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.
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. Such referred measures are designated by letter.
Initiatives 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. 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
four proposed amendments 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
- 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
- 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
- Amendment 69 Failed: Colorado Care
- Amendment 70 Passed: Raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020
- The Colorado $12 Minimum Wage Amendment, also known as Amendment 70, was on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Colorado as an initiated constitutional amendment... It was approved. This means that beginning in 2017, the minimum wage would be raised to $9.30 an hour and will increase incrementally by 90 cents each year until it reaches $12.00 an hour in 2020. Although there is a state regulated minimum wage, this does not apply to every citizen who is employed in the state. Minors under the age of 18 may be paid up to 15% less than the current Colorado minimum wage… Full-time high school or college students who work part-time may be paid 85% of the Colorado minimum wage for up to 20 hours of work per week at certain employers.
- 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
- 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 3, 2020
Several amendments have already been aproved to be on the ballot on November 3, 2020, however none have been givin an official name.