This paper is a chapter from The Initiative & Referendum Almanac. You can purchase the book here.
By Dennis Polhill
The effort for I&R in Colorado was started by Dr. Persifor M. Cooke of Denver in the mid-1890s. As secretary and president of the Colorado Direct Legislation League, Cooke and the constitutional lawyer J. Warner Mills of Denver fought for I&R from 1900 until 1910, when Governor John F. Shafroth called a special session of the legislature to consider the issue. The constitutional amendments that were passed provided for initiative, referendum, and recall on both state and local levels.
Coloradans set their state’s record for initiative use the first year it was available, in 1912, by putting 22 initiatives and 6 popular referendums on the ballot. Eight of the initiatives passed and challenges to legislatively approved laws were sustained in 5 of the 6 cases. Among these were laws or amendments establishing an eight-hour work day for workers employed in “underground mines, smelters, mills and coke ovens”; giving women workers an eight-hour day; providing pensions for orphans and for widows with children; establishing juvenile courts in major cities and counties; and granting home rule to cities and towns.
Over the years Colorado voters proved sympathetic to the needs of the aged and infirm, approving initiatives providing for the treatment of mental illness in 1916 and 1920, relief for blind adults in 1918, pensions for the aged and for indigent tuberculosis sufferers in 1936, and increased pensions adjusted for inflation in 1956. Colorado voters also remained friendly to organized labor, approving an initiative statute changing the workmen’s compensation law to benefit employees in 1936 and defeating an employer-backed “Right to Work” initiative in 1958.
In the early 1970s, Coloradans passed environmentalist-backed initiatives to keep the Winter Olympics from being held in their state (1972) and prohibit underground nuclear explosions except with prior voter approval (1974). Richard Lamm, an obscure state legislator when he sponsored the anti-Olympics initiative, gained sufficient prestige from his leadership of this campaign to later win election as governor.
In 1984 Colorado became the first state to pass an initiative banning the use of state funds for abortion (the second was Arkansas, in 1988). Voters approved the measure by a single percentage point. Less controversial and more popular was the 1984 “Motor Voter” initiative, which set up a system of voter registration at driver’s licensing bureaus. This highly successful program increased the number of registered voters in Colorado by 12.4 percent in the 15 months from July 1985 to October 1986.
Hostility to the initiative process by the political establishment manifested itself in the 1976 election with a “No on Everything” campaign that outspent proponents with over 91% of all funds expended. The election was followed by a series of legislative efforts to restrict use of the initiative. Notorious for exceeding the ”reasonable regulation” guideline, Federal Courts have struck down more of Colorado initiative restrictions than any other state. Those most famous are Meyer v. Grant in 1986 and Buckley v. ACLF in 1999 – both went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Colorado is recognized for having spawned the Term Limits movement in 1990. Other states had term limits initiative in 1990 and in previous years. State Senator Terry Considine, frustrated that his peers would not consider his term limits bill, became an activist and drove the term limits law to fruition with a 71% favorable vote. Colorado’s initiative was unique in that it also sought to limit members of Congress. Large numbers of states approved term limits for members of Congress in subsequent elections. Colorado passed additional term limits initiatives in 1994, 1996, and 1998.
Coloradans would have preferred that their elected officials exercise self-restraint with taxation. Tax limit initiatives succeeded in making it to the ballot in 1966, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1992, but failed at the ballot box until 1992. The 1992 effort sponsored by tax activist Doug Bruce and dubbed the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), helped to revitalize the lagging taxpayer revolt begun in 1978 when Proposition 13 had been approved in California.
Recent use of the initiative peaked in 1992 with 10 initiatives on the ballot. Since 1992, use has been flat with a slight downward trend to 6 in 2000. Average is 8 per 2 year election cycle over the high use decade of the 1990s. Initiatives are blamed for long ballots, yet state issues referred to the ballot by the General Assembly generally equal the number of initiatives. Other issues referred to the ballot by local governments result in several times more referred measures than initiatives.
Statewide Initiative Usage
Number Of Initiatives | Number Passed | Number Failed | Passage Rate |
---|---|---|---|
178 | 64 | 117 | 35% |
Statewide Initiatives
Year | Measure Number | Type | Subject Matter | Description | Pass/Fail |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1912 | 1 | DA | Alcohol Regulation | Providing for statewide prohibition. | Failed |
1912 | 10 | DS | Election Reform | Amending election laws. | Failed |
1912 | 11 | DA | Initiative and Referendum | Providing for the holding of special elections for voting on proposed constitutional amendments and initiated and referred laws. | Failed |
1912 | 12 | DA | Legal | Defining contempt of court and providing for trial by jury for contempt in certain cases. | Failed |
1912 | 13 | DA | Utility Regulation | Creating a public utilities court with exclusive power to fix and enforce reasonable rates, and for appeal direct to the supreme court from its decision. | Failed |
1912 | 14 | DS | Election Reform | Amending election laws, and providing for a “headless ballot”. | Passed |
1912 | 15 | DA | Education | Providing wider control of the schools by the people. | Failed |
1912 | 16 | DA | Judicial Reform | Providing for juvenile courts in cities and counties of 100,000 population. | Passed |
1912 | 17 | DS | Welfare | Mothers’ compensation act and aid to dependent and neglected children. | Passed |
1912 | 18 | DS | Administration of Government | Relating to civil service and amending said law. | Passed |
1912 | 19 | DS | Labor | Eight-hour law for work in underground mines, smelters, mills and coke ovens. | Passed |
1912 | 2 | DS | Alcohol Regulation | Enforcement of prohibition laws by search and seizure. | Failed |
1912 | 20 | DS | Administration of Government | Giving state highway commission control of certain funds. | Failed |
1912 | 3 | DS | Labor | Women’s eight-hour employment law. | Passed |
1912 | 31 | DA | Bonds | Authorizing a bonded indebtedness for public highways. | Failed |
1912 | 32 | DS | Administration of Government | Construction of tunnel through James Peak. | Failed |
1912 | 4 | DS | Administration of Government | Providing for the regulation of public service corporations. | Failed |
1912 | 5 | DS | Administration of Government | Establishing a state fair. | Failed |
1912 | 6 | DA | Alien Rights | Providing special funds for the state immigration bureau. | Failed |
1912 | 7 | DS | Initiative and Referendum | Reducing costs of publishing constitutional amendments, initiated and referred laws, and publishing arguments for and against. | Failed |
1912 | 8 | DA | Administration of Government | Granting home rule to cities and towns. | Passed |
1912 | 9 | DA | Election Reform | Providing recall from office. | Passed |
1914 | N/A | DA | Initiative and Referendum | Giving people right to petition governor to call special elections for submitting measures under the initiative and referendum. | Failed |
1914 | N/A | DS | Legal | Permitting probation in criminal cases for minors and first offenders. | Failed |
1914 | N/A | DS | Administration of Government | Providing for codification of laws relating to women and children. | Failed |
1914 | N/A | DA | Utility Regulation | Designating newspapers as public utilities. | Failed |
1914 | N/A | DA | Judicial Reform | Providing for a 3/4 jury verdict in civil cases and permitting women to serve on juries if they desire. | Failed |
1914 | N/A | DA | Alcohol Regulation | Providing for statewide prohibition. | Passed |
1914 | N/A | DA | Initiative and Referendum | Providing that initiated measures rejected by people cannot again be initiated for six years, and if two conflicting measures be adopted at same election, one receiving largest affirmative vote shall prevail. | Failed |
1914 | N/A | DS | Taxes | Increasing state road fund by half mill levy for highway construction. | Passed |
1916 | N/A | DS | Education | Providing for the investment of public school funds in certain securities. | Passed |
1916 | N/A | DS | Business Regulation | Regulating the running of stock at large. | Failed |
1916 | N/A | DS | Welfare | Providing for the care and treatment of insane persons. | Passed |
1916 | N/A | DA | Alcohol Regulation | Declaring beer non-toxicating and providing for its manufacture and sale. | Failed |
1916 | N/A | DA | Administration of Government | Placing state civil service in the constitution. | Failed |
1916 | N/A | DS | Taxes | Abolishment of the state tax commission. | Failed |
1918 | N/A | DS | Welfare | Relief for blind adults. | Passed |
1918 | N/A | DA | Administration of Government | Placing state civil service in the constitution. | Passed |
1918 | N/A | DS | Alcohol Regulation | “Bone-dry” prohibition law. | Passed |
1920 | N/A | DS | Health/Medical | Appropriating $350,000 from the general fund for the establishment o the Psychopathic Hospital and Laboratory. | Passed |
1920 | N/A | DA | Education | Providing additional one mill levy for state educational institutions. | Passed |
1920 | N/A | DA | Bonds | Providing for the construction of the Moffat, Monarch and San Juan tunnels, and bond issue therefore. | Failed |
1920 | N/A | DS | Business Regulation | Relating to the practice of chiropractic, and providing for the regulation and licensing thereof. | Failed |
1920 | N/A | DS | Administration of Government | Creating the County of Limon. | Failed |
1920 | N/A | DS | Administration of Government | Creating the County of Flagler. | Failed |
1920 | N/A | DS | Labor | Fixing hours of employment in city fire departments. | Passed |
1922 | N/A | DA | Bonds | $1.5m bond issue for construction of public highways. | Passed |
1922 | N/A | DA | Utility Regulation | Creating a public utilities commission, prescribing its powers and duties, and defining public utilities. | Failed |
1922 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Giving legislature or people power to exempt certain intangibles from ad valorem taxation, and to impose an income tax in lieu thereof. | Failed |
1922 | N/A | DS | Business Regulation | Concerning experimental operations on human beings and dumb animals. | Failed |
1922 | N/A | DS | Apportionment/Redistricting | Revising apportionment of members of legislature. | Failed |
1924 | N/A | DA | Administration of Government | Establishing the office of state printer and printing building committee. | Failed |
1926 | N/A | DA | Administration of Government | Creating a public utilities commission and prescribing its powers and duties. | Failed |
1926 | N/A | DS | Taxes | Concerning the taxation of petroleum products and registration of motor vehicles, and providing that all such taxes and fees by used exclusively for roads. | Failed |
1926 | N/A | DS | Business Regulation | Amending law to permit dentists licensed in other states to practice in Colorado without examination. | Failed |
1928 | N/A | DA | Education | Providing for the election of a board of education, and for the appointment by said board of a commissioner of education to take place of superintendent of public instruction. | Failed |
1928 | N/A | DA | Bonds | Providing for a $60m bond issue for the construction of highways. | Failed |
1930 | N/A | DA | Education | Providing for the election of a board of education and for the appointment by said board of a commissioner of education to take place of superintendent of public instruction. | Failed |
1932 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Limiting taxation of motor fuel and ad valorem taxation of motor vehicles. | Failed |
1932 | N/A | DS | Apportionment/Redistricting | Reapportionment of members of legislature . | Passed |
1932 | N/A | DA | Alcohol Regulation | Repealing statewide prohibition, subject to national repeal. | Passed |
1932 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Giving legislature power to provide for a limited income tax and a classified personal property tax, to be used for public schools. | Failed |
1932 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Giving legislature power to provide for a graduated income tax for state purposes, abolishing property tax for state purposes, and giving any excess revenue to the public schools. | Failed |
