List of Colorado ballot measures
The following is a list of statewide initiatives and referenda modifying state law and proposing state constitutional amendments in Colorado, sorted by election. The Colorado Legislative Council, an organ of the Colorado General Assembly, maintains a comprehensive list at its website.
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Measures submitted to popular vote may be classified as follows:
Referenda are amendments to state statutes or the state constitution proposed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Colorado General Assembly and must be approved by a simple majority of voters at the next general election.[1] Such referred measures are designated by letter.
Initiatives (also referred to simply as Amendments) are amendments to the state statutes or to the state constitution proposed via petition by citizens, and must be signed by a number of registered voters equal to at least 5% of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office of secretary of state at the previous general election. Upon acceptance, the initiative is voted upon during the next statewide general election.[1] Amendments are designated by number. The number assigned to a measure when petitions are circulating is generally different from the number ultimately assigned to an initiative when it is placed upon the ballot.
There is no difference in Colorado, as of July 16, 2008, between the requirements for placing a statutory change, and a state constitutional change on the ballot, or approving such a change. Colorado Referendum O facing voters in November 2008 would change these requirements by requiring more support at the petition stage to amend the state constitution than to amend a state statute.
Colorado voters may also present petitions forcing votes on the repeal of laws enacted by the state legislature without a "safety clause," and may force a public vote on the recall of an elected official. Neither type of ballot issue has been presented to Colorado voters at a statewide level in recent history.
1800s
- Colorado state capital referendum, 1881: Denver selected as state capital
- Colorado women's suffrage referendum, 1893: Passed: Women's Right to Vote
1970s
- Denver Winter Olympics Referendum, 1972: Passed: Opposed to 1976 Winter Olympics being held in Denver
- Poundstone Amendment, 1974: Passed: Concerning County Annexations
1980s
- Gallagher Amendment, 1982: Passed: Concerning Property Taxes
1990s
- Amendment 2, 1992: Passed: Prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination, overturned in 1996 by Romer v. Evans
November 2, 2004
- Amendment 34: Failed: Construction Liability
- Amendment 35: Passed: Tobacco Tax Increase For Health - Related Purposes
- Amendment 36: Failed: Selection of Presidential Electors
- Amendment 37: Passed: Renewable Energy Requirement
- Referendum A: Failed: State Personnel System
- Referendum B: Passed: Obsolete Constitutional Provisions
November 1, 2005
- Referendum C: Passed: State Spending
- Referendum D: Failed: State Borrowing
November 7, 2006
- Amendment 38: Failed: Petitions
- Amendment 39: Failed: School District Expenditures for Education
- Amendment 40: Failed: Term Limits on Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Judges
- Amendment 41: Passed: Standards of Conduct in Government
- Amendment 42: Passed: Colorado Minimum Wage Increase
- Amendment 43: Passed: Traditional Marriage
- Amendment 44: Failed: Marijuana Possession
- Amendment 45: Withdrawn By Proponents On August 22, 2006 after a ballot number was assigned: Domestic Partnerships
- Referendum E: Passed: Extension of Property Tax Exemption of Disabled Veterans
- Referendum F: Failed: Removing Recall Timelines from the Constitution
- Referendum G: Passed: Elimination of Obsolete Constitutional Provisions
- Referendum H: Passed: Unauthorized Alien Labor Tax Deduction
- Referendum I: Failed: Domestic Partnerships
- Referendum J: Failed: Public Schools Expenditure Accountability Act
- Referendum K: Passed: Attorney General Initiate Immigration Lawsuit
November 4, 2008
This list is up-to-date with the list at the Secretary of State's Elections Center as of 2008-10-03, when four proposed amendments (53, 55, 56 and 57) were withdrawn by their labor supporters in exchange for agreements from businesses and politicians to actively oppose Amendments 47, 49 and 54.. The withdrawn amendments appeared on the ballot, but the votes were not counted.
- Amendment 46: Failed: Discrimination and Preferential Treatment By Governments
- Amendment 47: Failed: Prohibition on Mandatory Labor Union Membership and Dues
- Amendment 48: Failed: Definition Of Person
- Amendment 49: Failed: Allowable Government Paycheck Deductions
- Amendment 50: Passed: Limited Gaming in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek
- Amendment 51: Failed: State Sales Tax Increase for Services for People with Developmental Disabilities
- Amendment 52: Failed: Use of Severance Tax Revenue for Highways
- Amendment 53: WITHDRAWN: Criminal Accountability of Business Executives - withdrawn by the sponsors
- Amendment 54: Passed: Campaign Contributions from Certain Government Contractors
- Amendment 55: WITHDRAWN: Allowable Reasons for Employee Discharge or Suspension - withdrawn by the sponsors
- Amendment 56: WITHDRAWN: Employer Responsibility for Health Insurance - withdrawn by the sponsors
- Amendment 57: WITHDRAWN: Additional Remedies for Injured Employees - withdrawn by the sponsors
- Amendment 58: Failed: Severance Taxes on the Oil and Natural Gas Industry
- Amendment 59: Failed: Education Funding and TABOR Rebates
- Referendum L: Failed: Qualifications For Serving In State Legislature
- Referendum M: Passed: Obsolete Constitutional Provisions Relating To Land Value Increases
- Referendum N: Passed: Obsolete Constitutional Provisions Relating To Alcoholic Beverages
- Referendum O: Failed: Citizen-Initiated State Laws
November 2, 2010
This list is current as of November 3, 2010 Secretary of State Election Center.
