2024 Ballot Measure Recommendations
2024 Ballot Measure Recommendations
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Democrats support measures that reflect our values, protect our freedoms, & ensure Colorado works for all of us, not just the ultra-wealthy. We oppose measures that let a powerful few take our freedoms or take our community's resources to profit themselves.
Our Democratic State & County Central Committees -- made up of mostly volunteers along with some elected officials -- voted on each measure. "No Position" means they did not come to a strong consensus on that measure, though individual members may have firm opinions.
Below the graphics, you can read our reasons for each decision.
SAY NO TO THE CONFUSION!!!!!
Vote NO on 80 & Prop. 131
We already have the right to choose schools. What Amendment 80 will do is starve our already under-funded schools by sending our public funds into private hands. We can't afford to lose any more school funding!
More info from Protect Our Public Schools, the Colorado Education Association, as well as a warning from Arizona's experience.
Prop 131 will damage Colorado's world-class elections & invite a new flood of dark money influence.
Letter from the Voter Rights Colorado coalition on what 131 really does & the list of many local organizations opposing it.
Read Senator Michael Bennet, Rep. Iman Jodeh, & Rep. Mike Weissman on why they're voting NO.
Local measures: Click titles for more info
Local measures: Click titles for more info
YES on Arapahoe County 1A
Retain Revenue for Repairs and Services
Allows Arapahoe County to retain and use the revenue it collects, so we can catch up on overdue infrastructure repairs and provide the high-quality services our residents deserve.
Arapahoe is one of a small handful of counties that don't already do this!
More info: yesfor1a.mysocialpinpoint.com
YES on 4A & 4B, YES on 5A & 5B
Build, Upgrade, and Improve our Schools
Both Aurora Public Schools & Cherry Creek Schools have mill levy & bond measures to benefit our students by:
Upgrading aging school buildings
Building new schools for APS
Expanding the Cherry Creek Innovation Center
Recruiting & retaining the best teachers
Improving safety
More info: cherrycreekfuture.com and auroracitizensforexcellenteducation.com
Statewide measures: Click titles for more info
Statewide measures: Click titles for more info
YES on Amendment G
Homestead Exemption for More Veterans
Expands an existing homestead property tax exemption so that more veterans can benefit.
Sponsored by Sen. Rhonda Fields and Rep. Bob Marshall, and received a unanimous vote by the Colorado State House.
YES on Amendment H
Judicial System Improvements
Creates an independent board to increase transparency, independence, and integrity in the judicial discipline process, improving public trust.
Sponsored by Rep. Mike Weissman.
YES on Amendment I
Limiting Bail for First Degree Murder
Restores the ability of judges to deny bail to people charged with first-degree murder.
Sponsored by Sen. Rhonda Fields.
YES on Amendment J
Marriage Equality in Colorado
Removes language from the Colorado Constitution stating that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman.
This will protect marriage equality in Colorado if the Obergefell v. Hodges decision is overturned by MAGA Supreme Court Justices.
Sponsored by Sen. Ginal, Reps. Valdez and Titone, and referred to the ballot by legislators of both parties.
More info: freedomtomarryco.com
YES on Amendment K
New Deadlines to Improve Ballot Preparation
Modifies election deadlines to give more time for the Secretary of State & County Clerks to prepare our ballots. Supported by many legislators of both parties.
YES on Amendment 79
Reproductive Freedom for Coloradans
Reproductive freedom for everyone in Colorado, and insurance coverage no matter who your employer is.
Ensures abortion access as a constitutional right in Colorado, and repeals the existing ban on state and local government funding for abortion services.
Placed on the ballot by Coloradans for Reproductive Freedom.
More info: coloradansforreproductivefreedom.com
NO on Amendment 80
Sends Public Funds to Private Schools
Colorado parents already have the freedom to choose their children's schools.
Amendment 80 doesn't add any rights you don't already have. Instead, it's designed to take our money out of our public schools and give it away to private schools that:
do not have to serve every student
do not provide transportation, so families have to provide the time and cost to get their kids there
have other additional costs that most families won't be able to meet
Arizona has tried this experiment and it is gutting their schools. Their cautionary tale is here.