1934 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Concerning the taxation of petroleum products and registration of motor vehicles and providing that such taxes and fees be used exclusively for roads. | Passed |
1934 | N/A | DS | Business Regulation | Imposing license fees on chain stores. | Passed |
1934 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Limiting tax on motor fuel to $.03 per gallon. | Failed |
1934 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Giving people sole power to impose or approve imposition of excise taxes through the initiative and referendum. | Failed |
1936 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Providing for ownership tax on motor vehicles in lieu of ad valorem taxation thereon, and for the distribution thereof. | Passed |
1936 | N/A | DS | Welfare | Providing for public assistance to indigent tubercular residents. | Passed |
1936 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Amending “uniformity clause” of constitution principally by limiting rate to taxation for all purposes to 20 mills in cities and towns of first class, and 15 mills in other divisions. | Failed |
1936 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Amending revenue section of constitution, principally by giving legislature power to provide for an income tax within limitations. | Failed |
1936 | N/A | DA | Welfare | Providing $45 per month old age pensions and designating certain taxes for the payment thereof. | Passed |
1936 | N/A | DS | Labor | Amending workmen’s compensation act to benefit of employee. | Passed |
1938 | N/A | DA | Business Regulation | Relating to the practice of the healing arts, and giving practitioners licensed by the state certain rights in tax supported institutions and power to regulate their own professions. | Failed |
1938 | N/A | DA | Welfare | Repeal of $45 per month old age pension amendment and giving legislature power to provide for pensions. | Failed |
1938 | N/A | DS | Taxes | Repeal of chain stores tax act. | Failed |
1940 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Providing for an income tax; requiring the legislature to levy such income tax at not lower than certain specified rates; and providing that the revenues derived there from shall replace property taxes. | Failed |
1940 | N/A | DA | Environmental Reform | Providing for the conservation of the state’s wildlife resources; limiting the use of game and fish revenues for such purposes; and establishing a Game and Fish Commission. | Failed |
1940 | N/A | DS | Gaming | Establishing a racing commission and legalizing horse and dog racing. | Failed |
1940 | N/A | DA | Welfare | Providing for a guaranteed old age pension of $30 per month to residents of the state over 65 years who qualify. | Failed |
1940 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Providing for an ad valorem tax on all intangible property in the state, and allocating the funds derived there from. | Failed |
1944 | N/A | DA | Alien Rights | Providing that aliens eligible to citizenship may acquire and dispose of real and personal property, and that provision shall be made by law concerning the right of aliens ineligible to citizenship to acquire and dispose of such property. | Failed |
1944 | N/A | DA | Veteran Affairs | Providing for preference to honorably discharged veterans and their widows in the civil service of the state and its political subdivisions. | Passed |
1944 | N/A | DS | Welfare | Appropriating $.5m for the then current biennium and $1.5m annually thereafter for old age pensions. | Passed |
1948 | 3 | DA | Alcohol Regulation | Political subdivisions may adopt and thereafter modify or repeal local option proposals prohibiting the sale of alcoholic and fermented malt beverages. | Failed |
1948 | 4 | DA | Welfare | Providing for a guaranteed minimum $55 per month old age pension and for the allocation and earmarking of certain moneys and excise taxes to pay the same. | Failed |
1950 | 3 | DA | Administration of Government | Concerning civil service and providing for additional exemptions there from of governor’s staff. | Failed |
1952 | 4 | DA | Taxes | Providing for a severance tax on certain petroleum products and natural gas. | Failed |
1952 | 6 | DA | Gaming | Legalizing slot machines except where prohibited by local ordinance. | Failed |
1952 | N/A | DS | Labor | Making it unlawful for any municipality to employ firemen more than 60 hours a week, with certain exceptions. | Failed |
1954 | 8 | DA | Administration of Government | Providing for four-year terms of office for certain County officers. (Art. 14, Sec. 8) | Passed |
1956 | 4 | DA | Apportionment/Redistricting | Providing for apportionment of members of the general assembly. | Failed |
1956 | 5 | DA | Welfare | Revising the old age pension article; establishing a monthly award of $100 to be adjusted to increased living costs; providing for a stabilization fund of $5 million. | Passed |
1958 | 1 | DA | Labor | “Right-to-work” amendment; providing that no person shall be denied the freedom to obtain or retain employment because of membership or non-membership in any labor union or labor organization. | Failed |
1958 | 4 | DA | Gaming | Legalizing the conduct of games of chance (limited to bingo, lotto, or raffles) by certain organizations which operate without profit to dues paying members. | Passed |
1960 | 3 | DA | Environmental Reform | Creates a wildlife management commission and a department of wildlife conservation. | Failed |
1960 | 4 | DS | Daylight Savings Time | Providing for and establishing Daylight Saving Time. | Failed |
1960 | 6 | DA | Taxes | Authorizing general assembly to vest in counties, cities and towns, the power to impose a retail sales and use tax for local purposes on tangible personal property, except drugs, and food for off-premises consumption. | Failed |
1960 | 7 | DA | Administration of Government | Authorizing governor, with consent of Senate, to appoint administrative officers of certain departments, to be excluded from civil service. | Failed |
1962 | 7 | DA | Apportionment/Redistricting | An act providing for the apportionment of the Senate and House of Representatives of the General Assembly. | Passed |
1962 | 8 | DA | Apportionment/Redistricting | Providing for reapportionment of the general assembly. | Failed |
1966 | 1 | DS | Daylight Savings Time | Providing for Daylight Savings Time in Colorado. | Passed |
1966 | 2 | DS | Death Penalty | Abolishing death penalty. | Failed |
1972 | 10 | DS | Utility Regulation | An Act to protect the consumer of public utility services by defining just and reasonable rates, by creating an Office of Public Consumer Counsel. | Failed |
1972 | 11 | DS | Business Regulation | Establishing a system of compulsory insurance and compensation irrespective of fault for victims of motor vehicle accidents, setting forth the basis for recovery. | Failed |
1972 | 6 | DA | Gaming | An act to amend the Constitution to provide for a privately operated lottery, supervised and regulated by the Department of State and granting an exclusive original ten year license to the United States Sweepstakes Corporation. | Failed |
1972 | 8 | DA | Taxes | An Act to Amend Art. 10 and 11 to prohibit the state from levying taxes and appropriating or loaning funds for the purpose of aiding or furthering the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. | Passed |
1972 | 9 | DS | Campaign Finance Reform | Require that public officials disclose their private interests and that all lobbyists register and file periodic informational statements. | Passed |
1972 | N/A | DA | Taxes | Establishing a maximum limitation of one and one-half percent of the actual value on the annual taxation of property except as permitted by a vote of the qualified electors. | Failed |
1974 | 1 | DA | Administration of Government | An act concerning the annexation of property by a County or city and County, and prohibiting the striking off of any territory from a County without first submitting the question to a vote of the qualified electors of the County and city. | Passed |
1974 | 10 | DA | Nuclear weapons/facilities/waste | An act to amend the Constitution to establish procedural steps to be complied with prior to the detonation of nuclear explosive devises including voter approval. | Passed |
1974 | 2 | DS | Death Penalty | Shall the death penalty be imposed upon persons convicted of Class 1 felonies where certain mitigating circumstances are not present and certain aggravating circumstances are present? | Passed |
1974 | 8 | DA | Education | Prohibit the assignment or the transportation of pupils to public educational institutions in order to achieve racial balance of pupils at such institutions. | Passed |
1974 | 9 | DA | Apportionment/Redistricting | Reapportioning of legislative districts by a body to be known as the Colorado Reapportionment Commission which shall consist of electors. | Passed |
1976 | 1 | DA | Gaming | Authorize conduct of sweepstakes. | Passed |
1976 | 10 | DA | Taxes | An Amendment adding a new Sec. 31 to Art. 10 requiring registered electoral approval of all state and local executive or legislative acts which result in new or increased taxes. | Failed |
1976 | 2 | DA | Taxes | Classification/taxation of motor vehicles. | Passed |
1976 | 3 | DA | Nuclear weapons/facilities/waste | An amendment requiring approval by two thirds of each House of the General Assembly prior to any construction or modification of a nuclear power plant or related facility. | Failed |
1976 | 4 | DA | Administration of Government | Exemptions from state personnel systems. | Failed |
1976 | 5 | DA | Administration of Government | Compensation of County officials. | Failed |
1976 | 6 | DA | Civil Rights | An Act to repeal Sec. 29 of Art. 2 which section provides for equality of rights under the law on account of sex. | Failed |
1976 | 7 | DS | Taxes | Exempts food and food products, with certain exceptions, from state sales and use taxes and repeal the food sales tax credit, to require the General Assembly to enact severance taxes and corporate income taxes to offset any revenue lost. | Failed |
1976 | 8 | DS | Environmental Reform | Requires a minimum deposit refund value for beverage containers for malt liquor, including beer, and carbonated soft drinks manufactured, distributed, or sold for use in this state. | Failed |
1976 | 9 | DS | Utility Regulation | Protects and represents consumers of public utilities services by creating a Department of Public Counselor, and concerning financial disclosures by Public Utilities Commissioners. | Failed |
1978 | 1 | DA | Administration of Government | Office of County Commissioner, vacancies. | Passed |
1978 | 2 | DA | Taxes | Limiting annual increases in per capita expenditures by the state and its political subdivisions. | Failed |
1982 | 1 | DA | Taxes | Property tax assessment. | Passed |
1982 | 2 | DA | Legal | An amendment to Authorizing the denial of bail to persons accused of a capital offense when proof is evident or presumption is great. | Passed |
1982 | 3 | DA | Judicial Reform | Concerning the membership and appointment of the commission on judicial discipline. | Passed |
1982 | 5 | DS | Environmental Reform | Refund on beverage containers. | Failed |
1982 | 6 | M | Nuclear weapons/facilities/waste | To bring about the cessation of nuclear weapons component production in Colorado. | Failed |
1982 | 7 | DS | Business Regulation | Regulate the sale of wine in grocery stores. | Failed |
1984 | 1 | DA | Administration of Government | Appointment of Commissioner of Insurance. | Passed |
1984 | 2 | DA | Election Reform | Providing that a person must be a registered elector in order to vote for state elected executive officers. | Passed |
1984 | 3 | DA | Abortion | Ban the state funding of abortion. | Passed |
1984 | 4 | DS | Election Reform | To provide for additional voter registration of qualified electors applying for a driver’s license. | Passed |
1984 | 5 | DA | Gaming | Establish casino gambling in Pueblo. | Failed |
1986 | 1 | DA | Administration of Government | Appointments by merit. | Failed |
1986 | 2 | DA | Administration of Government | Compensation of County officers. | Failed |
1986 | 3 | DA | Initiative and Referendum | Franchises subject to initiative and referendum. | Passed |
1986 | 4 | DA | Taxes | Voter approval for tax increases. | Failed |
1988 | 1 | DA | Administration of Government | English as official language. | Passed |
1988 | 2 | DA | Election Reform | Reimbursement of Recall expenses. | Passed |
1988 | 3 | DA | Administration of Government | Legislative session length. | Passed |
1988 | 4 | DA | Labor | Concerning maximum eight-hour workday. | Passed |
1988 | 5 | DA | Taxes | Property tax exempt non-producing mining claims. | Passed |
1988 | 6 | DA | Taxes | Voter approval: increases in tax revenues. | Failed |
1988 | 7 | DA | Abortion | Restore funding for abortions. | Failed |
1988 | 8 | DA | Administration of Government | Referral of measures to committees. | Passed |
