Colorado voters will decide the fate of major policy ideas that will directly affect their wallets, modify how officials are elected and define how long violent offenders must serve their sentence before they can be eligible for parole.
Some of these proposals have already qualified for the November ballot. Others await a final determination.
The deadline for submitting signatures for ballot measures in Colorado was Aug. 5. To qualify for the November ballot, a measure must receive signatures equal to at least 5% of the total votes cast for all Secretary of State candidates in the last election. This year, that's 124,238.
Measures that propose changes to the state Constitution must meet those same requirements and receive signatures from at least 2% of the total registered electors in each of Colorado's 35 Senate districts.
Here are the initiatives that qualified for the ballot, the ones that didn't and those still going through the signature verification process:
On the ballot:
- Proposition 50—This measure would limit property tax revenue from increasing more than 4% from the total statewide property tax collected the previous year. Under the initiative, if a local district or government wants to increase by more than 4%, they would need the approval of the voters. Read more here.
- Proposition 89—This measure would enshrine the right to abortion in the state Constitution and prohibit insurance providers from denying coverage for abortions.
- #Proposition 91— This measure would prohibit the hunting of bobcats, lynx, and mountain lions in the state. Read more here.
Pending signature review:
The Secretary of State's Office is still reviewing the signatures turned in for the following measures. It's possible some of them may not have enough verified signatures to appear on the ballot.
- Proposition 108—This initiative would reduce assessment rates to 5.7% for residential properties and 24% for commercial properties. Read more here.
- Proposition 112—Currently, all offenders charged with a violent crime in Colorado are required to serve 75% of their sentence before they are eligible for parole. This initiative would require offenders convicted of crimes that occur after January 1, 2025 to serve 85% of their sentence before being eligible for parole. Parole eligibility would remain the same for offenders convicted of crimes that occur before Jan. 1, 2025, as well as for offenders with two prior violent crime convictions, who must serve their full sentence before being eligible for parole.
- Proposition 138—This initiative enshrines the right to school choice into the state Constitution.
- Proposition 145—This initiative creates the profession called veterinary professional associate, which requires a master's degree and registration with the State Board of Veterinary Medicine. Read more here.
- Proposition 157—Funding for law enforcement: This initiative creates the Peace Officer Training and Support Fund, which would provide funding for law enforcement officer training, retention, and hiring, as well as benefits for spouses and children of officers or first responders killed in the line of duty.
- Proposition 310—This initiative establishes a top-four ranked choice voting system in Colorado for congressional, gubernatorial, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, University of Colorado Board of Regents, state Board of Education and legislative elections.
Failed to make the ballot:
- Proposition 142— This initiative would have required public schools to inform parents if their child is experiencing "gender incongruence." The initiative defines "gender incongruence" as "a difference between a child's biological sex and the child's perceived or desired gender."
- Proposition 144—This initiative would have allowed veterinarians to provide telehealth services to patients in Colorado. A similar bill was signed by the governor earlier this year.
- Proposition 147—This initiative would have prohibited sheriffs from denying a concealed carry permit to someone who lawfully uses marijuana.
- Proposition 160—This initiative would have prohibited students who were born male from participating in girls' sports.
- Proposition 201—This initiative would have prohibited a ranked choice voting system, such as the one proposed by Initiative 310.
- Proposition 202—This initiative would have enshrined in the Constitution the ability for a candidate to gain access to the ballot through the caucus and assembly process.
- Proposition 278—This initiative would have amended the state Constitution to prohibit unaffiliated voters from voting in partisan primaries.
- Proposition 284— This initiative would have required fees for funding of mass transit projects be assessed only by individuals in the areas that would be served by the transit. The fees would have also had to be approved by the people in the area to be served.
