver’s license or identification card number on the outside of their mail ballot for any federal or state election, and, in connection therewith, allowing the voter to correct missing or incorrect information, including with alternative forms of identification; and prohibiting a county clerk and recorder from counting the mail ballot unless the problem is fixed?

Text of initiative #362 (PDF)

Amendment 85 · Plain Language Ballot Questions (Initiative #234)Constitutional amendment

Requires 55% approval because it adds language to the state constitution.

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution concerning ballot question language, and, in connection therewith, requiring all state and local ballot questions to be written in plain language and at no more than an 8th grade reading level and prohibiting a state statute from requiring language that conflicts with these requirements in ballot questions for citizen-initiated measures?

Text of initiative #234 (PDF)

Amendment 86 · Congressional Redistricting (Initiative #256)Constitutional amendment

Requires 55% approval because it adds language to the state constitution.

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution concerning congressional redistricting, and, in connection therewith, reenacting the current process for congressional redistricting in the Colorado Constitution and prohibiting modifications to a final map unless at least three public meetings are held, the modifications do not have the effect of dividing communities of interest or purposefully favoring one political party, and are approved by the congressional redistricting commission and the Colorado Supreme Court?

Text of initiative #256 (PDF)

Amendment 87 · Graduated Income Tax (Initiative #195)Constitutional amendment

SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED $2.7 BILLION ANNUALLY, IN ORDER TO INCREASE OR IMPROVE LEVELS OF PUBLIC SERVICES, INCLUDING K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE, AND EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION SERVICES, BY AN AMENDMENT TO THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION AND A CHANGE TO THE COLORADO REVISED STATUTES REPEALING EXISTING LAW AND CREATING NEW LAW TO REPLACE THE UNIFORM STATE INCOME TAX RATE WITH A GRADUATED INCOME TAX STRUCTURE, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, AMENDING THE TAXPAYER’S BILL OF RIGHTS TO ELIMINATE THE CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR ALL TAXABLE NET INCOME TO BE TAXED AT ONE RATE WITH NO ADDED TAX ON INCOME; ESTABLISHING VARIOUS INCOME TAX RATES BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF TAXABLE INCOME EARNED BY INDIVIDUALS, ESTATES, TRUSTS, AND CORPORATIONS, WHILE MAINTAINING THE CURRENT 4.4% TAX ON INCOME FROM THE SALE OF A PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE, WHICH WILL RESULT IN THE ESTIMATED CHANGE IN INCOME TAXES OWED BY INDIVIDUALS AS IDENTIFIED IN THE FOLLOWING TABLE; AND AUTHORIZING THE STATE TO RETAIN AND SPEND ANY INCREASED REVENUE FROM THE NEW TAX STRUCTURE, AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE, TO SUPPLEMENT CURRENT LEVELS OF FUNDING FOR K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE, AND EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS?

Change in Income Taxes Owed by Income Category

Income CategoriesCurrent Average
Income Tax Owed
Proposed Average
Income Tax Owed
Proposed Change
in Average Income
Tax Owed if Passed
+ or –
$25,000 or less$59$50-$9
$25,001 – $50,000$751$632-$119
$50,001 – $100,000$1,877$1,666-$210
$100,001 – $200,000$4,126$3,828-$298
$200,001 – $500,000$9,344$9,019-$325
$500,001 – $1,000,000$19,288$18,963-$325
$1,000,001 – $2,000,000$29,432$34,196+$4,764
$2,000,001 – $5,000,000$41,196$55,110+$13,914
Income categories use adjusted gross income reported to the federal Internal Revenue Service.

Text of initiative #195 (PDF)

Proposition NN · State Public K-12 Education Funding (Senate Bill 26-135)Referred by the legislature

Passes with a majority vote.

Referred to the voters by state legislature.

Shall state investment in K-12 public education increase two percent each year for the next ten years, with investments used to increase teacher pay, improve teacher retention, lower class sizes, and increase access to career and technical courses, without raising taxes but instead funded by raising the annual limit on state fiscal year spending only by the amount spent on public K-12 education as a voter-approved revenue change, and requiring an annual publicly released, independent audit to show how the new investments are spent?

Text of Senate Bill 26-135 (PDF)

Proposition 132 · Penalties for Fentanyl Crimes (Initiative #85)Statutory measure

Passes with a majority vote.

Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning criminal penalties for fentanyl and certain synthetic opioids, and, in connection therewith, increasing the felony classifications of drug-related crimes for distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, sale, or possession of fentanyl and certain synthetic opioids; creating mandated treatment for certain drug felony violations based on possession amount; and changing sentencing provisions to narrow or eliminate exemptions for crimes related to fentanyl and certain synthetic opioids and drug-related deaths?

Text of initiative #85 (PDF)

Proposition 133 · Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor (Initiative #108)Statutory measure

Passes with a majority vote.

Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes modifying existing law concerning human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, and, in connection therewith, creating new law expanding human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude to include knowingly trading anything of monetary value to buy or sell sexual activity with a minor and increasing the penalty to be life in prison without parole or release?

Text of initiative #108 (PDF)

Proposition 134 · Male and Female Participation in School Sports (Initiative #109)Statutory measure

Passes with a majority vote.

Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes creating new law restricting participation in all K-12 and collegiate school sports based on the participant’s sex as determined by certain aspects of their biological reproductive system, and, in connection therewith, requiring a school, institution of higher education, or athletic association to designate each school or intramural athletic team or sport as male, female, or coeducational; only allowing participants to compete on the team or sport of their designated sex or to compete on a coeducational team; creating an exception to allow a female to participate on a male-designated team or sport if there is no female team available; prohibiting a government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking other adverse action against a school for maintaining separate teams or sports for females; and providing the commissioner of education with the authority to enforce the proposed initiative for K-12 school districts?

Text of initiative #109 (PDF)

Proposition 135 · Prohibit Certain Surgeries on Minors (Initiative #110)Statutory measure

Passes with a majority vote.

Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes modifying existing law by prohibiting surgery on a minor for the purpose of altering the minor’s biological sex characteristics, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting any health-care professional or other person from knowingly performing, prescribing, administering, or providing any surgery to a minor for the purpose of altering the minor’s biological sex characteristics and prohibiting the use of state or federal funds, Medicaid reimbursement, or insurance coverage to pay for this type of surgery?

Text of initiative #110 (PDF)

Proposition 136 · Income Tax Rate Cap (Initiative #232)Statutory measure

Passes with a majority vote.

Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes capping the state income tax rate at 4.4% of federal taxable income for individuals and corporations?

Text of initiative #232 (PDF)

Proposition 137 · Designate Sporting Goods Sales Tax Revenue for Conservation (Initiative #308)Statutory measure

Passes with a majority vote.

Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes creating new law to increase water and land conservation funding without raising taxes, and, in connection therewith, through a voter-approved revenue change, allowing the state to keep and spend a portion of revenue from the state sales tax on sporting goods and equipment to conserve and protect Colorado’s water, land, and forests, prevent wildfires, support outdoor recreation training and activities, and reduce revenue spent on these conservation purposes if necessary to preserve funding for certain tax credits?

Text of initiative #308 (PDF)

Ballot Issue 7A · Front Range Passenger Rail District (Senate Bill 26-172)Referred by the rail district

Passes with a majority vote.

Referred to the voters by the Front Range Passenger Rail district board

Appearing on ballots in the following counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Boulder, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Huerfano, Jefferson, Larimer, Las Animas, Pueblo, and Weld

SHALL FRONT RANGE PASSENGER RAIL DISTRICT TAXES BE INCREASED $295,000,000 ANNUALLY AND BY WHATEVER AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, AND SHALL FRONT RANGE PASSENGER RAIL DISTRICT DEBT BE INCREASED $580,000,000, WITH A REPAYMENT COST OF $785,000,000;

TO CONSTRUCT, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN COLORADO CONNECTOR (COCO) PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE ON COLORADO’S FRONT RANGE AND CONNECT COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING PUEBLO, COLORADO SPRINGS, STERLING RANCH, LITTLETON, DENVER, WESTMINSTER, BROOMFIELD, LOUISVILLE, BOULDER, LONGMONT, LOVELAND, AND FORT COLLINS; IN ORDER TO:

  • REMOVE VEHICLES FROM HIGHWAYS AND INCREASE TRAVEL CAPACITY;
  • CONNECT TRAVELERS TO EMPLOYMENT CENTERS, COLLEGES, SPORTS ARENAS, AND ENTERTAINMENT HUBS ALONG THE FRONT RANGE; AND
  • INVEST IN STATION AREA IMPROVEMENTS AND LOCAL CONNECTIONS TO RAIL STATIONS;