1990 | 1 | DA | Taxes | To require voter approval for certain state and local government revenue increases. | Failed |
1990 | 2 | DA | Election Reform | Colorado shall conduct a presidential primary election which conforms to political party rules. | Passed |
1990 | 4 | DA | Gaming | Legalizing limited gaming. | Passed |
1990 | 5 | DA | Term Limits | Term limits for elected officials. State legislature and Congress. 8/8 | Passed |
1992 | 1 | DA | Taxes | Voter approval of tax revenue increases. | Passed |
1992 | 10 | DS | Animal Rights | Prohibit taking of black bears. | Passed |
1992 | 2 | DA | Civil Rights | Repeal local laws passed to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and prevent similar new laws. | Passed |
1992 | 3 | DA | Gaming | Limited gaming; surtax. | Failed |
1992 | 4 | DA | Gaming | Limited gaming. | Failed |
1992 | 5 | DA | Gaming | Limited gaming. | Failed |
1992 | 6 | DS | Education | Act for system of educational standards. | Failed |
1992 | 7 | DA | Education | Vouchers for school funding. | Failed |
1992 | 8 | DA | Environmental Reform | The Great Outdoors Colorado program. | Passed |
1992 | 9 | DA | Gaming | Limited gaming. | Failed |
1994 | 1 | DA | Taxes | Would place an additional 50 cents per pack tax on the sale of cigarettes by wholesalers. | Failed |
1994 | 11 | DA | Labor | Workers compensation benefits. | Failed |
1994 | 12 | DA | Campaign Finance Reform | Placed limitations on elected officials compensation; enacted campaign contribution limitations. | Failed |
1994 | 13 | DA | Gaming | To allow slot machines without a local vote in Manitou Springs. | Failed |
1994 | 15 | DA | Campaign Finance Reform | Establish campaign contributions limits. | Failed |
1994 | 16 | DA | Civil Rights | Would allow the control of the promotion of obscenity by the state and any city, town or County to the full extent permitted by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. | Failed |
1994 | 17 | DA | Term Limits | Term limits on Congress 6/12 and on all localities. | Passed |
1994 | 18 | DA | Administration of Government | State medical assistance repayment. | Failed |
1996 | 11 | DA | Taxes | Eliminates property tax exemptions of religious and nonprofit organizations. | Failed |
1996 | 12 | DA | Term Limits | Term limits on Congress 6/12 and all localities. | Passed |
1996 | 13 | DA | Initiative and Referendum | Expands initiative and referendum powers. | Failed |
1996 | 14 | DA | Animal Rights | Concerns methods of taking wildlife; prohibits use of leg hold traps. | Passed |
1996 | 15 | DS | Campaign Finance Reform | Limiting the amount of campaign contributions to candidate committees. | Passed |
1996 | 16 | DA | Administration of Government | Concerns management of state’s trust lands; expands membership of the State Land Board. | Passed |
1996 | 17 | DA | Civil Rights | Grants constitutional status to parents’ rights. | Failed |
1996 | 18 | DA | Gaming | Allow limited gambling in the city of Trinidad. | Failed |
1998 | 11 | DS | Abortion | Would prohibit partial birth abortion | Failed |
1998 | 12 | DS | Abortion | Would require parents be notified prior to a physician performed abortion. | Passed |
1998 | 13 | DA | Animal Rights | Would establish uniform livestock regulations. | Failed |
1998 | 14 | DS | Animal Rights | Establish regulations for commercial hog farms | Passed |
1998 | 15 | DS | Environmental Reform | Would regulate water flow meters. | Failed |
1998 | 16 | DA | Education | Would require that payments by the Conservation District be made to the Public School Fund and School Districts. | Failed |
1998 | 17 | DA | Education | Would establish Income Tax Credit for education expenses. | Failed |
1998 | 18 | DA | Term Limits | Self Limit Law. | Passed |
2000 | 20 | DA | Drug Policy Reform | Legalizes marijuana for medical purposes. | Passed |
2000 | 21 | DA | Taxes | Amends TABOR – creates tax cuts. | Failed |
2000 | 22 | DS | Gun Regulation | An initiative amendment to require background checks for guns purchased at gun shows. | Passed |
2000 | 23 | DA | Education | Providing Additional K-12 Funding | Passed |
2000 | 24 | DA | Environmental Reform | Citizen Growth Initiative. | Failed |
2000 | 25 | DS | Abortion | This measure insures the provision of complete and accurate information to allow a woman to make an informed choice as to whether to give birth or to have an abortion. | Failed |
2001 | 26 | DA | Administration of Government | Expends $50 million of 2001 tax refund revenues over a period of three years to fund a high-speed monorail. | Passed |
Colorado Constitution
Article V: Section 1. General assembly – initiative and referendum.
(1) The legislative power of the state shall be vested in the general assembly consisting of a senate and house of representatives, both to be elected by the people, but the people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the general assembly and also reserve power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act or item, section, or part of any act of the general assembly.
(2) The first power hereby reserved by the people is the initiative, and signatures by registered electors in an amount equal to at least five percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office of secretary of state at the previous general election shall be required to propose any measure by petition, and every such petition shall include the full text of the measure so proposed. Initiative petitions for state legislation and amendments to the constitution, in such form as may be prescribed pursuant to law, shall be addressed to and filed with the secretary of state at least three months before the general election at which they are to be voted upon.
(3) The second power hereby reserved is the referendum, and it may be ordered, except as to laws necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, and appropriations for the support and maintenance of the departments of state and state institutions, against any act or item, section, or part of any act of the general assembly, either by a petition signed by registered electors in an amount equal to at least five percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office of the secretary of state at the previous general election or by the general assembly. Referendum petitions, in such form as may be prescribed pursuant to law, shall be addressed to and filed with the secretary of state not more than ninety days after the final adjournment of the session of the general assembly that passed the bill on which the referendum is demanded. The filing of a referendum petition against any item, section, or part of any act shall not delay the remainder of the act from becoming operative.
(4) The veto power of the governor shall not extend to measures initiated by or referred to the people. All elections on measures initiated by or referred to the people of the state shall be held at the biennial regular general election, and all such measures shall become the law or a part of the constitution, when approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon, and not otherwise, and shall take effect from and after the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by proclamation of the governor, but not later than thirty days after the vote has been canvassed. This section shall not be construed to deprive the general assembly of the power to enact any measure.
(5) The original draft of the text of proposed initiated constitutional amendments and initiated laws shall be submitted to the legislative research and drafting offices of the general assembly for review and comment. No later than two weeks after submission of the original draft, unless withdrawn by the proponents, the legislative research and drafting offices of the general assembly shall render their comments to the proponents of the proposed measure at a meeting open to the public, which shall be held only after full and timely notice to the public. Such meeting shall be held prior to the fixing of a ballot title. Neither the general assembly nor its committees or agencies shall have any power to require the amendment, modification, or other alteration of the text of any such proposed measure or to establish deadlines for the submission of the original draft of the text of any proposed measure.
(5.5) No measure shall be proposed by petition containing more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title; but if any subject shall be embraced in any measure which shall not be expressed in the title, such measure shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be so expressed. If a measure contains more than one subject, such that a ballot title cannot be fixed that clearly expresses a single subject, no title shall be set and the measure shall not be submitted to the people for adoption or rejection at the polls. In such circumstance, however, the measure may be revised and resubmitted for the fixing of a proper title without the necessity of review and comment on the revised measure in accordance with subsection (5) of this section, unless the revisions involve more than the elimination of provisions to achieve a single subject, or unless the official or officials responsible for the fixing of a title determine that the revisions are so substantial that such review and comment is in the public interest. The revision and resubmission of a measure in accordance with this subsection (5.5) shall not operate to alter or extend any filing deadline applicable to the measure.
(6) The petition shall consist of sheets having such general form printed or written at the top thereof as shall be designated or prescribed by the secretary of state; such petition shall be signed by registered electors in their own proper persons only, to which shall be attached the residence address of such person and the date of signing the same. To each of such petitions, which may consist of one or more sheets, shall be attached an affidavit of some registered elector that each signature thereon is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be and that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the affiant, each of the persons signing said petition was, at the time of signing, a registered elector. Such petition so verified shall be prima facie evidence that the signatures thereon are genuine and true and that the persons signing the same are registered electors.
(7) The secretary of state shall submit all measures initiated by or referred to the people for adoption or rejection at the polls, in compliance with this section. In submitting the same and in all matters pertaining to the form of all petitions, the secretary of state and all other officers shall be guided by the general laws.
(7.3) Before any election at which the voters of the entire state will vote on any initiated or referred constitutional amendment or legislation, the nonpartisan research staff of the general assembly shall cause to be published the text and title of every such measure. Such publication shall be made at least one time in at least one legal publication of general circulation in each county of the state and shall be made at least fifteen days prior to the final date of voter registration for the election. The form and manner of publication shall be as prescribed by law and shall ensure a reasonable opportunity for the voters statewide to become informed about the text and title of each measure.
(7.5) (a) Before any election at which the voters of the entire state will vote on any initiated or referred constitutional amendment or legislation, the nonpartisan research staff of the general assembly shall prepare and make available to the public the following information in the form of a ballot information booklet:
(I) The text and title of each measure to be voted on;
(II) A fair and impartial analysis of each measure, which shall include a summary and the major arguments both for and against the measure, and which may include any other information that would assist understanding the purpose and effect of the measure. Any person may file written comments for consideration by the research staff during the preparation of such analysis.
(b) At least thirty days before the election, the research staff shall cause the ballot information booklet to be distributed to active registered voters statewide.
(c) If any measure to be voted on by the voters of the entire state includes matters arising under section 20 of article X of this constitution, the ballot information booklet shall include the information and the titled notice required by section 20 (3) (b) of article X, and the mailing of such information pursuant to section 20 (3) (b) of article X is not required.
(d) The general assembly shall provide sufficient appropriations for the preparation and distribution of the ballot information booklet pursuant to this subsection (7.5) at no charge to recipients.
(8) The style of all laws adopted by the people through the initiative shall be, “Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado”.
