Colorado Municipal Voters Face Marijuana Sales And Tax Questions Tuesday

More than 100 of Colorado's smaller communities will make decisions on tax issues and marijuana questions Tuesday.

In 13 municipalities, voters will decide whether to increase or extend various taxes to pay for things like law enforcement and open space. Seven towns are asking voters whether or not to allow marijuana sales. Those include Buena Vista in the mountains and Julesburg on the plains.

Having elections in the spring instead of November can help focus voters on local concerns, says the Colorado Municipal League's Mark Radke.

"The local candidates or issues on the ballot become the focus of this election, rather than being lost in a long ballot that has the president, the governor or some other major national figures on it," he explained.

Almost forty-percent of the small town elections slated for Tuesday have been cancelled because there aren’t enough candidates to make them competitive.

That figure has held fairly steady in recent years.