WEEK OF OCTOBER 31, 2024
VOLUME 61 | ISSUE 13
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Thornton adds land acknowledgment to agendas
Balancing right to vote with ballot security Colorado relies on DMV data, the ‘death list’ to make sure ballots safe BY CAITLYN KIM CPR NEWS
Council member Roberta Ayala proposed the addition of a land acknowledgment to help mark the histories and contributions of Native peoples and other cultures who inhabited the Thornton area for thousands of years. Ayala said in most cases those histories have been wiped out by colonization. “It’s really important that we acknowledge the indigenous people who have been stewards of our land before us,” Ayala said. “I think it is time to correct the historical narrative.”
As the election draws nearer, Coloradans have a lot of questions around voting — about how the process works, and also, what protections are there to ensure ineligible people aren’t casting ballots. It’s a perennial concern in every election, but one that has heated up this year, that somehow large numbers of non-citizens — and the dead — will manage to cast ballots. Weld County Clerk and Recorder Carly Koppes has been fielding versions of these fears since she first started working in the office in 2004. The Republican, who was first elected Clerk in 2014, is on her 6th presidential cycle. Despite no widespread evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election, an NPR poll shows a majority are concerned that there will be fraud this time around, in large part due to former President Donald Trump’s statements. A majority in that survey said they believe noncitizens will be able to vote in the upcoming presidential election. The checks to ensure only eligible voters end up on the voter rolls start with the first question asked of anyone registering to vote in Colorado. “On the form it says, ‘Are you a citizen of the United State? Yes or No?” Koppes said, pointing to a printed copy of Colorado’s official voter registration form. Next to the question, the document says, “if you answered No, do not complete this form.” “So, it’s a self-affirmation. We are hoping that you are answering that question correctly,” Koppes explained. But “when we start registering you to vote in the voter registration system, we do verify and check.” Clerks and the Secretary of State’s office rely on a long list of databases to ensure their voter lists are clean, something even the right wing Heritage Foundation agrees Colorado does a good job on; it ranked the state third in the nation for accuracy of voter registration lists. When it comes to preventing non-citizens in particular from voting, the verification process starts with two other pieces of information on that form – your drivers’ license number or, if you don’t have that, the last four of your Social Security number.
SEE AGENDAS, P2
SEE SECURITY, P9
Tribal dancers perform at Thornton City Council Oct. 22. Performers were Rhgi a Joy Heart, Robert Iron Shield, Aiden Iron Shield, Juaquin Bear Standing, Calvin Standing Bear Sr., Elizabeth Standing Bear Light in the Lodge, Rhonda Standing Bear Kozma, and Dewayne StandMONTE WHALEY ing Bear
Dissenters object to lack of precise language BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Thornton City Council’s future agendas will now include a statement that honors the people who once lived on the land where the city currently rests. Thornton joins other communities and educational institutions – including Northglenn and CU-Boulder - that either display land acknowledgment statements or are read during the agenda of city council sessions. By a 5-4 vote Tuesday, the Thornton council amended its policy to include a land acknowledgment during the early part of its agenda. The exact wording of
the land acknowledgment has yet to be brought before the council for approval. Mayor Jan Kulmann and councilmembers Jessica Sandgren, Tony Unrein and David Acunto – who voted against the amendment – objected over the lack of any precise language for the city’s version of a land acknowledgment statement. “In good conscience, I can’t support something that is not defined,” Acunto said. “I’d like to have a discussion before we have a vote.” “I’d like to see it presented in its entirety,” Unrein said. Approving the amendment without the language is “like writing a blank check,” he said. “I am not going to start that now.” The land acknowledgment will “affirm the city’s commitment to fostering a culture of inclusion, respect, and recognition, and serve as a reminder of our re-
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sponsibility to be mindful and respectful of the land, its history, the Indigenous communities who call Colorado home,” according to the ordinance amendment presented to the city council Tuesday. History and contributions
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