(9) The initiative and referendum powers reserved to the people by this section are hereby further reserved to the registered electors of every city, town, and municipality as to all local, special, and municipal legislation of every character in or for their respective municipalities. The manner of exercising said powers shall be prescribed by general laws; except that cities, towns, and municipalities may provide for the manner of exercising the initiative and referendum powers as to their municipal legislation. Not more than ten percent of the registered electors may be required to order the referendum, nor more than fifteen per cent to propose any measure by the initiative in any city, town, or municipality.
(10) This section of the constitution shall be in all respects self-executing; except that the form of the initiative or referendum petition may be prescribed pursuant to law.
Colorado Statutes
1-40-101 – Legislative declaration.
It is not the intention of this article to limit or abridge in any manner the powers reserved to the people in the initiative and referendum, but rather to properly safeguard, protect, and preserve inviolate for them these modern instrumentalities of democratic government.
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Ballot issue” means a non-recall, citizen-initiated petition or legislatively-referred measure which is authorized by the state constitution, including a question as defined in sections 1-41-102 (3) and 1-41-103 (3), enacted in Senate Bill 93-98.
(2) “Ballot title” means the language which is printed on the ballot which is comprised of the submission clause and the title.
(3) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 430, § 2, effective May 8, 1995.)
(4) “Draft” means the typewritten proposed text of the initiative which, if passed, becomes the actual language of the constitution or statute, together with language concerning placement of the measure in the constitution or statutes.
(5) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 431, § 2, effective May 8, 1995.)
(6) “Section” means a bound compilation of initiative forms approved by the secretary of state, which shall include pages that contain the warning required by section 1-40-110 (1), the ballot title, and a copy of the proposed measure; succeeding pages that contain the warning, the ballot title, and ruled lines numbered consecutively for registered electors’ signatures; and a final page that contains the affidavit required by section 1-40-111 (2). Each section shall be consecutively prenumbered by the petitioner prior to circulation.
(7) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 431, § 2, effective May 8, 1995.)
(8) “Submission clause” means the language which is attached to the title to form a question which can be answered by “yes” or “no”.
(9) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2000, p. 1621, § 3, effective August 2, 2000.)
(10) “Title” means a brief statement that fairly and accurately represents the true intent and meaning of the proposed text of the initiative.
1-40-103 – Applicability of article.
(1) This article shall apply to all state ballot issues that are authorized by the state constitution unless otherwise provided by statute, charter, or ordinance.
(2) The laws pertaining to municipal initiatives, referenda, and referred measures are governed by the provisions of article 11 of title 31, C.R.S.
(3) The laws pertaining to county petitions and referred measures are governed by the provisions of section 30-11-103.5, C.R.S.
(4) The laws pertaining to school district petitions and referred measures are governed by the provisions of section 22-30-104 (4), C.R.S.
1-40-104 – Designated representatives.
At the time of any filing of a draft as provided in this article, the proponents shall designate the names and mailing addresses of two persons who shall represent the proponents in all matters affecting the petition and to whom all notices or information concerning the petition shall be mailed.
1-40-105 – Filing procedure – review and comment – amendments – filing with secretary of state.
(1) The original typewritten draft of every initiative petition for a proposed law or amendment to the state constitution to be enacted by the people, before it is signed by any elector, shall be submitted by the proponents of the petition to the directors of the legislative council and the office of legislative legal services for review and comment. Proponents are encouraged to write such drafts in plain, non-technical language and in a clear and coherent manner using words with common and everyday meaning which are understandable to the average reader. Upon request, any agency in the executive department shall assist in reviewing and preparing comments on the petition. No later than two weeks after the date of submission of the original draft, unless it is withdrawn by the proponents, the directors of the legislative council and the office of legislative legal services, or their designees, shall render their comments to the proponents of the petition concerning the format or contents of the petition at a meeting open to the public. Where appropriate, such comments shall also contain suggested editorial changes to promote compliance with the plain language provisions of this section. Except with the permission of the proponents, the comments shall not be disclosed to any person other than the proponents prior to the public meeting with the proponents of the petition.
(2) After the public meeting but before submission to the secretary of state for title setting, the proponents may amend the petition in response to some or all of the comments of the directors of the legislative council and the office of legislative legal services, or their designees. If any substantial amendment is made to the petition, other than an amendment in direct response to the comments of the directors of the legislative council and the office of legislative legal services, the amended petition shall be resubmitted to the directors for comment in accordance with subsection (1) of this section prior to submittal to the secretary of state as provided in subsection (4) of this section. If the directors have no additional comments concerning the amended petition, they may so notify the proponents in writing, and, in such case, a hearing on the amended petition pursuant to subsection (1) of this section is not required.
(3) To the extent possible, drafts shall be worded with simplicity and clarity and so that the effect of the measure will not be misleading or likely to cause confusion among voters. The draft shall not present the issue to be decided in such manner that a vote for the measure would be a vote against the proposition or viewpoint that the voter believes that he or she is casting a vote for or, conversely, that a vote against the measure would be a vote for a proposition or viewpoint that the voter is against.
(4) After the conference provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section, a copy of the original typewritten draft submitted to the directors of the legislative council and the office of legislative legal services, a copy of the amended draft with changes highlighted or otherwise indicated, if any amendments were made following the last conference conducted pursuant to subsections (1) and (2) of this section, and an original final draft which gives the final language for printing shall be submitted to the secretary of state without any title, submission clause, or ballot title providing the designation by which the voters shall express their choice for or against the proposed law or constitutional amendment.
1-40-106 – Title board – meetings – titles and submission clause.
(1) For ballot issues, beginning with the first submission of a draft after an election, the secretary of state shall convene a title board consisting of the secretary of state, the attorney general, and the director of the office of legislative legal services or the director’s designee. The title board, by majority vote, shall proceed to designate and fix a proper fair title for each proposed law or constitutional amendment, together with a submission clause, at public meetings to be held at 2 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month in which a draft or a motion for reconsideration has been submitted to the secretary of state. To be considered at such meeting, a draft shall be submitted to the secretary of state no later than 3 p.m. on the twelfth day before the meeting at which the draft is to be considered by the title board. The first meeting of the title board shall be held no sooner than the first Wednesday in December after an election, and the last meeting shall be held no later than the third Wednesday in May in the year in which the measure is to be voted on.
(2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 432, § 4, effective May 8, 1995.)
(3) (a) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2000, p. 1620, § 1, effective August 2, 2000.)
(b) In setting a title, the title board shall consider the public confusion that might be caused by misleading titles and shall, whenever practicable, avoid titles for which the general understanding of the effect of a “yes” or “no” vote will be unclear. The title for the proposed law or constitutional amendment, which shall correctly and fairly express the true intent and meaning thereof, together with the ballot title and submission clause, shall be completed within two weeks after the first meeting of the title board. Immediately upon completion, the secretary of state shall deliver the same with the original to the parties presenting it, keeping the copy with a record of the action taken thereon. Ballot titles shall be brief, shall not conflict with those selected for any petition previously filed for the same election, and shall be in the form of a question which may be answered “yes” (to vote in favor of the proposed law or constitutional amendment) or “no” (to vote against the proposed law or constitutional amendment) and which shall unambiguously state the principle of the provision sought to be added, amended, or repealed.
1-40-106.5 – Single-subject requirements for initiated measures and referred constitutional amendments – legislative declaration.
(1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that:
(a) Section 1 (5.5) of article V and section 2 (3) of article XIX of the state constitution require that every constitutional amendment or law proposed by initiative and every constitutional amendment proposed by the general assembly be limited to a single subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title;
(b) Such provisions were referred by the general assembly to the people for their approval at the 1994 general election pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 93-4;
(c) The language of such provisions was drawn from section 21 of article V of the state constitution, which requires that every bill, except general appropriation bills, shall be limited to a single subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title;
(d) The Colorado supreme court has held that the constitutional single-subject requirement for bills was designed to prevent or inhibit various inappropriate or misleading practices that might otherwise occur, and the intent of the general assembly in referring to the people section 1 (5.5) of article V and section 2 (3) of article XIX was to protect initiated measures and referred constitutional amendments from similar practices;
(e) The practices intended by the general assembly to be inhibited by section 1 (5.5) of article V and section 2 (3) of article XIX are as follows:
(I) To forbid the treatment of incongruous subjects in the same measure, especially the practice of putting together in one measure subjects having no necessary or proper connection, for the purpose of enlisting in support of the measure the advocates of each measure, and thus securing the enactment of measures that could not be carried upon their merits;
(II) To prevent surreptitious measures and apprise the people of the subject of each measure by the title, that is, to prevent surprise and fraud from being practiced upon voters.
(2) It is the intent of the general assembly that section 1 (5.5) of article V and section 2 (3) of article XIX be liberally construed, so as to avert the practices against which they are aimed and, at the same time, to preserve and protect the right of initiative and referendum.
(3) It is further the intent of the general assembly that, in setting titles pursuant to section 1 (5.5) of article V, the initiative title setting review board created in section 1-40-106 should apply judicial decisions construing the constitutional single-subject requirement for bills and should follow the same rules employed by the general assembly in considering titles for bills.
1-40-107 – Rehearing – appeal – fees – signing.
(1) Any person presenting an initiative petition or any registered elector who is not satisfied with a decision of the title board with respect to whether a petition contains more than a single subject pursuant to section 1-40-106.5, or who is not satisfied with the titles and submission clause provided by the title board and who claims that they are unfair or that they do not fairly express the true meaning and intent of the proposed state law or constitutional amendment may file a motion for a rehearing with the secretary of state within seven days after the decision is made or the titles and submission clause are set. The motion for rehearing shall be heard at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the title board; except that, if the title board is unable to complete action on all matters scheduled for that day, consideration of any motion for rehearing may be continued to the next available day, and except that, if the titles and submission clause protested were set at the last meeting in May, the motion shall be heard within forty-eight hours after the motion is filed.
(2) If any person presenting an initiative petition for which a motion for a rehearing is filed, any registered elector who filed a motion for a rehearing pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, or any other registered elector who appeared before the title board in support of or in opposition to a motion for rehearing is not satisfied with the ruling of the title board upon the motion, then the secretary of state shall furnish such person, upon request, a certified copy of the petition with the titles and submission clause of the proposed law or constitutional amendment, together with a certified copy of the motion for rehearing and of the ruling thereon. If filed with the clerk of the supreme court within five days thereafter, the matter shall be disposed of promptly, consistent with the rights of the parties, either affirming the action of the title board or reversing it, in which latter case the court shall remand it with instructions, pointing out where the title board is in error.
(3) The secretary of state shall be allowed a fee which shall be determined and collected pursuant to section 24-21-104 (3), C.R.S., for certifying a record of any proceedings before the title board. The clerk of the supreme court shall receive one-half the ordinary docket fee for docketing any such cause, all of which shall be paid by the parties desiring a review of such proceedings.
(4) No petition for any initiative measure shall be circulated nor any signature thereto have any force or effect which has been signed before the titles and submission clause have been fixed and determined as provided in section 1-40-106 and this section.
(5) In the event a motion for rehearing is filed in accordance with this section, the period for filing a petition in accordance with section 1-40-108 shall not begin until a final decision concerning the motion is rendered by the title board or the Colorado supreme court; except that under no circumstances shall the period for filing a petition be extended beyond three months prior to the election at which the petition is to be voted upon.
