Story Ideas for the Political Beat

1) How many people have already voted at early voting sites?
- look at both students or Boulder County residents
- check with the Rec. Center and other early voting sites
- interview early voters : sentiments about the elections, why they wanted to vote early, what their expectations are, what other people they know are planning to do

2) What problems are expected at the polls?
- interview poll employees: what kind of training they've had, why they decided to help out at polls, what they expect on Nov. 4
- what has been done to solve last year's problems?
- does Boulder County have any new technology this year?
- what do different polls expect in terms of numbers?

3) What will happen to the mail-in ballots requested by over 50 percent of Colorado residents?
- what is the actual number of mail-in ballot requests?
- how does it compare to years past?
- if total is less than enough to swing the county, district or state, will they even be looked at?
- what are the procedures? how should ballots be filled out, what should be included to make sure the vote counts (ex: photocopy of a photo ID)?

4) What are the implications of a "yes" vote on Amendment 48?
- interview OB/GYNs, Planned Parenthood employees, students, parents, conservative proponents
- when will it go into effect?
- who will it have the most significant effects on?
- what are the laws of surrounding states? how would a win for 48 compare?

5) Could any of the amendments or referenda on the ballot affect CU's funding?
- what are financial expectations for Colorado's public universities in the next few years?
- will any of the ballot measures take money away from, or increase spending on, educational funding? if so, how much?