List of Colorado ballot measures
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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.
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
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 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 too $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
References & notes
Footnotes
- 1 2 "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. 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. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
- "Colorado Ballot Measures". Project VoteSmart. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
- "Colorado Ballot Amendments". Colorado Ballot. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
