The following is a list of statewide initiatives and referenda modifying state law and proposing state constitutional amendments in Colorado, sorted by election. The Colorado Legislative Council, an organ of the Colorado General Assembly, maintains a comprehensive list at its website.
Measures submitted to popular vote may be classified as follows:
Referenda are amendments to state statutes or the state constitution proposed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Colorado General Assembly and must be approved by a simple majority of voters at the next general election. Such referred measures are designated by letter.
Initiatives (also referred to simply as Amendments) are amendments to the state statutes or to the state constitution proposed via petition by citizens, and must be signed by a number of registered voters equal to at least 5% of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office of secretary of state at the previous general election. Upon acceptance, the initiative is voted upon during the next statewide general election. Amendments are designated by number. The number assigned to a measure when petitions are circulating is generally different from the number ultimately assigned to an initiative when it is placed upon the ballot.
There is no difference in Colorado, as of July 16, 2008, between the requirements for placing a statutory change, and a state constitutional change on the ballot, or approving such a change. Colorado Referendum O facing voters in November 2008 would change these requirements by requiring more support at the petition stage to amend the state constitution than to amend a state statute.
Colorado voters may also present petitions forcing votes on the repeal of laws enacted by the state legislature without a "safety clause," and may force a public vote on the recall of an elected official. Neither type of ballot issue has been presented to Colorado voters at a statewide level in recent history.
Colorado state capital referendum, 1881: Denver selected as state capital
Colorado women's suffrage referendum, 1893: Passed: Women's Right to Vote
Denver Winter Olympics Referendum, 1972: Passed: Opposed to 1976 Winter Olympics being held in Denver
Poundstone Amendment, 1974: Passed: Concerning County Annexations
Gallagher Amendment,1982: Passed: Concerning Property Taxes
Amendment 34: Failed: Construction Liability
Amendment 35: Passed: Tobacco Tax Increase For Health - Related Purposes
Amendment 36: Failed: Selection of Presidential Electors
Amendment 37: Passed: Renewable Energy Requirement
Referendum A: Failed: State Personnel System
Referendum B: Passed: Obsolete Constitutional Provisions
Referendum C: Passed: State Spending
Referendum D: Failed: State Borrowing
Amendment 38: Failed: Petitions
Amendment 39: Failed: School District Expenditures for Education
Amendment 40: Failed: Term Limits on Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Judges
Amendment 41: Passed: Standards of Conduct in Government
Amendment 42: Passed: Colorado Minimum Wage Increase
Amendment 43: Passed: Traditional Marriage
Amendment 44: Failed: Marijuana Possession
Amendment 45: Withdrawn By Proponents On August 22, 2006 after a ballot number was assigned: Domestic Partnerships
Referendum E: Passed: Extension of Property Tax Exemption of Disabled Veterans
Referendum F: Failed: Removing Recall Timelines from the Constitution
Referendum G: Passed: Elimination of Obsolete Constitutional Provisions
Referendum H: Passed: Unauthorized Alien Labor Tax Deduction
Referendum I: Failed: Domestic Partnerships
Referendum J: Failed: Public Schools Expenditure Accountability Act
Referendum K: Passed: Attorney General Initiate Immigration Lawsuit
This list is up-to-date with the list at the Secretary of State's Elections Center as of 2008-10-03, when four proposed amendments (53, 55, 56 and 57) were withdrawn by their labor supporters in exchange for agreements from businesses and politicians to actively oppose Amendments 47, 49 and 54.[1]. The withdrawn amendments appeared on the ballot, but the votes were not counted.
Amendment 46: Failed: Discrimination and Preferential Treatment By Governments
Amendment 47: Failed: Prohibition on Mandatory Labor Union Membership and Dues
Amendment 48: Failed: Definition Of Person
Amendment 49: Failed: Allowable Government Paycheck Deductions
Amendment 50: Passed: Limited Gaming in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek
Amendment 51: Failed: State Sales Tax Increase for Services for People with Developmental Disabilities
Amendment 52: Failed: Use of Severance Tax Revenue for Highways
Amendment 53: WITHDRAWN: Criminal Accountability of Business Executives - withdrawn by the sponsors
Amendment 54: Passed: Campaign Contributions from Certain Government Contractors
Amendment 55: WITHDRAWN: Allowable Reasons for Employee Discharge or Suspension - withdrawn by the sponsors
Amendment 56: WITHDRAWN: Employer Responsibility for Health Insurance - withdrawn by the sponsors
Amendment 57: WITHDRAWN: Additional Remedies for Injured Employees - withdrawn by the sponsors
Amendment 58: Failed: Severance Taxes on the Oil and Natural Gas Industry
Amendment 59: Failed: Education Funding and TABOR Rebates
Referendum L: Failed: Qualifications For Serving In State Legislature
Referendum M: Passed: Obsolete Constitutional Provisions Relating To Land Value Increases
Referendum N: Passed: Obsolete Constitutional Provisions Relating To Alcoholic Beverages
Referendum O: Failed: Citizen-Initiated State Laws
This list is current as of November 3, 2010 Secretary of State Election Center.
Amendment 60: Failed: Reduces property taxes and forces the state to pick up the shortfall.
Amendment 61: Failed: Limits government borrowing.
Amendment 62: Failed: Definition of Person.
Amendment 63: Failed: Blocks implementation of PPACA in Colorado.
Proposition 101: Failed: Lowers state income tax rates and reduces automobile registration fees.
Proposition 102: Failed: Amends criteria for setting bail and bond in Colorado.
Source: Secretary of State Election Center, accessed Oct 25, 2012.
Amendment 64: Passed: Use and Regulation of Marijuana
Amendment 65: Passed: Colorado Congressional Delegation to Support Campaign Finance Limits
Amendment S: Passed: State Personnel System
Source: Unofficial Results November 8, 2016 General Election, Colorado Secretary of State.
Amendment 69 Failed: Colorado Care
Amendment 70 Passed: Raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020
Amendment 71 Passed: Make it harder to put an amendment into the constitution
Amendment 72 Failed: Increase Cigarette And Tobacco Taxes
Amendment T Failed: No Exception To Involuntary Servitude Prohibition
Amendment U Failed: Exempt Certain Possessory Interests From Property Taxes
Proposition 106 Passed: Access To Medical Aid-In-Dying Medication
Proposition 107 Passed: Presidential Primary Elections
Proposition 108 Passed: Unaffiliated Voter Participation In Primary Elections
