Bente Birkeland
Bente Birkeland has been reporting on state legislative issues for KUNC and Rocky Mountain Community Radio since 2006. Originally, from Minnesota, Bente likes to hike and ski in her spare time. She keeps track of state politics throughout the year but is especially busy during the annual legislative session from January through early May.
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Election officials are trying to win over voter trust that ballots are handled and counted securely. In Colorado, a clerk went so far as to invite one skeptic to work at his office to see for herself.
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More states have adopted redistricting commissions as an antidote to gerrymandering over the past decade. Depending on the state, commissions look and function very differently. Are they working?
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Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who in 2018 became the first openly gay man ever elected governor in the U.S., wed his longtime partner on Wednesday.
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A county clerk in Colorado is under investigation after sensitive information about the county's voting machines appeared on conspiracy websites.
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Colorado officials are pointing the finger at the Mesa County clerk, who's currently attending a conference promoting claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
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Independent redistricting commissions in Colorado and other states were meant to take some of the politics out of the process. Recent events, though, show that parties are still pushing for influence.
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Republicans in more than 30 states have introduced bills to criminalize or limit the rights of protesters. Simultaneously, some Democratic-led states are working to better protect protesters.
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Voting machine engineer Eric Coomer was falsely accused of rigging the election against former President Donald Trump by the conservative cable network. He faced death threats and has been in hiding.
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Weeks after the mass shooting in Boulder, Colo., the push for a statewide ban on assault-style weapons is losing steam, even among prominent Democrats who say it is the wrong strategy.
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Immediately following the shooting in Boulder that killed 10 people, some Colorado Democrats said they would push for a statewide ban on assault-style weapons. Now support for a ban is waning.