abstract
| - El Paso County is the most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the county population was 622,263 in 2010, greater than Denver County, which had previously been the most populous county. The county seat is Colorado Springs, the second most populous city in Colorado. The Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area comprises El Paso County and Teller County. El Paso County is located in Colorado's 5th congressional district. Since its creation in 1871, El Paso County has typically voted for the Republican presidential candidate in presidential elections; the last Democratic nominee to win the county was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. The Democratic Party won El Paso County four additional times prior, and the Populist Party won in 1892, with General James B. Weaver. In 2004, the voters of Colorado Springs and El Paso County established the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA) and adopted a 1% sales tax dedicated to improving the region's transportation infrastructure. Together with state funding for COSMIX (2007 completion) and the I-25 interchange with Highway 16 (2008 completion), significant progress has been made since 2003 in addressing the transportation needs of the area.
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