Democracy is a universal fundamental value that is essential to the realization of humanist principles worldwide. It is important to be an active participant in democracy and to be an informed voter. To help with the upcoming midterm elections, below is a summary of Colorado’s amendment and proposition process and a very short review of what is on November’s general election ballot for Colorado and Jefferson County. The Colorado Secretary of State publishes the Blue Book providing detailed information on each, and they should be mailed to registered voters soon.
Additional information and analysis is available from these two nonpartisan organizations.
The Secular Hub has a presentation at 12:30 pm on Sunday, October 4th to better understand these initiatives. It is right after their monthly pancake breakfast. Find out more: The Bell Policy Center: Overview of this year’s (14!) state ballot initiatives – https://www.meetup.com/secularhub/events/316701624/
| Definitions | ||
| Type | Description | Voting Requirements |
| Amendments | Changes to the state Constitution. | Require 55% of the votes to pass. |
| Propositions | Changes to state law (statutes). | Require a simple majority (over 50%) to pass. |
| Pathways to the Ballot | ||
| 1. Legislative Referral: | Both amendments and propositions can be referred to the ballot by the Colorado General Assembly. | |
| Amendments need a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in both houses. | ||
| Propositions need a majority vote in both houses. | ||
| 2. Citizen Initiatives: | Citizens can also propose amendments and propositions by gathering signatures. | |
| Amendments require signatures from 5% of the votes cast for Secretary of State in the last general election, with at least 2% from each of the 35 state Senate districts. | ||
| Propositions have the same signature requirement but do not have the district distribution requirement.
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2026 Amendments and Propositions in Colorado
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- 81 – DHS Notification: Mandates law enforcement contact DHS, the parent agency of ICE, within 72 hours if a person suspected of not having legal immigration status is charged with a crime of violence or …
- 82 – Right to Natural Gas: Consumers have the right to purchase natural gas for cooking or heating in homes or businesses and that utilities and distributors have the right to sell natural gas.
- 83 – Right to Hunt & Fish: Creates a constitutional right to hunt and fish; establishes hunting and fishing as the preferred means of managing fish and wildlife populations.
- 84 – Mail Ballots: Requires a voter include the last four digits of their SSN or their Colorado driver’s license or identification card number on the outside of their mail ballot for any federal or state election.
- 85 – Plain Ballot Language: Requires all state and local ballot questions to be written in plain language and at no more than an 8th grade reading level.
- 86 – Congressional Redistricting: Requires any mid-decade redistricting to be approved by both the state’s independent redistricting commission and the Colorado Supreme Court.
- 87 – Graduated Income Tax: Replaces Colorado’s flat income tax with new tax brackets; Raises an estimated $2 billion per year for K-12 education, health care, and childcare/pre-K education.
- Prop NN – TABOR increase: Increases state investment in K-12 public education 2% each year for the next ten years, with investments used to increase teacher pay, improve teacher retention, lower class sizes….
- 132 – Fentanyl Penalties: Makes the distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, or selling of any amount of fentanyl a level 1 drug felony, the most severe classification, with a required sentence of eight to 32 years.
- 133 – Human Trafficking: Requires life in prison without parole for persons convicted of human trafficking a child for sexual servitude; adds exchanging anything of monetary value for sexual activity with a minor.
- 134 – Sex & School Sports: Requires schools and school districts to implement policies to ensure that students are assigned to gender-designated teams that align with their biological sex.
- 135 – Prohibit Surgeries: Prohibits surgeries on minors that alter their biological sex characteristics as a treatment in response to their perception of sex/gender; prohibits state/fed funds or insurance to pay for…
- 136 – 4.4% Income Tax: Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes capping the state income tax rate at 4.4% of federal taxable income for individuals and corporations?
- 137- Sporting Goods Tax: Allows the state to keep and spend a portion of sales tax on sporting goods and equipment to conserve water, land, and forests; prevent wildfires; and support outdoor recreation training.
- Jeffco MLO increase: Increases taxes by $133 million to pay to attract teachers with higher pay; offer students learning necessary for success; and improve building maintenance, HVAC, and safety.
- Arvada Fire 1% Sales Tax: Levies a 1% sales tax to support the Arvada Fire Protection District with exemptions for groceries, essential hygiene, medications, and other currently exempted items.
- 7A Front Range Rail: Shall sales taxes be increased $295,000,000 annually (exemptions apply), and shall Front Range Passenger Rail District debt be increased $580,000,000?
