How this guide is made

Measures

Each measure page opens with our plain-words summary, written at about an 8th-grade reading level, with every line linked to its source. Statewide ballot titles, the official "what your vote means" lines, and the analysis, including the arguments for and against, are quoted word for word from the 2026 Blue Book ↗, written by the Colorado Legislative Council's nonpartisan staff. Tables were retyped from the printed booklet and checked against it; charts are described in words with their page numbers. Ballot Issue 7A is quoted from the rail district's notice printed in the Blue Book.

Local ballot wording is quoted from county sample ballots and official notices where we have them, and marked "wording to come" where we don't yet. Summaries and arguments for local measures are ours, drawn from official materials and local news, and each one links to its source.

Campaign money figures come from news reports of state filings and are dated. They change until Election Day.

Candidates

The candidate list is the Secretary of State's official list (updated September 15, 2026), in the Secretary's order. Each profile lists checkable facts with links to where they came from, the candidate's own stated priorities clearly labeled as theirs, and links to official records and campaign finance filings. We don't rate candidates, list endorsements, or publish polling. Some candidates, often write-ins and minor-party candidates, have little public record; their pages say so.

Districts

District lines on the map come from U.S. Census Bureau files of the 2021 commission maps. Your county's sample ballot is the final word on what you will see.

Not covered yet

Judges up for retention, district attorneys, RTD directors, county offices, school boards, and local measures outside the counties listed.