One month ago, CPR joined newsrooms across the state to launch an ambitious project: invite the people of Colorado to tell us what they want politicians to talk about in this election, and use their answers to help guide the stories we tell.
So far, more than 3,100 people from places big and small and everywhere in between have responded to that call and filled out the Voter Voices survey.
“I’d like to see candidates focus not only on our rights as Americans, but also on our obligations to be informed, involved, open to compromise, civil, nonviolent,” wrote Sydney Schnurr of Buena Vista, who credited Richard Haass’ book, “The Bill of Obligations,” as an influence. “In other words, to put our country first.”
“What the U.S. can do to make the world more stable,” is the question a Fort Collins man said candidates need to answer. “Employment rate is near pre-COVID levels, what can be done to get prices down after 9% increases in 2022 — it’s great that inflation is ONLY 3%/yr now but prices are still 20-30% higher than 2019.”
The Coloradans who filled out the survey so far make it clear they want politicians to discuss issues like the environment, housing affordability, immigration, health care and education.
In Walsh, on the southeastern plains, a shortage of healthcare workers is a driving concern for Rita Hetrick. She runs the long-term care facility in the town of roughly 540 people. Instead of drawing on a local workforce, she relies on pricey staffing agencies. “We don’t have a stream of cash that’s just available when you’re a small, rural facility.” Hetrick told Voter Voices that state and federal regulations exacerbate the problem and it’s something she wants to see politicians tackle.
Many have also written about their concerns for our democracy itself.
“I want candidates to discuss wholesale reform of our country's and Colorado's constitution,” wrote Juan Manuel Ramirez Anzures of Denver. “We need to overhaul them to incorporate reforms like more seats, instant-runoff elections, robust publicly financed elections, and proportional representation.”
We’re also asking how much confidence people have in elections, both in Colorado, and around the country. The people responding so far are telling us they have great faith in our state’s election system, but a lot more doubt about whether the election will be conducted fairly nationwide.
The Voter Voices survey is being carried by 60 newsrooms statewide, from Fort Collins to Pueblo, Salida and Alamosa and from Sterling and Kiowa to Grand Junction, Durango and Nucla. It’s an unprecedented level of cooperation, led by CPR and the nonprofit Colorado News Collaborative (COLab).
As Regan Tuttle, owner and editor of the San Miguel Basin Forum, put it: "My community is very remote and rural. They tend to feel that nobody listens. I felt the survey would give them a chance to speak and feel heard ..."
The survey will remain open through this year's election campaigning, as CPR and the other newsrooms continue to record their communities' priorities and present what we learn to our readers and listeners.
The goal is not only to respond to what Coloradans statewide and locally say matters to them in our election reporting, but also to challenge candidates to respond directly to voter priorities and concerns.
We invite you not just to fill out the Voter Voices survey, but also to pass it on; share the link with others you know whose opinions we should hear.
CPR’s Ryan Warner contributed to this report.