(6) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2000, p. 1622, § 5, effective August 2, 2000.)
(7) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 433, § 5, effective May 8, 1995.)
1-40-108 – Petition – time of filing.
(1) No petition for any ballot issue shall be of any effect unless filed with the secretary of state within six months from the date that the titles and submission clause have been fixed and determined pursuant to the provisions of sections 1-40-106 and 1-40-107 and unless filed with the secretary of state within the time required by the state constitution before the election at which it is to be voted upon. A petition for a ballot issue for the election to be held in November of odd-numbered years shall be filed with the secretary of state within the same time before such odd-year election as is required by the state constitution for issues to be voted on at the general election. All filings under this section must be made by 3 p.m. on the day of filing.
(2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 433, § 6, effective May 8, 1995.)
1-40-109 – Signatures required.
(1) No petition for any initiated law or amendment to the state constitution shall be of any force or effect, nor shall the proposed law or amendment to the state constitution be submitted to the people of the state of Colorado for adoption or rejection at the polls, as is by law provided for, unless the petition for the submission of the initiated law or amendment to the state constitution is signed by the number of electors required by the state constitution.
(2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 433, § 7, effective May 8, 1995.)
(3) Any person who is a registered elector may sign a petition for any ballot issue for which the elector is eligible to vote.
1-40-110 – Warning – ballot title.
(1) At the top of each page of every initiative or referendum petition section shall be printed, in a form as prescribed by the secretary of state, the following:
“WARNING: IT IS AGAINST THE LAW: For anyone to sign any initiative or referendum petition with any name other than his or her own or to knowingly sign his or her name more than once for the same measure or to knowingly sign a petition when not a registered elector who is eligible to vote on the measure.
DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS YOU ARE A REGISTERED ELECTOR AND ELIGIBLE TO VOTE ON THIS MEASURE. TO BE A REGISTERED ELECTOR, YOU MUST BE A CITIZEN OF COLORADO AND REGISTERED TO VOTE.
Before signing this petition, you are encouraged to read the text or the title of the proposed initiative or referred measure.”
(2) The ballot title for the measure shall then be printed on each page following the warning.
1-40-111 – Signatures – affidavits.
(1) Any initiative or referendum petition shall be signed only by registered electors who are eligible to vote on the measure. Each registered elector shall sign his or her own signature and shall print his or her name, the address at which he or she resides, including the street number and name, the city and town, the county, and the date of signing. Each registered elector signing a petition shall be encouraged by the circulator of the petition to sign the petition in ink. In the event a registered elector is physically disabled or is illiterate and wishes to sign the petition, the elector shall sign or make his or her mark in the space so provided. Any person, but not a circulator, may assist the disabled or illiterate elector in completing the remaining information required by this subsection (1). The person providing assistance shall sign his or her name and address and shall state that such assistance was given to the disabled or illiterate elector.
(2) To each petition section shall be attached a signed, notarized, and dated affidavit executed by the registered elector who circulated the petition section, which shall include his or her printed name, the address at which he or she resides, including the street name and number, the city or town, the county, and the date he or she signed the affidavit; that he or she has read and understands the laws governing the circulation of petitions; that he or she was a registered elector at the time the section of the petition was circulated and signed by the listed electors; that he or she circulated the section of the petition; that each signature thereon was affixed in the circulator’s presence; that each signature thereon is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be; that to the best of the circulator’s knowledge and belief each of the persons signing the petition section was, at the time of signing, a registered elector; and that he or she has not paid or will not in the future pay and that he or she believes that no other person has paid or will pay, directly or indirectly, any money or other thing of value to any signer for the purpose of inducing or causing such signer to affix his or her signature to the petition.
The secretary of state shall not accept for filing any section of a petition that does not have attached thereto the notarized affidavit required by this section. Any signature added to a section of a petition after the affidavit has been executed shall be invalid.
1-40-112 – Circulators – requirements.
(1) No section of a petition for any initiative or referendum measure shall be circulated by any person who is not a registered elector and at least eighteen years of age at the time the section is circulated.
(2) (a) All circulators who are not to be paid for circulating petitions concerning ballot issues shall display an identification badge that includes the words “VOLUNTEER CIRCULATOR” in bold-faced type which is clearly legible and the circulator’s name.
(b) All circulators who are to be paid for circulating petitions concerning ballot issues shall display an identification badge that includes the words “PAID CIRCULATOR” in bold-faced type which is clearly legible, the circulator’s name, and the name and telephone number of the individual employing the circulator.
1-40-113 – Form – representatives of signers.
(1) Each section of a petition shall be printed on a form as prescribed by the secretary of state. No petition shall be printed, published, or otherwise circulated unless the form and the first printer’s proof of the petition have been approved by the secretary of state. Each petition section shall designate by name and mailing address two persons who shall represent the signers thereof in all matters affecting the same. The secretary of state shall assure that the petition contains only the matters required by this article and contains no extraneous material. All sections of any petition shall be prenumbered serially, and the circulation of any petition section described by this article other than personally by a circulator is prohibited. Any petition section that fails to conform to the requirements of this article or is circulated in a manner other than that permitted in this article shall be invalid.
(2) Any disassembly of a section of the petition which has the effect of separating the affidavits from the signatures shall render that section of the petition invalid and of no force and effect.
(3) Prior to the time of filing, the persons designated in the petition to represent the signers shall bind the sections of the petition in convenient volumes consisting of one hundred sections of the petition if one hundred or more sections are available or, if less than one hundred sections are available to make a volume, consisting of all sections that are available. Each volume consisting of less than one hundred sections shall be marked on the first page of the volume. However, any volume that contains more or less than one hundred sections, due only to the oversight of the designated representatives of the signers or their staff, shall not result in a finding of insufficiency of signatures therein. Each section of each volume shall include the affidavits required by section 1-40-111 (2), together with the sheets containing the signatures accompanying the same. These bound volumes shall be filed with the secretary of state.
1-40-114 – Petitions – not election materials – no bilingual language requirement.
The general assembly hereby determines that initiative petitions are not election materials or information covered by the federal “Voting Rights Act of 1965″, and therefore are not required to be printed in any language other than English to be circulated in any county in Colorado.
1-40-115 – Ballot – voting – publication.
(1) Measures shall appear upon the official ballot by ballot title only. The measures shall be placed on the ballot in the order in which they were certified to the ballot and as provided in section 1-5-407 (5).
(2) All ballot issues shall be printed on the official ballot in that order, together with their respective letters and numbers prefixed in bold-faced type. Each ballot shall have the following explanation printed one time at the beginning of such ballot issues: “Ballot issues referred by the general assembly or any political subdivision are listed by letter, and ballot issues initiated by the people are listed numerically. A ‘yes’ vote on any ballot issue is a vote in favor of changing current law or existing circumstances, and a ‘no’ vote on any ballot issue is a vote against changing current law or existing circumstances.” Each ballot title shall appear on the official ballot but once and shall be separated from the other ballot titles next to it by heavy black lines and shall be followed by the words “yes” and “no” with blank spaces to the right and opposite the same as follows:
(HERE SHALL APPEAR THE BALLOT TITLE IN FULL)
YES ______ NO ______
(3) A voter desiring to vote for the measure shall make a cross mark (X) in the blank space to the right and opposite the word “yes”; a voter desiring to vote against the measure shall make a cross mark (X) in the blank space to the right and opposite the word “no”; and the votes marked shall be counted accordingly. Any measure approved by the people of the state shall be printed with the acts of the next general assembly.
1-40-116 – Verification – ballot issues – random sampling.
(1) For ballot issues, each section of a petition to which there is attached an affidavit of the registered elector who circulated the petition that each signature thereon is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be and that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the affiant each of the persons signing the petition was at the time of signing a registered elector shall be prima facie evidence that the signatures are genuine and true, that the petitions were circulated in accordance with the provisions of this article, and that the form of the petition is in accordance with this article.
(2) Upon submission of the petition, the secretary of state shall examine each name and signature on the petition. The petition shall not be available to the public for a period of no more than thirty calendar days for the examination. The secretary shall assure that the information required by sections 1-40-110 and 1-40-111 is complete, that the information on each signature line was written by the person making the signature, and that no signatures have been added to any sections of the petition after the affidavit required by section 1-40-111 (2) has been executed.
(3) No signature shall be counted unless the signer is a registered elector and eligible to vote on the measure. A person shall be deemed a registered elector if the person’s name and address appear on the master voting list kept by the secretary of state at the time of signing the section of the petition. In addition, the secretary of state shall not count the signature of any person whose information is not complete or was not completed by the elector or a person qualified to assist the elector. The secretary of state may adopt rules consistent with this subsection (3) for the examination and verification of signatures.
(4) The secretary of state shall verify the signatures on the petition by use of random sampling. The random sample of signatures to be verified shall be drawn so that every signature filed with the secretary of state shall be given an equal opportunity to be included in the sample. The secretary of state is authorized to engage in rule making to establish the appropriate methodology for conducting such random sample. The random sampling shall include an examination of no less than five percent of the signatures, but in no event less than four thousand signatures. If the random sample verification establishes that the number of valid signatures is ninety percent or less of the number of registered eligible electors needed to find the petition sufficient, the petition shall be deemed to be not sufficient. If the random sample verification establishes that the number of valid signatures totals one hundred ten percent or more of the number of required signatures of registered eligible electors, the petition shall be deemed sufficient. If the random sampling shows the number of valid signatures to be more than ninety percent but less than one hundred ten percent of the number of signatures of registered eligible electors needed to declare the petition sufficient, the secretary of state shall order the examination and verification of each signature filed.
1-40-117 – Statement of sufficiency – statewide issues.
(1) After examining the petition, the secretary of state shall issue a statement as to whether a sufficient number of valid signatures appears to have been submitted to certify the petition to the ballot.
(2) If the petition was verified by random sample, the statement shall contain the total number of signatures submitted and whether the number of signatures presumed valid was ninety percent of the required total or less or one hundred ten percent of the required total or more.
(3) (a) If the secretary declares that the petition appears not to have a sufficient number of valid signatures, the statement issued by the secretary shall specify the number of sufficient and insufficient signatures. The secretary shall identify by section number and line number within the section those signatures found to be insufficient and the grounds for the insufficiency. Such information shall be kept on file for public inspection in accordance with section 1-40-118.
(b) In the event the secretary of state issues a statement declaring that a petition, having first been submitted with the required number of signatures, appears not to have a sufficient number of valid signatures, the representatives designated by the proponents pursuant to section 1-40-104 may cure the insufficiency by filing an addendum to the original petition for the purpose of offering such number of additional signatures as will cure the insufficiency. No addendum offered as a cure shall be considered unless the addendum conforms to requirements for petitions outlined in sections 1-40-110, 1-40-111, and 1-40-113, and unless the addendum is filed with the secretary of state within the fifteen-day period after the insufficiency is declared and unless filed with the secretary of state within the time required by the state constitution before the election at which the initiative petition is to be voted on. All filings under this paragraph (b) shall be made by 3 p.m. on the day of filing. Upon submission of a timely filed addendum, the secretary of state shall order the examination and verification of each signature on the addendum. The addendum shall not be available to the public for a period of up to ten calendar days for such examination. After examining the petition, the secretary of state shall, within ten calendar days, issue a statement as to whether the addendum cures the insufficiency found in the original petition.
