Election results 2022: Colorado votes still being counted in some precincts

The state legislative landscape looks very different after Tuesday's election.

Democrats will not only keep control of both chambers at the state capitol after Tuesday's election, but they will also have a veto-proof majority in the House and will be close to a veto-proof majority in the Senate.  

Read the full story.

The margin for mushrooms in Colorado was still too close to call by Wednesday evening, but preliminary numbers suggested Prop 122 would likely pass, making Colorado the second state to legalize the psychedelic drug.

If it passes, the measure will decriminalize possession right away. It doesn't mean people can sell or buy the drug, but it would mean anyone 21 and older could grow and share psychedelic mushrooms.

Read the full story.

In a letter to staff and community members Wednesday, Superintendent Erin Kane said it's unlikely either the bond or mill levy override before voters will pass, despite outperforming early polling. One measure would have funded raises in teacher and staff salaries, while the other would fund construction and program expansion ahead of anticipated growth.   

Read the full story.

Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer conceded her race for Colorado's 8th Congressional District, handing a win to Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado's newest U.S. congressional district.

Caraveo's win makes her Colorado's first Latina congresswoman.

Read the full story.

Ballots are still being counted in Colorado and on Wednesday, there is a ballot swap underway to get those ballots to the correct counties. 

Voters are encouraged to drop their ballots wherever is convenient but those ballots still must be counted in the correct county. 

The Denver Elections Division continues sorting those ballots.

"So its not inconvenient for us at all, it's a part of planning, it's part of that 8-day period. We want to make sure that our military voters, overseas voters and of course these ballots that are in different drop boxes, make it to their correct homes," said Lucille Wenegieme with the Denver Clerk & Recorder's Office. 

Once all the ballots are counted, and if no recounts are necessary, the election will be certified by Dec. 5.

According to the Colorado Secretary of State's Office, 2,444,585 ballots have been returned in this year's midterm election. That's far lower than compared to the 2020 general election which had 3,257,382 ballots returned in Colorado. 

The fate of Proposition 123, a sweeping ballot measure that would direct an estimated $300 million a year to affordable housing projects by rewriting Colorado's tax law, is still too early to call this morning.  

A measure to change Aurora's city charter to allow convicted felons to run for office failed on Election Day in Colorado.

The ballot initiative was mostly symbolic, as Colorado's constitution already says some convicted felons can run for office. This measure would have just changed the city's laws to align with the state's, but Aurora voters clears sent a message that they don't want convicted felons holding political leadership positions in their city.  

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has been re-elected. Weiser, a Democrat, defeated Republican challenger John Kellner.  

Weiser spoke about crime at Democratic election night headquarters. Read the full story.

It was a tough night for Colorado Republicans who gathered at the Doubletree Hotel in Greenwood Village to await election results. 

Hope for a Joe O'Dea victory was dashed early, along with that for gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl.

Read the full story.

The race for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, one of the largest districts in the entire country, is still too close to call, but Democratic challenger Adam Frisch's lead has been widening over Republican incumbent Lauren Boebert.

State election officials still have not fully counted all the votes in some of the district's bigger population centers, but as of about 10:30 p.m., Frisch holds 135,303 votes to Boebert's 127,327 votes - or 51.5% to 48.5%, respectively, with 77% of the vote counted.

Read the full story.

Republican Joe O'Dea lost his bid for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet. He was running for office with no political or public sector experience. During his campaign, O'Dea said his top priorities were debt, inflation and immigration.

Read the full story.

Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet won reelection to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, besting businessman and first-time challenger Joe O'Dea, the rare Republican candidate to run on his support of Roe v. Wade. Bennet won his third race on his pledge to protect abortion rights, an indication of how important the issue is in Colorado. Bennet's campaign hammered O'Dea on his opposition to abortions late in pregnancy despite his support of Roe v. Wade, the abortion rights ruling that conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court overturned this summer.

Rep. Joe Neguse, a Democrat who represents Colorado's 2nd Congressional District, has been re-elected.

He defeated Republican Marshall Dawson by a 70.5% to 28% margin with 66% of the votes counted.

Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican who represents Colorado's 4th Congressional District, has been re-elected.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican who represents Colorado's 5th Congressional District, has been re-elected.

Rep. Jason Crow, a Democrat who represents Colorado's 6th Congressional District, has been re-elected.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has claimed victory in her quest for a second term in Tuesday's midterm election.

Read the full story.

Brittany Pettersen is a Democrat who will represent Colorado's 7th Congressional District.

Watch an excerpt of Sen. Michael Bennet's acceptance speech. Colorado's senior U.S. senator defeated Republican challenger Joe O'Dea in Tuesday's midterm election.

Democrat Gov. Jared Polis defeated Republican challenger Heidi Ganahl.

The race for Colorado's third congressional district, one of the largest districts in the entire country, is still too close to call, but Democratic challenger Adam Frisch's lead has been widening over Republican incumbent Lauren Boebert.

State election officials still have not fully counted all the votes in the district's bigger population centers, like Grand Junction, but as of about 9:15 p.m., Frisch holds 124,825 votes to Boebert's 115,987 votes - or 51.8% to 48.2% with 71% of the vote counted.

