What’s on the Colorado ballot?
I’m a lawyer. I read the actual laws you are being asked to vote on and I’ll give it to you in plain English.
Abortion Access and Insurance Coverage (Initiative 89)
Voters are being asked if the Colorado constitution should recognize “the right to abortion” and allow state-funded programs to cover the procedure. Colorado currently allows abortion, with the only restrictions being that state funds cannot be used for the procedure except to save the life of the mother, and that a minor must provide notice to their parents or guardians. This would delete from the constitution the prohibition on using state funds for the procedure, and add that “Government shall not deny, impede, or discriminate against the exercise of that right.” While this does not directly overrule the parental notification statute, it would be up to the courts to determine if they are incompatible. If so, the constitutional language would invalidate the parental notification statute.
(Added to the ballot by the Dusti Gurule and Dani Newsum)
Hunting of Mountain Lion, Bobcat, and Lynx (Initiative 91)
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) currently manages animal populations by issuing “tags” or permits to hunt. About 500 mountain lions and 880 bobcats are harvested annually. Lynx are endangered and hunting them is currently prohibited. The proposed initiative would end the permit system and make it illegal to kill mountain lions or bobcats except if a person’s life was in danger, or in defense of property and livestock after non-lethal deterrents failed.
(Added to the ballot by Mark Surles and Carol Monaco)
Independent Judicial Oversight (Amendment H)
Colorado already has a process for reviewing complaints against judges and enforcing discipline. The process keeps confidential the identities of the complainants, witnesses, and judges (before any finding of wrongdoing only). The changes would continue these protections, but make it clear that the public has a right to know aggregate, non-identifiable data about what is going on in our judicial discipline system and that complainants have a right to be kept informed about ongoing investigations. Under both the current system and the proposed changes, all final judicial disciplinary actions are public.
(Added to the ballot by the State Legislature)
Initiative and Referendum Filing Deadlines (Amendment K)
You’ve probably noticed that our ballots have many voter-referred questions. You’re not even a third of the way through this guide! This amendment would move the deadlines groups must meet to have their initiative on the ballot one week earlier to allow the secretary of state’s office a bit more time to get ballots ready to go out.
(Added to the ballot by the State Legislature)
Law Enforcement Training and Support Fund (Initiative 157)
This initiative would require the state to commit $350,000,000 from the general fund (taxpayer dollars) to be used for “recruiting, training, and supporting peace officers and their families.” The funds must be used only for “bona fide peace officer functions,” and to pay a $1,000,000 death benefit to families of any officer killed in the line of duty. The funds could not be used to pay for human services.
(Added to the ballot by Michael Fields and Suzanne Taheri)
Parole Eligibility (Initiative 112)
Colorado law currently prohibits a person convicted of certain violent crimes from applying for parole until they have served 75% of their sentence. Inmates can earn other reductions for good behavior while incarcerated. Parole is not automatic; it must be granted by the Colorado State Parole Board. This change would delay parole eligibility until a person convicted of violent crime has served 85% of their sentence and would no longer allow time earned for good behavior. A person with two prior violent crime convictions would need to serve their full sentence with no reductions for good behavior.
(Added to the ballot by Michael Fields and Suzanne Taheri)
Property Tax Exemption for Veterans (Amendment G)
Colorado currently provides a property tax exemption for disabled veterans. This changes the wording in the law to modify the qualification for the tax exemption from “disabled veteran” to “veteran with a disability,” This will allow the state to provide the tax benefit not just to completely disabled veterans, but also to veterans with an unemployability status as determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
(Added to the ballot by the State Legislature)
Ranked Choice Voting (Initiative 310)
Currently, we vote for elected representatives in primary elections by party (registered Democrats vote in the Democratic primary, registered Republicans vote in the Republican primary, registered independents may vote in either one, but not both). The winners of the primary elections face off in the general election. This change would have all candidates for an office, regardless of party, run in one primary in which all voters participate. The top four vote getters would advance to the general election. There, voters would rank their preference in order. Only the top choice vote is counted in “round 1.” If any candidate has a majority of the vote they win. If no candidate has a majority, the candidate who receives the lowest votes is eliminated, and the ballots for that candidate are then reallocated, using those voters’ second ranked choices in “round 2.” This continues until one candidate has a majority. For instance, if a voter ranked their ballot: (1) Green Party (2) Democratic Party, and the Green Party candidate had the lowest vote total in round 1, that ballot would be counted for the Democratic Party in round 2. This is also known as “instant runoff.” This change would not apply to presidential elections.
(Added to the ballot by Jason Bertolacci and Owen Clough, primary supporter Kent Thiry)
Remove Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban (Amendment J)
The state constitution currently says, “Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.” Even though marriage equality has been the law of the land since the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Obergafell v. Hodges, the obsolete language remains in the state constitution unless it is removed by a vote of the people. It is currently unenforceable, but if Obergafell were overturned, Colorado’s constitution would again prohibit same sex marriages. This amendment would eliminate the definition of marriage as only being between one man and one woman from the state constitution.
(Added to the ballot by the State Legislature)
Remove Right to Bail in First Degree Murder Cases (Amendment I)
In Colorado, criminal defendants in “capital cases” – those that carried the possibility of the death penalty – were not eligible for bail. When Colorado repealed the death penalty in 2020, we no longer had any capital cases. An unintended consequence was that defendants in first degree murder cases, which had previously been “capital cases,” gained the right to post bail. This will return bail eligibility for first-degree murder cases to the way it was before the repeal of the death penalty. If the initiative passes, first degree murder defendants may be denied bail.
(Added to the ballot by the State Legislature)
Retain Sports Betting Tax Revenue for Water Projects (Proposition JJ)
Sports betting taxes in Colorado have raised more money than initially allowed – about $2.8 million more last year and expected to grow to $7.2 million by 2026. This question asks if the state should use that extra money to fund water conservation projects (a “yes” vote) or give it back to casinos (a “no” vote).
(Added to the ballot by the State Legislature)
School Choice Constitutional Amendment (Initiative 138)
Parents in Colorado have the right under existing law to choose what public or private school, or home school is best for their children. The right to educate one’s children as they see fit has long been considered a fundamental right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. The proposal here is to add to the state constitution a definition that “school choice includes neighborhood, charter, private, and home schools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.” It would be up to the courts to determine if the new language, read together with existing law, would mandate state funding for charter and private schools.
(Added to the ballot by Michael Fields and Suzanne Taheri)
Tax on firearms and ammunition (Proposition KK)
This initiative would put a 6.5% sales tax on firearms and ammunition to fund mental health services, school safety and gun violence prevention initiatives, and support services for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes.
(Added to the ballot by the State Legislature)
Veterinary Professional Associates (Initiative 145)
Currently, only veterinarians – people who have a doctorate in veterinary medicine – can practice veterinary medicine. This would create a profession known as a “veterinary professional associate” (VPA) that could also practice veterinary medicine under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. A VPA would need a master’s degree in veterinary medicine to qualify.
(Added to the ballot by the Apryl Steele and Ali Mikelson)
If you have any other legal questions feel free to contact us.