BY ESTABLISHING A 0.333% SALES AND USE TAX (EQUAL TO ONE THIRD OF A PENNY ON A $1 PURCHASE), WITH EXEMPTIONS PROVIDED UNDER COLORADO LAW, INCLUDING THOSE FOR GASOLINE, FOOD, RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICITY AND GAS, PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES;

AND TO RETAIN ALL SUCH REVENUES, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS, AND ANY INVESTMENT INCOME ON REVENUES AND DEBT PROCEEDS, AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE UNDER SECTION 20 OF ARTICLE X OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION;

AND REQUIRING THAT ALL SUCH DEDICATED REVENUES BE REVIEWED ANNUALLY BY AN INDEPENDENT AUDITOR AND A ROTATING GROUP OF CITIZEN TAXPAYERS WHO LIVE IN THE DISTRICT?

Text of Senate Bill 26-172

Source: Colorado Secretary of State, “Amendments and Propositions on the 2026 Ballot,” read in full September 8, 2026; the statewide ballot was certified September 4. Every measure above reproduces the state’s own ballot language verbatim — The Monument Independent has not summarized or shortened it. The italic lines are the state’s own notes on how each measure passes; the state prints one for every measure except Amendment 87, where it prints the ballot title instead. Ballot Issue 7A appears in thirteen counties including El Paso; whether it reaches a particular Tri-Lakes address will be shown on the county’s sample ballot.

And the rest of the ballot

November 3 is a midterm general election, so the same envelope also carries federal, state and county offices. El Paso County’s own primary sample ballot for this cycle lists United States Senator; three congressional districts within the county; Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer and Attorney General; a State Board of Education member and a Regent of the University of Colorado; several state Senate and state House districts; County Commissioner in Districts 1 and 5; and the offices of County Clerk and Recorder, Treasurer, Assessor, Sheriff, Surveyor and Coroner. Which of these appear on your own ballot depends on your address — use the ballot tool below.

Still to come from the county

As of September 8, the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder lists its sample ballot, its TABOR notice and the state Blue Book as “available soon.” The sample ballot is the document that shows which contests reach a particular address. The TABOR notice is the one that carries the required financial detail behind every local tax and debt question — including any referred by the water, sanitation, fire and metropolitan districts that overlay the Tri-Lakes. Nothing on this page should be read as a finding that no other district referred a measure. The Independent will publish the local measures in full when the county posts them.

The Independent’s coverage of this election

Find your voter info

These free, nonpartisan tools are provided by Vote.org and work in all 50 states. Enter your home address in any tool to get information specific to you. Start by confirming you’re registered, then use whichever tools you need.

1. Check your registrationConfirm you’re registered at your current address.
2. Register or update your registrationNew to your address, or never registered? Start here. October 26 is the last day to register and still be mailed a ballot.
3. Request or confirm your mail ballotColorado mails every active voter a ballot — manage yours here.
4. See what’s on your ballotA preview of the races and questions at your address.
5. Get election remindersTexts and emails so you never miss a deadline.

Drop boxes, in-person voting & official resources

El Paso County says it will run 41 Voter Service and Polling Centers and 44 monitored drop boxes this November, both the most it has ever operated. Locations are published by the county closer to the election. For drop boxes, polling centers and ballot tracking, use the official tools:

Candidate filings for the town races are held by each town, not by the county. Monument’s designated election official is Town Clerk Tina Erickson, 645 Beacon Lite Road, [email protected], (719) 505-4965. Palmer Lake’s is Town Clerk Erica N. Romero.


Sources for this page: the Town of Monument Elections page and the Town of Palmer Lake’s certified ballot; the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s 2026 election information, candidates and jurisdictions pages, and its official June 30, 2026 primary sample ballot and results; and the Colorado Secretary of State’s certification of the 2026 statewide ballot. All were read on September 8, 2026, except the Palmer Lake ballot, read for our August 27 reporting. Dates and deadlines are the county’s. This page is updated as the county publishes its sample ballot and TABOR notice.

The Monument Independent is a nonpartisan local news outlet. We do not support or oppose any candidate, party or ballot measure. The voter tools on this page are provided by Vote.org, a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit, and submit information directly to Vote.org and official state systems — not to The Monument Independent. Always verify deadlines, locations and ballot content with GoVoteColorado.gov or the El Paso County Clerk.