Your Daily Guide

🗳️ What the Federal Decision on Mail-In Voting Means for CO

Most Colorado residents cast their votes via ballots they receive in the mail, but a legal battle with the federal government has put that system in jeopardy.

• What’s happening now? On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court unblocked an executive order President Donald Trump signed earlier this year to restrict mail-in voting. Specifically, his March order called on federal authorities to create a list of eligible voters for each state. It also asked states to create new ballot envelopes with more secure tracking. In June, 23 states moved to block the order.
• What does the new ruling mean for Colorado? “At this point, nothing has changed,” said Colorado’s top elections official, Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “That is because we’re very likely to see further litigation on this on the executive order.” [Colorado Sun]
• Speaking of further litigation: In efforts to comply with the executive order, USPS moved to enact multiple changes to mail-in voting, including requiring states to provide lists of eligible mail voters before an election and submit their data to a federal portal. Yesterday, Attorney General Phil Weiser joined 24 states in suing USPS, which plaintiffs say does not have authority to regulate mail ballots. [Press Release From Attorney General’s Office]
• What this means for CO voters: With the midterms fast approaching and multiple lawsuits still challenging the order, officials say new requirements would be difficult to implement in Colorado, where every eligible voter receives a ballot in the mail according to state law. [CPR]

💡 What’s Xcel’s plan for data centers?

The issue of AI data centers, and specifically their power and water needs, has been increasingly sparking debate among Denverites this year. So we invited the head of Xcel Energy’s Colorado office, Robert Kenney, to explain the electricity provider’s plan for meeting these major new electricity demands (without passing on the costs to the rest of us). [City Cast Denver 🎧]

💦 Lawn Watering Banned

Despite current restrictions on water use, Denver has not met its goal of reducing water consumption by 20%. Therefore, the Denver Board of Water Commissioners voted to ban all lawn watering on Oct 1. In a typical year, people are advised to stop watering their lawns on that date. Now, it’s mandatory. The ban is set to remain in effect into spring 2027 until new Denver Water announces a new plan. [Denverite; 9News]

📮 Denver DSA Endorses Shontel Lewis

The Democratic Socialists of America’s Denver chapter endorsed mayoral candidate Shontel Lewis in next year’s election. This is a shift from the 2023 race, where the DSA endorsed Lisa Calderón, who missed the runoff by a small margin and is already running again. Calderón released a statement saying she chose not to seek endorsement due to “internal chapter politics.” [Denver Post 🔐; Instagram]

🧑‍⚖️ Denver City Attorney Faces Multiple Ethics Complaints

Two anonymous individuals have filed separate complaints with the Denver Board of Ethics about City Attorney Miko Brown. The first complaint alleges Brown allowed the law firm Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell, where she was previously a partner, to be paid more than double the price allowed by its contract. The second states that, after a fatal runway accident last May, Brown pressured colleagues to replace the law firm they’d hired with WTO. [CBS Denver]

• What’s next? The Board of Ethics is set to consider both complaints on Sept. 9 and decide whether or not to investigate further.