🎃 It's Friday! Have you found your Halloween costume yet?

⛅ Today's weather: Partly sunny — high of 66. Same, same this weekend.

🎂 HBD to our members Kathy Chaten and Van Perrine!

Today’s newsletter is 927 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Federal election monitors plan to stay outside Adams County voting centers on Election Day after the Trump administration's Justice Department rejected Colorado's conditions for entering.

Why it matters: The standoff comes as concerns grow about federal interference in elections — and in a county that's part of Colorado's fiercely competitive 8th Congressional District race, where the outcome could help determine U.S. House control.

Driving the news: Secretary of State Jena Griswold told the DOJ yesterday that its four monitors could enter Adams County voting centers only if accompanied by state-appointed observers.

• Monitors also can't speak with voters, access voting equipment or interfere with election operations.
• The DOJ rejected those conditions, saying its monitors would instead adhere to a state law requiring unauthorized observers to stay at least 100 feet from voting centers.

What she's saying: "Ultimately, Coloradans are a little bit on edge," Griswold told us in an interview. "So [we are] making sure that we have really good oversight."

The other side: "State or local approval is not required for department monitoring," DOJ spokesperson Kiersten Pels told Axios, adding federal monitors follow state and local polling place rules.

Catch up quick: Griswold amended election rules Oct. 9, requiring federal monitors to obtain state approval before entering voting centers.

• The DOJ's stated focus includes making sure Spanish-speaking voters have access to bilingual ballots and language assistance.

Between the lines: Adams County Clerk Josh Zygielbaum, a Democrat, has questioned the administration's motives, warning the federal presence could intimidate voters.

• About half of Adams County voters wait until Election Day to vote, Zygielbaum told Colorado Politics, potentially putting monitors near voting centers during their busiest hours.

Keep reading

Your phone knows the clocks fall back an hour at 2am Sunday. Your brain — not so much.

Why it matters: Changing the clock can leave your body feeling jet-lagged — without ever leaving Colorado.

Yes, but: A few small tweaks can ease the transition, Renske Lok, a circadian biologist at CU Boulder who studies the body's internal clock, tells Axios.

Here's how to hack it:

• 🛌 Start tonight. Shift your bedtime and wake-up time back by 10–12 minutes a day to give your internal clock a head start.
• 👶 Parents, beware. Young kids don't understand the shift, so a 6am wake-up call could become 5am.
• 💤 Don't count on bonus sleep. Data from Oura users shows they slept less overall the week after the 2024 fall time change, despite gaining an hour.
• ☀️ Chase the morning Sun. Getting outside early helps your body adjust.

The intrigue: Our internal clocks run slightly longer than a day — about 24.2 hours, Lok says.

• That makes falling back easier than springing forward.

Tell a sleepyhead

President Trump is the fight Democrat Jena Griswold wants to pick — and the political baggage Republican Michael Allen wants to shed.

Why it matters: Our attorney general contest — expected to be one of the closest statewide races — will determine who directs Colorado's legal resistance to the Trump administration.

• Democratic AGs are a key obstacle to Trump, and the stakes extend beyond partisanship to federal dollars for public services, access to mail ballots and protections for Coloradans.

The big picture: Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser's office has filed or joined about 90 lawsuits challenging the administration since January 2025.

• Griswold promises to continue that work; Allen says he'd reconsider the state's participation case by case.

State of play: The Trump stakes are overshadowing a debate about the candidates' experience and putting the Republican candidate on the defensive.

Allen, the district attorney for El Paso and Teller counties, isn't shy about blaming Trump for putting Republicans in a political bind.

• "I think he's a big factor," Allen told me, citing the president's dismal approval ratings in Colorado and reluctant donors.
• Allen said he didn't vote for Trump "at least one or two" times in the three campaigns, instead writing in a different name.

"Trump is not the Republican Party," he said.

The other side: Griswold, our current secretary of state, argues challenging the administration is a core responsibility of the next attorney general.

• She supports all of Weiser's lawsuits and suggests more will be necessary.

Full story

😮 Denver progressives worry the multiple candidates for the open at-large City Council seat may cost them a spot at the dais to replace Sarah Parady with a like-minded member. (Denverite)

⚖️ The suspect in Boulder's 2025 Pearl Street Mall firebombing attack pleaded guilty to all 12 federal crimes yesterday. (Colorado Sun)

❌ The L, a South Broadway cocktail bar, closed after six years. Its owner blames rising labor costs, declining business and a $64,000 rent dispute with his landlord that ended in eviction. (BusinessDen 🔑)

The election's stressful and all-consuming.

• So let's end with a smile. 🙃

Zoom in: 😍 This is Lindy, my 4-year-old lab mix, looking not-so-happy 😆 about her Halloween costume during a photo shoot at Noble Beast this week.

The bottom line: Lindy ditched the hat.

• Now I'm in the doghouse.

🤞 John is crossing his fingers that this winter storm next week dumps in Colorado.

📺 Alayna is talking all things election on "Colorado Inside Out" tonight.

🕊️ Esteban is watching this CBS Colorado story on Dolores Huerta's local legacy.

Editor's note: A story in yesterday's newsletter was corrected to show that Dick Wadhams is from Las Animas (not Pueblo).

Thanks to our editor, Gigi Sukin.