1-40-118 – Protest.
(1) A protest in writing, under oath, together with three copies thereof, may be filed in the district court for the county in which the petition has been filed by some registered elector, within thirty days after the secretary of state issues a statement as to whether the petition has a sufficient number of valid signatures, which statement shall be issued no later than thirty calendar days after the petition has been filed. If the secretary of state fails to issue a statement within thirty calendar days, the petition shall be deemed sufficient. During the period a petition is being examined by the secretary of state for sufficiency, the petition shall not be available to the public; except that such period shall not exceed thirty calendar days.
(2) If the secretary of state conducted a random sample of the petitions and did not verify each signature, the protest shall specifically allege the defects in the procedure used by the secretary of state in the verification of the petition or the grounds for challenging individual signatures. If the secretary of state verified each name on the petition sections, the protest shall set forth with particularity the grounds of the protest and the signatures protested. No signature may be challenged that is not identified in the protest by section number, line number, name, and reason why the secretary of state is in error. If any party is protesting the finding of the secretary of state regarding the registration of a signer, the protest shall be accompanied by an affidavit of the elector or a copy of the election record of the signer.
(3) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 436, § 13, effective May 8, 1995.)
(4) The secretary of state shall furnish a requesting protestor with a computer tape or microfiche listing of the names of all registered electors in the state and shall charge a fee which shall be determined and collected pursuant to section 24-21-104 (3), C.R.S., to cover the cost of furnishing the listing.
1-40-119 – Procedure for hearings.
At any hearing held under this article, the party protesting the finding of the secretary of state concerning the sufficiency of signatures shall have the burden of proof. Hearings shall be had as soon as is conveniently possible and shall be concluded within thirty days after the commencement thereof, and the result of such hearings shall be forthwith certified to the designated representatives of the signers and to the protestors of the petition. The hearing shall be subject to the provisions of the Colorado rules of civil procedure. Upon application, the decision of the court shall be reviewed by the Colorado supreme court.
1-40-120 – Filing in federal court.
In case a complaint has been filed with the federal district court on the grounds that a petition is insufficient due to failure to comply with any federal law, rule, or regulation, the petition may be withdrawn by the two persons designated pursuant to section 1-40-104 to represent the signers of the petition and, within fifteen days after the court has issued its order in the matter, may be amended and refiled as an original petition. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the timely filing of a protest to any original petition, including one that has been amended and refiled. No person shall be entitled, pursuant to this section, to amend an amended petition.
1-40-121 – Receiving money to circulate petitions – filing.
(1) The proponents of the petition shall file with the official who receives filings under the “Fair Campaign Practices Act”, article 45 of this title, for the election the name, address, and county of voter registration of all circulators who were paid to circulate any section of the petition, the amount paid per signature, and the total amount paid to each circulator. The filing shall be made at the same time the petition is filed with the secretary of state. Any payment made to circulators is an expenditure under article 45 of this title.
(2) The proponents of the petition shall sign and file monthly reports with the secretary of state, due ten days after the last day of each month in which petitions are circulated on behalf of the proponents by paid circulators. Monthly reports shall set forth the following:
(a) The names of the proponents;
(b) The name and the residential and business addresses of each of the paid circulators;
(c) The name of the proposed ballot measure for which petitions are being circulated by paid circulators; and
(d) The amount of money paid and owed to each paid circulator for petition circulation during the month in question.
1-40-122 – Certification of ballot titles.
(1) The secretary of state, at the time the secretary of state certifies to the county clerk and recorder of each county the names of the candidates for state and district offices for general election, shall also certify to them the ballot titles and numbers of each initiated and referred measure filed in the office of the secretary of state to be voted upon at such election.
(2) Repealed.
1-40-123 – Counting of votes – effective date – conflicting provisions.
The votes on all measures submitted to the people shall be counted and properly entered after the votes for candidates for office cast at the same election are counted and shall be counted, canvassed, and returned and the result determined and certified in the manner provided by law concerning other elections. The secretary of state who has certified the election shall, without delay, make and transmit to the governor a certificate of election. The measure shall take effect from and after the date of the official declaration of the vote by proclamation of the governor, but not later than thirty days after the votes have been canvassed, as provided in section 1 of article V of the state constitution. A majority of the votes cast thereon shall adopt any measure submitted, and, in case of adoption of conflicting provisions, the one that receives the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail in all particulars as to which there is a conflict.
1-40-124 – Publication.
(1) (a) In accordance with section 1 (7.3) of article V of the state constitution, the director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly shall cause to be published at least one time in every legal newspaper, as defined in sections 24-70-102 and 24-70-103 (1), C.R.S., compactly and without unnecessary spacing, in not less than eight-point standard type, a true copy of:
(I) The title and text of each constitutional amendment, initiated or referred measure, or part of a measure, to be submitted to the people with the number and form in which the ballot title thereof will be printed in the official ballot; and
(II) The text of each referred or initiated question arising under section 20 of article X of the state constitution, as defined in section 1-41-102 (3), to be submitted to the people with the number and form in which such question will be printed in the official ballot.
(b) The charge for publication shall be at the newspaper’s then effective current lowest bulk comparable or general rate charged. The director of research shall provide all of the legal newspapers either complete slick proofs or mats of the title and text of the proposed constitutional amendment, initiated or referred measure, or part of a measure, and of the text of a referred or initiated question arising under section 20 of article X of the state constitution, as defined in section 1-41-102 (3), at least one week before the publication date.
(2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 437, § 18, effective May 8, 1995.)
1-40-124.5 – Ballot information booklet.
(1) The director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly shall prepare a ballot information booklet for any initiated or referred constitutional amendment or legislation, including a question, as defined in section 1-41-102 (3), in accordance with section 1 (7.5) of article V of the state constitution. If it appears that any measure has a significant fiscal impact on the state or any of its political subdivisions, the booklet shall include an estimate of the fiscal impact of such measure, taking into consideration fiscal impact information submitted by the office of state planning and budgeting, the department of local affairs, any proponent, or other interested person. Prior to completion of the booklet, a draft shall be reviewed by the legislative council at a public hearing held after notice. At the hearing, any proponent or other interested person shall be allowed to comment on the accuracy or fairness of the analysis of any ballot issue addressed by the booklet.
(1.5) The executive committee of the legislative council of the general assembly shall be responsible for providing the fiscal information on any ballot issue that must be included in the ballot information booklet pursuant to section 1 (7.5) (c) of article V of the state constitution.
(2) Following completion of the ballot information booklet, the director of research shall arrange for its distribution to every residence of one or more active registered electors in the state. Distribution may be accomplished by such means as the director of research deems appropriate to comply with section 1 (7.5) of article V of the state constitution, including, but not limited to, mailing the ballot information booklet to electors and insertion of the ballot information booklet in newspapers of general circulation in the state. The distribution shall be performed pursuant to a contract or contracts bid and entered into after employing standard competitive bidding practices including, but not limited to, the use of requests for information, requests for proposals, or any other standard vendor selection practices determined to be best suited to selecting an appropriate means of distribution and an appropriate contractor or contractors. The executive director of the department of personnel shall provide such technical advice and assistance regarding bidding procedures as deemed necessary by the director of research.
(3) There is hereby established in the state treasury the ballot information publication and distribution revolving fund. Moneys shall be appropriated to the fund each year by the general assembly in the annual general appropriation act. All interest earned on the investment of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys in the revolving fund are continuously appropriated to the legislative council of the general assembly to pay the costs of publishing the text and title of each constitutional amendment, initiated or referred measure, or part of a measure, and the text of a referred or initiated question arising under section 20 of article X of the state constitution, as defined in section 1-41-102 (3), in every legal newspaper in the state, as required by section 1-40-124, and the costs of distributing the ballot information booklet, as required by subsection (2) of this section. Any moneys credited to the revolving fund and unexpended at the end of any given fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not revert to the general fund.
1-40-125 – Mailing to electors.
(1) The requirements of this section shall apply to any ballot issue involving a local government matter arising under section 20 of article X of the state constitution, as defined in section 1-41-103 (4), for which notice is required to be mailed pursuant to section 20 (3) (b) of article X of the state constitution. A mailing is not required for a ballot issue that does not involve a local government matter arising under section 20 of article X of the state constitution, as defined in section 1-41-103 (4).
(2) Thirty days before a ballot issue election, political subdivisions shall mail at the least cost and as a package where districts with ballot issues overlap, a titled notice or set of notices addressed to “all registered voters” at each address of one or more active registered electors. Except for voter-approved additions, notices shall include only:
(a) The election date, hours, ballot title, text, and local election office address and telephone number;
(b) For proposed district tax or bonded debt increases, the estimated or actual total of district fiscal year spending for the current year and each of the past four years, and the overall percentage and dollar change;
(c) For the first full fiscal year of each proposed political subdivision tax increase, district estimates of the maximum dollar amount of each increase and of district fiscal year spending without the increase;
(d) For proposed district bonded debt, its principal amount and maximum annual and total district repayment cost, and the principal balance of total current district bonded debt and its maximum annual and remaining local district repayment cost;
(e) Two summaries, up to five hundred words each, one for and one against the proposal, of written comments filed with the election officer by thirty days before the election. No summary shall mention names of persons or private groups, nor any endorsements of or resolutions against the proposal. Petition representatives following these rules shall write this summary for their petition. The election officer shall maintain and accurately summarize all other relevant written comments.
(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a ballot issue that is subject to the provisions of section 1-40-124.5.
1-40-126 – Explanation of effect of “yes” or “no” vote included in notices provided by mailing or publication.
In any notice to electors provided by the director of research of the legislative council, whether by mailing pursuant to section 1-40-124.5 or publication pursuant to section 1-40-124, there shall be included the following explanation preceding any information about individual ballot issues: “A ‘yes’ vote on any ballot issue is a vote in favor of changing current law or existing circumstances, and a ‘no’ vote on any ballot issue is a vote against changing current law or existing circumstances.”
1-40-130 – Unlawful acts – penalty.
