The
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
has had a system of
direct voting since gaining statehood in 1877. Citizens and the
Colorado General Assembly
The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the ''Colorado Revised Statutes'' (C.R.S.). The se ...
both have the ability to place new legislation, legislation recently passed by the General Assembly, and constitutional amendments on the ballot for a popular vote. Colorado has three types of ballot measures that can be voted on in a statewide election:
initiatives
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...
,
referendums, and legislatively-referred measures. In order to be placed on the ballot, supporters of a measure must gather signatures from registered voters. From 1877 to 1910, the only ballot measures allowed were legislatively-referred measures. In 1910, Referendum 3 was placed on the ballot by the General Assembly and passed, creating a citizen-led process for initiatives and referendums. The first successful citizen-initiated measures were passed in 1912.
Background
The 1876
Constitution of Colorado
The Constitution of the State of Colorado is the foundation of the laws and government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The current, and only, Colorado State Constitution was drafted on March 14, 1876; approved by Colorado voters on July 1, 1876; ...
included procedures for the General Assembly to place measures on the ballot in a statewide election. In the 1890s, a grassroots movement to increase citizen power began, culminating in a special session of the legislature to discuss initiative and referendums in 1910. That session resulted in 1910's Referendum 3, which passed with over 76% of the vote and created a citizen-initiated process.
From 1877 to 2016, constitutional amendments required only a simple majority to pass. In 2016, Amendment 71 passed and raised the threshold to 55%.
In 2020, as part of
his administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor
Jared Polis
Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 20 ...
issued an emergency rule allowing petition signature gatherers to do so via email and mail, rather than in-person efforts. The change, while upheld by the Denver District Court, was overturned by the
Colorado Supreme Court
The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices.
Powers and duties
Appellate jurisdiction
Discretionary appeals
The Court ...
later that year.
After the 1876 constitutional convention in Colorado, a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment which would have granted women the right to vote was placed on the ballot for the 1877 election.
The measure failed, with over two-thirds of voters voting against it.
Henry Blackwell, a founder of the
American Woman Suffrage Association
The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was a single-issue national organization formed in 1869 to work for women's suffrage in the United States. The AWSA lobbied state governments to enact laws granting or expanding women's right to vote ...
, summed up the unsuccessful campaign by saying "Woman Suffrage can never be carried by a popular vote without a political party behind it". Blackwell was proven correct in 1893 when, in part due to gains made by the
Colorado People's Party in the General Assembly, voters supported a women's suffrage ballot measure by a 54-45 margin.
In 1970, The
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
granted
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
hosting rights for the
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label= Austro-Bavarian), was a ...
. Governor
John Love claimed that the games would cost taxpayers only $5,000,000. Activists quickly noted a wide variety of issues with the state's cost estimate, however, including a lack of transportation infrastructure, no planning for the
Olympic Village
An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers. Afte ...
, and issues with planned events sites. A petition for 1972's
Measure 8 quickly reached the necessary 51,000 signatures and nearly 60% of Coloradans voted to prohibit the state from funding the Olympics. Later estimates found that the cost for Denver to host the games would have been $92,000,000, over 18 times the state's estimate.
Richard Lamm
Richard Douglas Lamm (August 3, 1935 – July 29, 2021) was an American politician, writer, and attorney. He served three terms as 38th Governor of Colorado as a Democrat (1975–1987) and ran for the Reform Party's nomination for Preside ...
, who was a leader in the local anti-Olympics movement, would later parlay his fame from the measure into three-terms as Governor.
1984's Amendment 3, which barred the use of state funds for abortion services, passed by less than one percentage point. The measure gave Colorado the distinction of being both the first state to decriminalize abortion, having
done so in 1967, and the first state to prohibit the government from funding it.
1990's Amendment 5 has been credited by the
Initiative & Referendum Institute as having started the
term limits movement in the United States and was followed by similar initiatives in 1994 and 1996. Colorado's efforts were unique because they placed term limits on members of Congress in addition to state-level officials.
The term-limits movement would result in the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
case
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
''U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton'', 514 U.S. 779 (1995), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that states cannot impose qualifications for prospective members of the U.S. Congress stricter than those the Constituti ...
, which determined that states could not place restrictions on congresspeople beyond the constitutional requirements.
In 2006,
Amendment 20 passed with 54% of the vote and legalized the
medical use of marijuana in the state. It was followed by 2012's
Amendment 64
Colorado Amendment 64 was a successful popular initiative ballot measure to amend the Constitution of the State of Colorado, outlining a statewide drug policy for cannabis. The measure passed on November 6, 2012, and along with a similar meas ...
, which passed by similar margins and legalized the recreational use of marijuana. ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' described the vote as "an electoral first not only for America but for the world." Colorado continued this trend of loosening drug policy in 2022 when voters passed Proposition 122 and legalized the use of
psilocybin mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, are a polyphyletic informal group of fungi that contain psilocybin which turns into psilocin upon ingestion. Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include ''Psilocybe'', ''Pa ...
in designated "healing centers".
Types of ballot measures
Citizen-initiated
The Constitution of Colorado grants citizens some initiative and referendum powers in Article V. In order for a measure to be placed on the ballot, a petition must receive signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast in the previous election. The governor's veto power does not extend to citizen-initiated measures, which go into effect within one month of election returns being certified.
* Initiatives create new state statutes or constitutional amendments. They may be placed on the ballot if their petition is filed at least three months before the upcoming election.
* Referendums repeal legislation passed in the previous General Assembly session. They may be placed on the ballot if their petition is filed at least 90 days after the previous General Assembly session adjourns.
Government-initiated
At the General Assembly's discretion, the legislature may place additional measures on the ballot. Article XIX of the Constitution requires that constitutional amendments passed by the legislature be voted on in the next general election.
The General Assembly can also vote to place statute changes and proposed spending on the general election ballot.
1800s
1877
1880
1881
1882
1884
1886
1887
1888
1890
1892
1893
1894
1896
1900-1949
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950-1999
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000-
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2008
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado ballot measures
*
Ballot measures
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...
Ballot measures
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...
United States law-related lists
Lists of referendums