Ever wondered why we follow the rules we follow? Who made these rules? Who decides when old rules aren't good rules anymore, and who makes the new rules?

Every single person in the world lives in a specific country. Each country has people in charge that make rules their citizens have to follow. These rules are called laws. The people that make the laws are part of what is called a government. 

laws: the rules and regulations set in a country or state that must be followed by all who live there; there are punishments for those who don't follow

government: the group of people in charge of creating laws for a state or country; they make sure laws are made that will keep everyone treated fairly

While each country has a government, known in the United States as the federal government, each state has their own individual state government.

Federal government: the big government that oversees the entire United States as a whole

State government: the smaller governments that oversee a state: every state in the United States has it's own government that can make their own laws for the state

The federal government is made up of three different branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. Each of these different branches has different jobs, and they all hold a different power.

Just like the federal government, each state government has different branches that each hold different powers. Colorado specifically actually has the same three branches as the federal government: executive, legislative, and judicial. 

The executive branch is typically seen as the "top" branch of the system. At the state level, this branch is made up of the governor, lt. governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and state treasurer.

As of December 2022, the Colorado state governor is a democratic man named Jared Polis. He was just elected to serve his second term as the governor of Colorado in the November elections. Every four years, there is an election to decide who will be the governor. A person can only serve as governor for 8 years in a row, which is two 4-year terms.