Douglas County Election Notebook: Ballots Mail Friday, a Protection Order in CD4, and Where the Marx Fine Stands

Ballots mail Friday, which turns this from reading into a deadline. Here is what moved this week in the races on your Douglas County ballot, with a link to our page on each. Weekly until Nov. 3.

Ballots mail Friday, and the boxes open the same day

The county's checklist says ballots "will be mailed to all active registered voters in Douglas County beginning on Friday, Oct. 2," and that twenty-three drop boxes open the same day, 24 hours a day, "through 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2026." Polling centers "will begin opening across Douglas County on Monday, Oct. 19," with a second wave Oct. 30 and a third Nov. 2. Every box and address is on our drop box page, and our sample ballot walkthrough goes down the ballot race by race.

CD4: a protection order, and a hearing set for today

A Weld County judge granted Lauren Boebert a temporary protection order against David Wheeler on Sept. 24. Colorado Politics reported the next day that "Boebert obtained a temporary order on Thursday requiring Wheeler to stay at least 100 yards away from her or her residence," barring contact "except through his attorney," and that "the judge told Wheeler to appear in a Weld County courtroom on Oct. 1 at a hearing to determine whether to make the order permanent." Wheeler called the order political, wrote on X that "I've not been in the same state as her since 2022 in CO and not threatened her in any way," and said he would file a defamation suit Oct. 1. The hearing was set for Thursday and, as of this writing, we have found no reported outcome; the race is on our CD4 page.

Marx: the briefs are in, the decision is not

The Secretary of State's hearing officer docket still lists case 2026 AHO 21 CPF, against "Victor Marx and Victor Marx for Governor," as "Pending initial decision." The docket shows briefs ordered Sept. 17, filed Sept. 22, and responses from both sides Sept. 25. Nothing has been added since, so the Republican nominee for governor goes into the mail-ballot period waiting on a ruling. The fine and the numbers behind it are on our Marx page. *Update, October 3: the decision came the next day. Marx and his committee were fined $57,647.16; the full story.*

Weiser: a state review, and an Oct. 6 cure deadline

On Sept. 23 the Secretary of State's Elections Division issued a notice of initial review on two campaign finance complaints against Phil Weiser, filed Sept. 8 and Sept. 10 by Danielle Neuschwanger. The first alleged 18 contributions above the $1,450 limit that were not refunded in time; the second added 28 more. The notice gives the campaign until Oct. 6 to cure. A campaign spokesman called the complaint "unserious" and said "our campaign has already cured all the alleged violations." More on our Weiser page.

Amendment 87: still no ruling

The suit to pull the graduated income tax amendment off the ballot is in Denver District Court, brought by Michael Andre Hancock of Arapahoe County against Secretary of State Jena Griswold and the measure's proponents. It argues that "69 individuals appeared on the list of paid circulators but did not appear on the list of registered petition circulators," that their 9,849 signatures should be rejected, and that valid signatures would then fall to 121,089, under the 124,238 required. We checked Colorado Politics and the Gazette today and found no ruling. It is printed on the ballot going out Friday; what it would cost a Douglas County household is in our explainer.

Castle Rock: a recall, a censure that failed, and three quiet candidates

None of this is on the ballot, but it is the room the winners walk into. The Castle Rock News-Press reported on Aug. 20 that business owner David Miles and other petitioners filed recall paperwork on Aug. 11 against District 4 Councilmember Mark Davis over downtown regulation, and that Davis texted Miles, "I'll drop getting rid of the DRB if you pull the recall." On Aug. 18 Ryan Hollingshead moved to censure Davis, saying "the actions of Councilmember Davis, unfortunately, are unethical, they do go against our code of conduct"; Kevin Bracken seconded, Tim Dietz and Max Brooks opposed, and the motion failed. The town's committee page lists five registered council candidates; two of them, Matt Smith and Tiffany Coyle, have campaign websites. District 3 and District 5 are here and the mayor's race is here.

Parker: one forum, and it is members only

The Parker Chamber of Commerce forum is the only council forum we have found: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Parker Hotel, 18595 Mainstreet. The listing caps attendance at "one audience member per chamber member business or organization" and asks members to register by noon on Monday, Oct. 5. For everyone else, the chamber says "the event will be recorded and posted to the Chamber's social media ASAP after the event." All five candidates are profiled on our Parker council page.

Commissioner District 1: "locusts," and a clean split on 3 to 5

Jake Bockenfeld's line about new residents on Jeff Hunt's 710KNUS show, on September 4, is the one thing most voters have heard about this race: "They're like locusts, in a way, and I don't think it's intentional." He later called it a figure of speech that "maybe came off wrong." The same reporting has him against expanding the board from three to five, saying "my stance on is more government is never a good thing" and arguing expansion would increase taxes. Irene Bonham answered the 3to5dougco.com questionnaire's expansion question in one word, "YES." Our read: a clean contrast, on the same ballot as the measure. The race page is here.

Brauchler puts his name on Proposition 132

George Brauchler published a Sept. 27 op-ed in Colorado Politics backing the fentanyl sentencing measure, signed as the 23rd Judicial District attorney and a former DA for the 18th. The close is not subtle: "Say no to the status quo. Fentanyl dealers have to go to prison. Yes on Prop. 132." He also writes that "Colorado's deliberately lame approach has deadly consequences." The piece never mentions Douglas County; the local caseload and cost questions are in our 132 and 133 explainer.

New on the site this week

Four more races got their own pages. Attorney general: an open seat, Jena Griswold against El Paso County DA Michael J. Allen. Secretary of state: Jefferson County clerk Amanda Gonzalez against James Wiley, who wants one-day in-person voting and no machines. Senate District 4: Mark Baisley's Senate run leaves the eight-county seat open to Teddy Collins and Justin Kurth. Judicial retention: thirteen judges, thirteen yes-or-no questions, and what each performance commission wrote.

More: every race and measure on your ballot and our full November ballot guide. We do not endorse candidates. Campaigns can send corrections to hello@discoverdougco.com.