- Amendment 60: Failed: Reduces property taxes and forces the state to pick up the shortfall.
- Amendment 61: Failed: Limits government borrowing.
- Amendment 62: Failed: Definition of Person.
- Amendment 63: Failed: Blocks implementation of PPACA in Colorado.
- Proposition 101: Failed: Lowers state income tax rates and reduces automobile registration fees.
- Proposition 102: Failed: Amends criteria for setting bail and bond in Colorado.
November 6, 2012
Source: Secretary of State Election Center, accessed Oct 25, 2012.
- Amendment 64: Passed: Use and Regulation of Marijuana
- Amendment 65: Passed: Colorado Congressional Delegation to Support Campaign Finance Limits
- Amendment S: Passed: State Personnel System
November 3, 2015
- Proposition BB Passed: Allows the state to keep revenue from marijuana taxes
November 8, 2016
Source: Unofficial Results November 8, 2016 General Election, Colorado Secretary of State.
- Amendment 69 Failed: Colorado Care
- Amendment 70 Passed: Raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020
- Amendment 71 Passed: Make it harder to put an amendment into the constitution
- Amendment 72 Failed: Increase Cigarette And Tobacco Taxes
- Amendment T Failed: No Exception To Involuntary Servitude Prohibition
- Amendment U Failed: Exempt Certain Possessory Interests From Property Taxes
- Proposition 106 Passed: Access To Medical Aid-In-Dying Medication
- Proposition 107 Passed: Presidential Primary Elections
- Proposition 108 Passed: Unaffiliated Voter Participation In Primary Elections
November 6, 2018
https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_2018_ballot_measures
- Amendment A Passed: Repeals a constitutional exception on the ban of slavery that allowed for slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime
- Amendment V Failed: Reduces age qualification for legislative members from 25 to 21
- Amendment W Failed: Shortens language on the Colorado ballot regarding judicial retention by consolidating questions
- Amendment X Passed: Changes the definition of industrial hemp from a constitutional definition to a statutory definition
- Amendment Y Passed: Establishes an independent commission for congressional redistricting
- Amendment Z Passed: Establishes an independent commission for state legislative redistricting
- Amendment 73 Failed: Establishes income tax brackets and raises taxes to fund education
- Amendment 74 Failed: Requires that property owners be compensated for any reduction in property value caused by state laws or regulations
- Amendment 75 Failed: Changes campaign finance contribution limits and requirements
- Proposition 109 Failed: Authorizes bonds for transportation projects without raising taxes
- Proposition 110 Failed: Authorizes bonds for transportation projects and raises taxes to repay the debt
- Proposition 111 Passed: Restricts the charges on payday loans to a yearly rate of 36 percent
- Proposition 112 Failed: Mandates minimum setbacks for new oil and gas development projects, including fracking
November 5, 2019
Source: https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_2019_ballot_measures
- Proposition CC Failed: Allows state to retain excess revenue to fund education and transportation
- Proposition DD Passed: Legalization and taxation of sports betting
November 3, 2020
Source: https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_2020_ballot_measures
- Amendment 76 Passed: Change the Colorado Constitution from saying "every citizen" to "only a citizen" can vote
- Amendment 77 Passed: Remove single bet limits and expand the allowable games in casinos
- Amendment B Passed: Repeals the Gallagher Amendment of 1982
- Amendment C Pending: Lowers the requirement for charities to obtain bingo and gambling licenses from having to exist for five years to only three
- Proposition 113 Passed: Make Colorado join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
- Proposition 114 Pending: Reintroduce gray wolves on public lands
- Proposition 115 Failed: Ban abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy
- Proposition 116 Passed: Decreases the state income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.55%
- Proposition 117 Pending: Requires voter approval for new TABOR exempt state enterprises if their revenue is greater than $50 million within its first five years
- Proposition 118 Passed: Establish a paid family and medical leave program to provide 12 weeks of paid leave funded through a payroll tax split 50/50 between employers and employees
- Proposition EE Passed: Creates a new nicotine tax and increase tobacco taxes in order to fund education and health care
References & notes
Footnotes
- "Article V, Section 1: General assembly - initiative and referendum". Constitution of the State of Colorado. Colorado Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
Other references
- "Colorado Ballot Proposal Information". Elections Center. Colorado Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2008-09-11. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- "2006 General Election Amendments and Referenda". Elections Center. Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
- "Digest of Initiated and Referred Constitutional and Statutory Amendments Since 1912". Colorado Legislative Council. Archived from the original on 2006-09-06. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
- "Colorado Ballot Measures". Project VoteSmart. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
- "Colorado Ballot Amendments". Colorado Ballot. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