(1) It is unlawful:
(a) For any person willfully and knowingly to circulate or cause to be circulated or sign or procure to be signed any petition bearing the name, device, or motto of any person, organization, association, league, or political party, or purporting in any way to be endorsed, approved, or submitted by any person, organization, association, league, or political party, without the written consent, approval, and authorization of the person, organization, association, league, or political party;
(b) For any person to sign any name other than his or her own to any petition or knowingly to sign his or her name more than once for the same measure at one election;
(c) For any person to knowingly sign any petition who is not a registered elector at the time of signing the same;
(d) For any person to sign any affidavit as circulator without knowing or reasonably believing the statements made in the affidavit to be true;
(e) For any person to certify that an affidavit attached to a petition was subscribed or sworn to before him or her unless it was so subscribed and sworn to before him or her and unless the person so certifying is duly qualified under the laws of this state to administer an oath;
(f) For any officer or person to do willfully, or with another or others conspire, or agree, or confederate to do, any act which hinders, delays, or in any way interferes with the calling, holding, or conducting of any election permitted under the initiative and referendum powers reserved by the people in section 1 of article V of the state constitution or with the registering of electors therefor;
(g) For any officer to do willfully any act which shall confuse or tend to confuse the issues submitted or proposed to be submitted at any election, or refuse to submit any petition in the form presented for submission at any election;
(h) For any officer or person to violate willfully any provision of this article.
(2) Any person, upon conviction of a violation of any provision of this section, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year in the county jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
1-40-131 – Tampering with initiative or referendum petition.
Any person who willfully destroys, defaces, mutilates, or suppresses any initiative or referendum petition or who willfully neglects to file or delays the delivery of the initiative or referendum petition or who conceals or removes any initiative or referendum petition from the possession of the person authorized by law to have the custody thereof, or who adds, amends, alters, or in any way changes the information on the petition as provided by the elector, or who aids, counsels, procures, or assists any person in doing any of said acts commits a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in section 1-13-111. The language in this section shall not preclude a circulator from striking a complete line on the petition if the circulator believes the line to be invalid.
1-40-132 – Enforcement.
(1) The secretary of state is charged with the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this article relating to initiated or referred measures and state constitutional amendments. The secretary of state shall have the authority to promulgate rules as may be necessary to administer and enforce any provision of this article that relates to initiated or referred measures and state constitutional amendments. The secretary of state may conduct a hearing, upon a written complaint by a registered elector, on any alleged violation of the provisions relating to the circulation of a petition, which may include but shall not be limited to the preparation or signing of an affidavit by a circulator. If the secretary of state, after the hearing, has reasonable cause to believe that there has been a violation of the provisions of this article relating to initiated or referred measures and state constitutional amendments, he or she shall notify the attorney general, who may institute a criminal prosecution. If a circulator is found to have violated any provision of this article or is otherwise shown to have made false or misleading statements relating to his or her section of the petition, such section of the petition shall be deemed void.
(2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 439, § 22, effective May 8, 1995.)
1-40-133 – Retention of petitions.
After a period of three years from the time of submission of the petitions to the secretary of state, if it is determined that the retention of the petitions is no longer necessary, the secretary of state may destroy the petitions.
1-40-134 – Withdrawal of initiative petition.
The designated representatives of the proponents of an initiative petition may withdraw the petition from consideration as a ballot issue by filing a letter with the secretary of state requesting that the petition not be placed on the ballot. The letter shall be signed and acknowledged by both designated representatives before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments and shall be filed no later than thirty-three days prior to the election at which the initiative is to be voted upon.
31-11-104 – Ordinances – initiative – conflicting measures.
(1) Any proposed ordinance may be submitted to the legislative body of any municipality by filing written notice of the proposed ordinance with the clerk and, within one hundred eighty days after approval of the petition pursuant to section 31-11-106 (1), by filing a petition signed by at least five percent of the registered electors of the city or town on the date of such notice. The proposed ordinance may be adopted without alteration by the legislative body within twenty days following the final determination of petition sufficiency. If vetoed by the mayor, the proposed ordinance may be passed over the mayor’s veto within ten days after the veto. If the proposed ordinance is not adopted by the legislative body, the legislative body shall forthwith publish the proposed ordinance as other ordinances are published and shall refer the proposed ordinance, in the form petitioned for, to the registered electors of the municipality at a regular or special election held not less than sixty days and not more that one hundred fifty days after the final determination of petition sufficiency, unless otherwise required by the state constitution. The ordinance shall not take effect unless a majority of the registered electors voting on the measure at the election vote in favor of the measure.
(2) Alternative ordinances may be submitted at the same election, and, if two or more conflicting measures are approved by the people, the one that receives the greatest number of affirmative votes shall be adopted in all particulars as to which there is a conflict.
31-11-105 – Ordinances – when effective – referendum.
(1) No ordinance passed by the legislative body of any municipality shall take effect before thirty days after its final passage and publication, except an ordinance calling for a special election or necessary to the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, and not then unless the ordinance states in a separate section the reasons why it is necessary and unless it receives the affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members elected to the legislative body taken by ayes and noes.
(2) Within thirty days after final publication of the ordinance, a referendum petition protesting against the effect of the ordinance or any part thereof may be filed with the clerk. The petition must be signed during the thirty-day period by at least five percent of the registered electors of the municipality registered on the date of final publication.
(3) If a referendum petition is filed, the ordinance or part thereof protested against shall not take effect, and, upon a final determination of petition sufficiency, the legislative body shall promptly reconsider the ordinance. If the petition is declared not sufficient by the clerk or found not sufficient in a protest, the ordinance shall forthwith take effect, unless otherwise provided therein.
(4) If, upon reconsideration, the ordinance or part thereof protested is not repealed, the legislative body shall submit the measure to a vote of the registered electors at a regular or special election held not less than sixty days and not more than one hundred fifty days after the final determination of petition sufficiency, unless otherwise required by the state constitution. The ordinance or part thereof shall not take effect unless a majority of the registered electors voting on the measure at the election vote in favor of the measure.
31-11-106 – Form of petition sections.
(1) Each petition section shall be printed in a form consistent with the requirements of this article. No petition section shall be printed or circulated unless the form and the first printer’s proof of the petition section have first been approved by the clerk. The clerk shall approve or reject the form and the first printer’s proof of the petition no later than five business days following the date on which the clerk received such material. The clerk shall assure that the petition section contains only those elements required by this article and contains no extraneous material. The clerk may reject a petition or a section of a petition on the grounds that the petition or a section of the petition does not propose municipal legislation pursuant to section 1 (9) of article V of the state constitution.
(2) Each petition section shall designate by name and mailing address two persons who shall represent the proponents thereof in all matters affecting the petition and to whom all notices or information concerning the petition shall be mailed.
(3) (a) At the top of each page of every initiative or referendum petition section, the following shall be printed, in a form as prescribed by the clerk:
“WARNING: IT IS AGAINST THE LAW: For anyone to sign any initiative or referendum petition with any name other than his or her own or to knowingly sign his or her name more than once for the same measure or to knowingly sign a petition when not a registered elector who is eligible to vote on the measure.
DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS YOU ARE A REGISTERED ELECTOR AND ELIGIBLE TO VOTE ON THIS MEASURE. TO BE A REGISTERED ELECTOR, YOU MUST BE A CITIZEN OF COLORADO AND REGISTERED TO VOTE.
Do not sign this petition unless you have read or have had read to you the proposed initiative or referred measure or the summary in its entirety and understand its meaning.”
(b) A summary of the proposed initiative or ordinance that is the subject of a referendum petition shall be printed following the warning on each page of a petition section. The summary shall be true and impartial and shall not be an argument, or likely to create prejudice, either for or against the measure. The summary shall be prepared by the clerk.
(c) The full text of the proposed initiated measure or ordinance that is the subject of a referendum petition shall be printed following the summary on the first page or pages of the petition section that precede the signature page. Notwithstanding the requirement of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), if the text of the proposed initiated measure or ordinance requires more than one page of a petition section, the warning and summary need not appear at the top of other than the initial text page.
(d) The signature pages shall consist of the warning and the summary, followed by ruled lines numbered consecutively for registered electors’ signatures. If a petition section contains multiple signature pages, all signature lines shall be numbered consecutively, from the first signature page through the last. The signature pages shall follow the page or pages on which the full text of the proposed initiated measure or ordinance that is the subject of the referendum petition is printed.
(e) (I) Following the signature pages of each petition section, there shall be attached a signed, notarized, and dated affidavit executed by the person who circulated the petition section, which shall include the following:
(A) The affiant’s printed name, the address at which the affiant resides, including the street name and number, the municipality, the county, and the date the affiant signed the affidavit;
(B) That the affiant has read and understands the laws governing the circulation of petition;
(C) That the affiant was eighteen years of age or older at the time the section of the petition was circulated and signed by the listed electors;
(D) That the affiant circulated the section of the petition;
(E) That each signature thereon was affixed in the affiant’s presence;
(F) That each signature thereon is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be;
(G) That, to the best of the affiant’s knowledge and belief, each of the persons signing the petition section was, at the time of signing, a registered elector; and
(H) That the affiant has not paid or will not in the future pay and that the affiant believes that no other person has paid or will pay, directly or indirectly, any money or other thing of value to any signer for the purpose of inducing or causing such signer to affix the signer’s signature to the petition.
(II) The clerk shall not accept for filing any section of a petition that does not have attached thereto the notarized affidavit required by subparagraph (I) of paragraph (e) of this subsection (3). Any disassembly of a section of the petition that has the effect of separating the affidavit from the signature page or pages shall render that section of the petition invalid and of no force and effect.
(III) Any signature added to a section of a petition after the affidavit has been executed shall be invalid.
(4) All sections of any petition shall be prenumbered serially.
(5) Any petition section that fails to conform to the requirements of this article or that is circulated in a manner other than that permitted by this article shall be invalid.
31-11-107 – Circulators – requirements.
The circulation of any petition section other than personally by a circulator is prohibited. No section of a petition for any initiative or referendum measure shall be circulated by any person who is not at least eighteen years of age at the time the section is circulated.
31-11-108 – Signatures.
Any initiative or referendum petition shall be signed only by registered electors who are eligible to vote on the measure. Each registered elector shall sign his or her own signature and shall print his or her name, the address at which he or she resides, including the street number and name, the city or town, the county, and the date of signing. Each registered elector signing a petition shall be encouraged by the circulator of the petition to sign the petition in ink. In the event a registered elector is physically disabled or is illiterate and wishes to sign the petition, the elector shall sign or make his or her mark in the space so provided. Any person, but not a circulator, may assist the disabled or illiterate elector in completing the remaining information required by this section. The person providing assistance shall sign his or her name and address and shall state that such assistance was given to the disabled or illiterate elector.
31-11-109 – Signature verification – statement of sufficiency.
(1) The clerk shall inspect timely filed initiative or referendum petitions and the attached affidavits, and may do so by examining the information on signature lines for patent defects, by comparing the information on signature lines against a list of registered electors provided by the county, or by other reasonable means.
(2) After examining the petition, the clerk shall issue a statement as to whether a sufficient number of valid signatures have been submitted. A copy of the statement shall be mailed to the persons designated as representing the petition proponents pursuant to section 31-11-106 (2).
(3) The statement of sufficiency or insufficiency shall be issued no later than thirty calendar days after the petition has been filed. If the clerk fails to issue a statement within thirty calendar days, the petition shall be deemed sufficient.
31-11-110 – Protest.