Gov. Jared Polis will return for a second term in Colorado after claiming victory in Tuesday's election. In an earlier interview with CBS News Colorado Political Specialist Shaun Boyd, he said that despite unprecedented challenges, he accomplished many of his top priorities.

Read the full story here.

See the  updating election results for Colorado races here:

http://cbscolorado.com/electionresults

With less than an hour left before polls close, lines to vote at some polling places in Denver have been getting longer.

As of about 6:15 p.m., the county reported a 64-minute wait time at Emily Griffith Technical College.

By law, if you're in line after the polls close, you can still legally vote.

Footage from Copter4 showed a steadily increasing line to vote at North High School earlier in the day.

A full list of wait times at polling places in Denver can be found at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/bcf0336f448c46319fd25e75fbc0cdf1/

Here's a look at where different CBS News Colorado reporters are filing reports from on election night.

Reporter Olivia Young is at the elections center in Adams County. Included on the ballots there are funding for the Brighton 27J school district.

A CBS News Colorado crew is reporting from the elections center in Jefferson County on election night. Marijuana sales/production is on the ballot (1B & 1C) as is funding for the Jeffco fire protection district (6A & 6B).

Here's reporter Jamie Leary doing a live shot in a CBS News Colorado newscast.

Here's a group shot of the news crew who are stationed at the Republican Party election night headquarters. Included is left to right: reporter Karen Morfitt, executive producer Gabrielle Cox, photographer Mark Neitro, reporter Alan Gionet, engineer Cory Baker

Voters across Colorado are casting ballots on three propositions that will change the way alcohol is sold in the state. 

Proposition 124 would increase allowable liquor store locations; Proposition 125 would allow grocery and convenience stores to sell wine; Proposition 126 would allow third-party delivery of alcohol beverages.

Voters in the Western Slope lined up to cast ballots in Grand Junction on Election Day as they will elect their representative for Colorado Congressional District 3. 

Security patrolled outside the Mobile Voting Center in Denver on Election Day. 

A mariachi band kicked off the opening of the polls for Election Day in Denver early Tuesday morning. They played celebratory music just before 7 a.m. as the Denver Clerk and Recorders Office opened its doors to voters. 

CBS News Colorado reporter Conor McCue is reporting on the election in Douglas County from Castle Rock.  

That includes coverage of the school funding measures 5A & 5B:

https://cbsn.ws/3fNClUn

Voters in Colorado had returned 1,869,507 ballots as of 12:30 p.m. on Election Day. That is broken down into 1,806,584 ballots returned by mail or drop boxes and 62,923 ballots cast in person. 

Those totals are divided by party as follows: 

Democrats 583,620

Republicans 538,931

Unaffiliated 725,966

The top age ranges that have returned their ballots so far are the age groups 55-64 and 65-74.

A mariachi band kicked off the opening of the polls for Election Day in Denver early Tuesday morning. They played celebratory music just before 7 a.m. as the Denver Clerk and Recorders Office opened its doors to voters. 

Voters across Colorado have some big decisions to make this midterm Election Day. 

Voters across Colorado are casting their ballots on Election Day for the 2022 midterm elections. 

Staff at CBS News Colorado were gathered for an editorial meeting on Election Day early in the afternoon. Here, reporter Alan Gionet is reviewing his election night assignment with newscast producers and managers. Other crews are participating in the meeting through a teleconference.  

The 2022 General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 8, but Coloradans started casting their ballots starting in mid-October. Colorado is considered to have among the safest, easiest voting systems in the United States. 

CBS News Colorado has an entire section on what makes voting easy: How voting works for Colorado's 2022 election

Watch the latest Left Right Center special where CBS News Colorado Shaun Boyd interviews both Democrat and Republican analysts, Democrat Mike Dino and Republican Dick Wadhams about what's at stake in this midterm election. 

Watch the Reality Checks from CBS News Colorado Political Specialist Shaun Boyd in the special Reality Check section.   

RTD is offering free rides on Tuesday to encourage people to drop off their ballot or cast their vote for Election Day.

To make sure that you are registered to vote, or any voting resources like where to cast your ballot in person or a ballot dropbox, visit GoVoteColorado.com. Find your route on RTD's trip planner.

Additional Information from the Secretary of State's Office:

• All Colorado voters can sign up to track their ballot from sent to counted using BallotTrax.
• Eligible voters who wish to mail back their voted ballot should do so by October 31st to ensure it is received by their county election official by November 8th. After October 31st voters should return their ballot to a drop box or voting center.
• Early voting begins on October 24th. Some locations will open earlier, with 411 drop boxes and over 350 voting centers available this year, voters can look up the closest locations, opening date, and hours at GoVoteColorado.gov.
• In person voting on Election Day, Tuesday November 8th, will be available from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Eligible voters must have returned their ballot to a drop box or voting center by 7 p.m. on Election Day, or be in line to vote by 7 p.m. on Election Day for their ballot to be counted. Ballots cast by military and overseas voters must be sent no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day and received by close of business on the 8th day after the election (November 16).

This year, the number of ballots returned ahead of Election Day in Colorado are low compared to previous years. Typically, Colorado has one of the highest voter turnouts.