Oct. 8—Shelly Roehrs knows she can't make anybody vote. But as one of a record 135 members of the League of Women Voters of the Pikes Peak Region, she knows she can help educate and inform people about the particulars of an election ballot.

What they do after that, she said, is up to them.

"There is at least one thing on every single ballot that will affect you, whether it's mid-term or presidential in November, or city in April or school board in fall or your HOA," Roehrs said. "You can either choose to ignore it or do something about it."

Voter guides are one way to learn about candidates and issues.

The familiar Blue Book arrives in the mail about a month before a mid-term or general election.

The hefty, small-print ballot information booklet is produced by the Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly and gives voters an impartial analysis of the pros and cons for each "initiated or referred constitutional amendment, law, or question on the ballot," according to the council.

It's the first of many voter guides that appear in the weeks leading up to a statewide or local election.

The Pikes Peak region has a variety of online and hard-copy voter guides. The Gazette's information on candidates and issues publishes Oct. 16, the day before ballots go in the mail.

The League of Women Voters' nonpartisan combined ballot issues book, which includes state and local issues for El Paso and Teller counties, is dropping next week. Voters can pick up a copy at public libraries or email info@lwvppr.org to request a mailed copy.

Citizens Project in Colorado Springs also is working on its election summary, leaders said, and the new Church Voter Guides, headquartered in Colorado Springs, goes live online on Oct. 9.

One missing from the local scene this year is the Colorado Springs Independent endorsements. Because the paper and its sister publications are changing from a for-profit business to a nonprofit charitable model by month's end, the Indy will not be publishing its voter guide moving forward, according to Amy Gillentine, publisher and executive editor of Colorado Publishing House.

The statewide teachers' union, the Colorado Education Association, issued its recommendations on Friday for candidates that are pro-public education, while the conservative Independence Institute released last Thursday its take on state amendments and proposals.

Voters rely on such guides particularly for lower-profile races, said political science Professor Josh Dunn of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.

Voter guides also are more likely to matter in nonpartisan races, such as school board seats, he said.

"I can't imagine that many voters need them to decide who to vote for, for governor or Congress," Dunn said, since the high-profile races tend to draw party allegiance.

Voting is not required by law in the United States; however, it's often considered a civic duty that emerged through the work of hard-fighting suffrage proponents of the past.

But many people can't relate to what happened 100 years ago, Roehrs said.

"People have to take the responsibility on voting," she said. "We're still handholding with regards to helping you to make an informed and educated decision, but I'm not going to force you to vote. That's on you."

Some voter guides carry endorsements. Those from 501c3 organizations by law cannot endorse political candidates, though they can talk publicly about issues.

The nonpartisan Church Voter Guides launched in February 2021 ahead of municipal elections in April. Organizers saw a gap in local information for churchgoers, said Chaim Goldman, director.

"We wanted to do something to help the city and inform the Christian voter," he said. "What we found is that there's a lot of people paying attention, and we really shine a light when there are a lot of candidates that people don't know."

The guide reprints candidates' answers verbatim to questions the organization's leaders think Christian voters might be interested in, Goldman said.

Churches are given cards promoting the website, www.ChurchVoterGuides.org, to pass out to members who want to view, download or print the information.

The reason for the name of the publication is not because the guide recommends Christian candidates, Goldman said, but that because it is nonpartisan it therefore can be promoted and distributed by churches.

"We do not support or oppose any candidate or party," he said. "Churches don't often understand they are allowed to educate their members and can distribute guides that don't support or oppose candidates."

This is the fourth rendition of the Church Voter Guides. It debuted with the 2021 Colorado Springs city elections, followed by Pikes Peak region school board elections in 2021 and this year's county and state assemblies for both Republican and Democratic parties.

The volunteer-based grassroots organization printed 150,000 copies of the promotional cards it hands out to local churches of any denomination to pass on to their congregants, Goldman said.

"We allow candidates, regardless of party or opinions, to message directly to the voter," he said. "We seek to create a level playing field for the candidates."

The League of Women Voters' guide also is nonpartisan and doesn't take sides.

A guide is a "starting point" and one of several educational tools voters can use, Roehrs said.

"It is a book, and therein lies the problem because people don't like to read," she said. "However, we can use it as an instructional guide and supplement with discussions, podcasts, YouTube videos — there are so many ways people get their information."

The League of Women Voters has been providing its Vote411 guide since 2006, and more than 2 million Colorado voters used the election information in 2020, organization leaders said. Locally, the organization is printing 500 voter guide copies in English and 50 copies in Spanish for the Nov. 8 election.

The Church Voter Guides has been so successful that the organization is helping other communities in Colorado and across the nation replicate the format, Goldman said.

"At a time when a lot of people are wondering, 'Can I make a difference?' with Church Voter Guides you can absolutely make a difference, so everybody is able to be empowered with our local elections," he said.

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