More info: protectpublicschools.co & coloradoea.org/elections
Placed on the ballot by Advance Colorado, a conservative issue organization.
YES on Proposition JJ
Retain Revenue from Sports Betting
Allows Colorado to keep the revenue already collected from sports betting operators and use it on important water projects.
YES on Proposition KK
Firearms & Ammunition Excise Tax
Creates revenue from firearms and ammunition sales to pay for mental health care for veterans, children, and victims of crime.
Sponsored by Sen. Janet Buckner and Rep. Meg Froelich.
More info: yesonpropkk.com
NO on Proposition 128
Takes Away Judicial Discretion
A money-making scheme for the prison industry,
Prop 128 is a one-size-fits-all rule that would not make us any safer. What it would actually do:
Cost taxpayers more money
Take away judicial discretion
Reduce rehabilitation
Keep people who are ready to re-enter society in prison longer than they have to be, which means they stay in contact with more hardened inmates for longer.
Placed on the ballot by Advance Colorado, a conservative issue organization.
More from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition
CONCERNS on Proposition 130
Diverts Funds to Policing instead of Prevention
"No Position" means there was not a clear consensus.
While Proposition 130 did not receive a clear vote, it does raise serious concerns:
It would send scarce resources to reactive measures, instead of to proactive measures that prevent crime in the first place.
It was placed on the ballot by Advance Colorado, the same group responsible for Amendment 80 and Proposition 128.
More from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition
NO on Proposition 131
Damages our Elections & Increases Dark Money
Prop 131 is promoted by millionaires to complicate voting and increase the influence of dark money. The "ranked choice voting" it's being sold as is a Trojan horse -- the reality is that much more is going on inside.
Rep. Mike Weissman of Aurora sums it up here: Prop 131 will bring corruption, confusion, high costs. And County Clerks of both parties oppose it.
It was placed on the ballot by Kent Thiry, former Davita CEO, whose stated goal is to take power away from your neighborhood organizers (of any party).
More info:
Other Resources & Perspectives
Other Resources & Perspectives
Links to local officials' own ballot guides:
Rep. Meg Froelich (HD3)
Rep. Emily Sirota (HD9)
Rep. Mike Weissman (HD36): the Amendments and the Propositions & Local Measures
Rep. Chad Clifford (HD37)
Rep. Iman Jodeh (HD41)
And what do the names & numbers mean?
And what do the names & numbers mean?
State Representative Mike Weissman of Aurora has shared how to decode how various measures got to the ballot and how they impact existing Colorado law. In his words:
An “Amendment” is a potential change to the Colorado Constitution
A “proposition” is a potential change to the Colorado Revised Statutes
An amendment or a proposition identified by letters was referred to the ballot by the legislature
a constitutional change requires 2/3 to refer
a statutory change requires a simple majority to refer
An amendment or a proposition identified by numbers was “initiated” to the ballot through the citizen signature-gathering process
In all cases, a YES vote means a change to existing law. A NO vote means existing law remains unchanged.
A proposition requires a simple majority to pass. An Amendment either needs 55% to pass or a simple majority - depending on what it is doing. An Amendment that solely repeals text from the constitution passes with a simple majority. An Amendment that adds even a word of new text to the constitution requires 55% to pass. An Amendment that both adds and repeals still needs 55%. (Why this 55% vs majority difference? Because in 2016, voters approved Amendment 71 to make it so!)
Because Amendments change the state constitution, our foundational legal document, I really recommend spending extra time researching those and thinking them through. If something is going wrong with a Proposition (a statutory measure), the legislature can in theory address that via a bill. But once something is put into our constitution, it’s harder (but not impossible) to correct later.
To read more about the ballot process and all the statewide measures, see the “Blue Book,” the official information publication compiled by non-partisan state staff: http://coloradobluebook.com
A very thorough outside source if you’d like a progressive policy lens on this year’s ballot measures is the ballot guide from the Bell Policy Center.
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