{"id":3599,"date":"2026-08-09T17:02:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T17:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3599"},"modified":"2026-08-09T17:02:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T17:02:48","slug":"colorado-voters-will-face-a-potential-record-number-of-ballot-questions-including-the-battle-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3599","title":{"rendered":"Colorado voters will face a potential record number of ballot questions, including the \u2018battle of the year\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The future of natural gas, tax rates, trans acceptance, drug policy, how people vote and more may hang in the electoral balance in November as Coloradans face a longer ballot than usual.<\/p>\n

Read more The Davis Webb effect, an \u2018unblockable\u2019 DL and other Broncos camp takeaways<\/a><\/p>\n

Up to 15 questions, either referred by the state legislature or more commonly initiated by outside groups through statewide petitions, could end up on the ballot \u2014 each capable of creating new state priorities, stamping new mandates into law, making binding declarations about Colorado values or remaking fundamental parts of state governance.<\/p>\n

That number would be a modern record for questions put before voters. It\u2019s the latest ballot measure crush of such a scale in the last two decades, according to the secretary of state\u2019s office, with a few past even-year elections \u2014 when federal and state races tend to draw more participation \u2014 featuring as many as 14 state ballot questions. But the average number in that time has been 10.<\/p>\n

Many measures heading for this fall\u2019s ballot will stir fierce fights between opponents and proponents. All will fight for oxygen in an electoral season headlined by the contest over the governor\u2019s office and flooded with money in a battle over congressional seats that could determine the balance of power in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

And each will be a test for an electorate tasked with Colorado-style direct democracy, in which voters have a chance to overrule, affirm or sidestep the state\u2019s elected representatives altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a legitimate part of the political discourse of Colorado, and it\u2019s just as legitimate as the legislature is in the ability to create laws,\u201d said Michael Fields, the head of the conservative advocacy organization Advance Colorado and a superuser of the initiative process.<\/p>\n

But as legitimate as the process is for making laws \u2014 indeed, it\u2019s necessary for things like raising taxes or changing the state constitution \u2014 it\u2019s also not the same thing as the legislative process, said Phil Chen, a University of Denver political science professor.<\/p>\n

Lawmaking via ballot box comes with its own challenges and burdens for voters, especially as they\u2019re weighing measures that could have broader implications than the direct question being asked.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople think of it as the legislating process,\u201d Chen said. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t really look like the legislating process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Citizen initiatives as a \u2018backstop\u2019 to the legislature<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This year, the state\u2019s voters will likely be asked to weigh in on eight proposed changes to the Colorado Constitution and seven that would change state law. Several of the measures are undergoing signature review by the Colorado Secretary of State\u2019s Office, with the final say still weeks away \u2014 including on a major income tax rewrite that has the potential to become the marquee ballot battle.<\/p>\n

Citizen initiatives that have qualified for the ballot propose changes to state law that include:<\/p>\n

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  • Increased criminal penalties for the possession or sale of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.<\/li>\n
  • Life in prison for the human trafficking of a minor.<\/li>\n
  • A ban on transgender youth from playing on sports teams not aligned with their biological sex.<\/li>\n
  • A ban on gender-affirming surgery for people younger than 18.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Proposed constitutional changes that have qualified for the ballot include:<\/p>\n

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    • A requirement that law enforcement notify federal immigration officials when an immigrant without proper legal status is charged with a violent crime.<\/li>\n
    • The establishment of a right to use natural gas for cooking and heating.<\/li>\n
    • A mandate that all taxes and fees collected for motor vehicles\u00a0and gas be spent on roads.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Other measures are still awaiting final approval by the secretary of state:<\/p>\n

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      • A proposal that would move Colorado to a graduated income tax system in which high earners pay a higher tax rate, marking a big change in tax policy.<\/li>\n
      • A cap on the state\u2019s income tax rate.<\/li>\n
      • A requirement that sales taxes on sporting goods be earmarked for conservation efforts.<\/li>\n
      • A mandate for additional voter verification for mail-in ballots.<\/li>\n
      • A ban on congressional redistricting outside the typical once-a-decade census cycle.<\/li>\n
      • The creation of a constitutional right to hunt and fish.<\/li>\n
      • A requirement that ballot questions be written at an 8th grade reading level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        A proposal that would raise the amount of tax money the state can keep under the Taxpayer\u2019s Bill of Rights \u2014 known as raising the TABOR cap \u2014 was placed on the ballot by legislators last spring. That extra money, which normally would be returned through refunds or another way, would be mandated to go to education.<\/p>\n

        Other outside initiatives proposed this year didn\u2019t make the ballot, including ones geared toward allowing an extra round of congressional redistricting in 2028 to give Democrats a shot at winning more of the state\u2019s U.S. House seats. Part of a national effort by Democrats to blunt Republicans in a mid-decade redistricting battle, the attempt here was halted in late June by the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled the measures violated a single-subject rule.<\/p>\n

        Many of the citizen initiatives that did make the ballot came in direct response to things the legislature had either passed or rejected in recent years.<\/p>\n

        The severity of fentanyl penalties, for example, was a session-defining debate in 2022 as lawmakers grappled with balancing rehabilitation and public health in light of the rising scourge of synthetic opiates.<\/p>\n

        Protections for trans people and children have also been a perennial push in recent years, as have efforts to push back on federal immigration enforcement in Colorado.<\/p>\n