(1) Within forty days after an initiative or referendum petition is filed, a protest in writing under oath may be filed in the office of the clerk by any registered elector who resides in the municipality, setting forth specifically the grounds for such protest. The grounds for protest may include, but shall not be limited to, the failure of any portion of a petition or circulator affidavit to meet the requirements of this article. No signature may be challenged that is not identified in the protest by section and line number. The clerk shall forthwith mail a copy of such protest to the persons designated as representing the petition proponents pursuant to section 31-11-106 (2) and to the protester, together with a notice fixing a time for hearing such protest that is not less than five or more than ten days after such notice is mailed.
(2) The county clerk shall furnish a requesting protester with a list of the registered electors in the municipality and shall charge a fee to cover the cost of furnishing the list.
(3) Every hearing shall be held before the clerk with whom such protest is filed. The clerk shall serve as hearing officer unless some other person is designated by the legislative body as the hearing officer, and the testimony in every such hearing shall be under oath. The hearing officer shall have the power to issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses. The hearing shall be summary and not subject to delay and shall be concluded within sixty days after the petition is filed. No later than five days after the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written determination of whether the petition is sufficient or not sufficient. If the hearing officer determines that a petition is not sufficient, the officer shall identify those portions of the petition that are not sufficient and the reasons therefor. The result of the hearing shall be forthwith certified to the protester and to the persons designated as representing the petition proponents pursuant to section 31-11-106 (2). The determination as to petition sufficiency may be reviewed by the district court for the county in which such municipality or portion thereof is located upon application of the protester, the persons designated as representing the petition proponents pursuant to section 31-11-106 (2), or the municipality, but such review shall be had and determined forthwith.
31-11-111 – Initiatives, referenda, and referred measures – ballot titles.
(1) After an election has been ordered pursuant to section 31-11-104 or 31-11-105, the legislative body of the municipality or its designee shall promptly fix a ballot title for each initiative or referendum.
(2) The legislative body of any municipality may, without receipt of any petition, submit any proposed or adopted ordinance or resolution or any question to a vote of the registered electors of the municipality. The legislative body of the municipality or its designee shall fix a ballot title for the referred measure.
(3) In fixing the ballot title, the legislative body or its designee shall consider the public confusion that might be caused by misleading titles and shall, whenever practicable, avoid titles for which the general understanding of the effect of a “yes” or “no” vote would be unclear. The ballot title shall not conflict with those titles selected for any other measure that will appear on the municipal ballot in the same election. The ballot title shall correctly and fairly express the true intent and meaning of the measure.
(4) Any protest concerning a ballot title shall be conducted as provided by local charter, ordinance, or resolution.
31-11-112 – Petitions – not election materials – no bilingual requirement.
The general assembly hereby determines that initiative and referendum petitions are not election materials or information covered by the federal “Voting Rights Act of 1965″, and are therefore not required to be printed in any language other than English in order to be circulated in any municipality in Colorado.
31-11-113 – Receiving money to circulate petitions – filing.
The proponents of the petition shall file with the clerk a report disclosing the amount paid per signature and the total amount paid to each circulator. The filing shall be made at the same time the petition is filed with the clerk. Any payment made to circulators is an expenditure under article 45 of title 1, C.R.S.
31-11-114 – Unlawful acts – penalty.
(1) It is unlawful:
(a) For any person willfully and knowingly to circulate or cause to be circulated or sign or procure to be signed any petition bearing the name, device, or motto of any person, organization, association, league, or political party, or purporting in any way to be endorsed, approved, or submitted by any person, organization, association, league, or political party, without the written consent, approval, and authorization of the person, organization, association, league, or political party;
(b) For any person to sign any name other than his or her own name to any petition or knowingly to sign his or her name more than once for the same measure at one election;
(c) For any person knowingly to sign any petition relating to an initiative or referendum in a municipality who is not a registered elector of that municipality at the time of signing the petition;
(d) For any person to sign any affidavit as circulator without knowing or reasonably believing the statements made in the affidavit to be true;
(e) For any person to certify that an affidavit attached to a petition was subscribed or sworn to before him or her unless it was so subscribed and sworn to before him or her and unless the person so certifying is duly qualified under the laws of this state to administer an oath;
(f) For any officer or person to do willfully, or with another or others conspire, or agree, or confederate to do, any act that hinders, delays, or in any way interferes with the calling, holding, or conducting of any election permitted under the initiative and referendum powers reserved by the people in section 1 of article V of the state constitution or with the registering of electors therefor;
(g) For any officer to do willfully any act that shall confuse or tend to confuse the issues submitted or proposed to be submitted at any election or refuse to submit any petition in the form presented for submission at any election;
(h) For any officer or person to violate willfully any provision of this article.
(2) Any person, upon conviction of a violation of any provision of this section, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year in the county jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
31-11-115 – Tampering with initiative or referendum petition.
(1) Any person commits a class 2 misdemeanor who:
(a) Willfully destroys, defaces, mutilates, or suppresses any initiative or referendum petition;
(b) Willfully neglects to file or delays the delivery of the initiative or referendum petition;
(c) Conceals or removes any initiative or referendum petition from the possession of the person authorized by law to have custody of the petition;
(d) Adds, amends, alters, or in any way changes the information on the petition as provided by the elector; or
(e) Aids, counsels, procures, or assists any person in doing any of such acts.
(2) Any person convicted of committing such a misdemeanor shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(3) This section shall not preclude a circulator from striking a complete line on the petition if the circulator believes the line to be invalid.
31-11-116 – Enforcement.
(1) Any person may file with the district attorney an affidavit stating the name of any person who has violated any of the provisions of this article and stating the facts that constitute the alleged offense. Upon the filing of such affidavit, the district attorney shall forthwith investigate, and, if reasonable grounds appear therefor, the district attorney shall prosecute the same.
(2) The attorney general of the state shall have equal power with district attorneys to file information or complaints against any person for violating any provision of this article.
31-11-117 – Retention of petitions.
After a period of three years from the time of submission of the petitions to the clerk, if it is determined that the retention of the petitions is no longer necessary, the clerk may destroy the petitions.
31-11-118 – Powers of clerk and deputy.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this article, the clerk shall render all interpretations and shall make all initial decisions as to controversies or other matters arising in the operation of this article.
(2) All powers and authority granted to the clerk by this article may be exercised by a deputy clerk in the absence of the clerk or in the event the clerk for any reason is unable to perform the duties of the clerk’s office.
The Basic Steps To Do An Initiative In Colorado
Statutes And Amendments – Direct Initiative Process
Basic Procedures: Proponents must submit the original text of the measure to the directors of the Legislative Council Staff and the Office of Legal Services for review and comment. Proponents must designate two people as those representing the proponents in all matters affecting the petition. Drafts are to be submitted in typewritten form and are to be written in plain, non-technical language, using words with common and everyday meaning understandable to the average reader.
Upon receiving the proposed measure, directors set a date for a public hearing no later than two weeks from the date the measure is filed. The director of the Legislative Council Staff provides proper notice of the date, time, and place for the meeting. Measures accepted as a legal filing are a matter of public record and are available for public distribution.
Comments on proposed initiated measures are prepared by the Legislative Council Staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services for review during the public hearing. The comments typically contain a summary of the proposal followed by a series of questions concerning the wording, intent, and purpose of the proposal. The Legislative Council Staff and Legislative Legal Services directors may request the assistance of state agencies in preparing the comments. Agencies are required to assist when so requested. Proponents receive the comments prior to the meeting, but the comments are not disclosed to the public before the hearing, except with permission of the proponents.
The public hearing conducted by the Legislative Council Staff and Legislative Legal Services is informal in nature. The purpose of the meeting is to give the public notice that a proposal on a given topic is under consideration and to review the purposes and wording with the proponents so that the proposal states what the proponents want it to state. The comments are intended to help proponents clarify their proposal, but proponents are not required to accept the suggestions made in the comments. The meeting is open to the public and, while persons who may oppose a measure are welcome to attend, no testimony or comments are accepted from anyone other than the proponents. The meeting is tape recorded for the public record.
Following the public hearing, proponents may submit the measure to the Secretary of State who chairs the Ballot Title Setting Board. The ballot title, submission clause, and summary are established by a board consisting of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the director of the Office of Legislative Legal Services.
The Ballot Title Setting Board usually completes its work on the ballot title, submission clause, and summary at its first meeting. If the board is unable to complete action on all of its agenda, motions for rehearing may be continued until the board’s next meeting.
If a proponent or any registered elector claims that a ballot title, submission clause, or summary is unfair or does not fairly express the meaning of a proposal, that person may request a rehearing by the Ballot Title Setting Board. Such request must be made within seven days after the title and summary are set.
Such rehearing will be held at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board. If the board is unable to complete action on the request for rehearing, consideration of the request may be continued until the next available day, except that if the request was to be heard on the last meeting date in May, it must be heard within 48 hours after the motion is filed.
An appeal for change in the ballot title, submission clause, and summary may be made to the Colorado Supreme Court, pursuant to Section 1-40-107 (2) and (5), C.R.S.
Once the ballot title, submission clause, and summary are established, petitions may then be circulated throughout the state to obtain the required number of signatures.
Date Initiative language can be submitted to state for November 2002: Can be submitted anytime after the first Wednesday in December of 2000.
Signatures are tied to vote of which office: Secretary of State
Next Secretary of State election: 2002
Votes cast for Secretary of State in last election: 1,611,420 (Note: Although Secretary of States are normally elected every four years, a vacancy was filled in 2000.)
Net number of signatures required: 5% of votes cast for Secretary of State in last election, for both statutes and amendments. (80,571 signatures)
Distribution Requirement: None
Circulation period: 6 months
Do circulators have to be residents: No
Date when signatures are due for certification: The petition must be filed within 6 months from when the final language is set by the Title Board and no later than 3 months before a statewide election. (August 5, 2002 for the November 2002 ballot.)
Signature verification process: The Secretary of State verifies signatures by a random sample procedure. Not less than five percent of the signatures, and in no event fewer than 4,000 signatures, are to be verified. If the sample indicates that the number of valid signatures is 90 percent or less of the required total, the petition is deemed to have insufficient signatures. If the valid signatures are found to be 110 percent or more of number required, the petition is deemed sufficient. However, if the number of valid signatures is found to be over 90 percent but less than 110 percent of the required number, the law requires that each signature on the petition be verified.
Single-subject restriction: Yes
Legislative tampering: The Legislature can repeal and amend an initiative statute passed by the voters.
General Comments: If the Ballot Title Setting Board finds that more than one subject is contained in a proposal, the proponents are permitted to change the measure. If the changes by the proponents involve only the removal of language to achieve a single subject, another review and comment hearing with the Office of Legislative Legal Services and the Legislative Council Staff may not be required. However, if the board finds that revisions are so substantial that another hearing is in the public interest, another review and comment hearing may be required.
If a proposal is revised and resubmitted to the board, a ballot title can be set or the title board can conclude that the proposal still contains more than one subject. In the event of a dispute over the single subject rule, the board can set the title without including reference to the provisions it thought was in violation of the rule. The constitution provides that, if there is any part of a proposal not clearly expressed in the ballot title, that part is to be considered void.