Colorado Statewide Ballot Measures

✅ Amendment G: Modifying a property tax exemption for veterans with disabilities

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will expand access to the “homestead exemption,” which gives a property tax exemption to veterans who are considered completely and permanently disabled due to their service. Veterans with significant service-connected disabilities that prevent them from working would also be eligible for the break. A nonpartisan legislative staff estimated the policy would affect 3,400 veteran homeowners.

✅ Amendment H: Creating a new board to investigate and discipline judges in Colorado

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will create a new, independent board to hear and issue rulings regarding ethics complaints against state judges. Those disciplinary hearings will be made public when formal charges are filed. Currently, such proceedings are kept private (unless a state commission recommends sanctions). The issue of judicial oversight came under scrutiny after the Denver Post published an investigation that detailed a cover-up of misconduct, sexism, and harassment by state judges.

Proponents of Amendment H said the measure will help the public have greater confidence in the integrity of the courts. Opponents claimed it would not actually hold judges more accountable than the current system, which allows the state Supreme Court to make the final determination on discipline for misconduct.

✅ Amendment I: Denying bail to people charged with first-degree murder

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow judges to deny bail ahead of trial to defendants accused of first-degree murder. Currently, the state constitution says that only people charged with crimes punishable by the death penalty can be denied bail; capital punishment was abolished in Colorado in 2020. Amendment I was introduced by state lawmakers to allow leeway for judges in dealing with the worst criminals.

✅ Amendment J: Removing the state’s constitutional same-sex marriage ban

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will remove language from the state constitution that says, “Only the union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.” Voters approved the statement in 2006, though it is not currently in effect due to a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Obergefell v. Hodges) that extended the federal right to marry to same-sex couples.

Supporters said the change is still necessary, noting that the removal of the current language in the state constitution will protect the right if the Supreme Court revisits the landmark 2015 decision in the future.

✅ Amendment 79: Creating a constitutional right to an abortion

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will add language to the state constitution that will prevent the state Legislature and local governments from limiting abortion access in Colorado. The amendment will also dispatch the current constitutional ban on public funding for abortions, allowing government employees and others with publicly funded health plans to get coverage for abortion care.

🚫 Amendment 80: Creating a constitutional right to school choice

This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have enshrined the right to school choice—including for charter schools, private schools, home school, and “future innovations in education”—in the state constitution.

Currently, Colorado students are able to attend any public school thanks to the Public Schools of Choice law. Families can also opt to attend private schools or homeschool kids. While the amendment’s passage wouldn’t have had an immediate impact on education in Colorado, opponents of the measure, including the Colorado Education Association, Colorado PTA, and Colorado Democrats, said the amendment makes it possible for citizens to push for taxpayer dollars to go to things like school vouchers for private schooling and homeschooling funding. Proponents, like the Colorado Association of Private Schools, claimed the intent is just to further protect the ability to choose the best educational option.

🚫 Proposition 127: Prohibiting bobcat, lynx and mountain lion hunting

This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have banned the hunting and trapping of bobcats and mountain lions in Colorado (it is already illegal to hunt lynx in the state). Opponents of the measure, including Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management, said it would infringe upon the abilities of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which currently regulates hunting practices for big game, to manage predator populations. The state expected CPW to lose $410,000 in revenue due to lost income from hunting licenses if the measure was approved.

✅ Proposition 128: Instituting a longer minimum prison time for violent criminals

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will require people convicted of violent crimes—including murder, sexual assault, aggravated robbery, and serious cases of assault—to serve 85 percent of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole, up from the current 75 percent. The initiative will also require people convicted of such crimes at least three times to serve their full sentences without the option of parole. Analysts said the measure would affect roughly 220 criminals in Colorado, which they calculated would increase the prison budget between $12 million and $28 million per year.

✅ Proposition 129: Establishing the position of veterinary professional associate

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will create the position of veterinary professional associate (VPA) in Colorado. Currently, veterinary practices are operated by licensed veterinarians, who must complete at least eight years of education, and veterinary technicians, who must complete two. The new associate position, which would require a master’s degree, will be a midlevel between the current roles. VPAs will be allowed to perform some procedures vet techs cannot, including spay and neuter surgeries. Colorado State University is already setting up a master’s in veterinary clinical care program and plans to graduate a class in 2027; the school and other supporters, including the Vet Care Coalition, said the initiative will help address a dearth of access to vet care. Opponents (like the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association) feared that the measure would allow VPAs to perform procedures beyond their education levels.

✅ Proposition 130: Providing new funding for law enforcement

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will require the state to use $350 million to set up a fund to recruit, train, and retain police officers. A portion of that money will go toward a $1 million benefit for families of officers killed in the line of duty. Typically, when Colorado voters are asked whether the state should spend money on something, a tax or bond issue is attached to pay for it. That was not the case with Proposition 130, which, according to opponents such as the ACLU Colorado, means it will force lawmakers to prioritize law enforcement at the cost of other needs in their budgets. Supporters, including conservative group Advance Colorado, argued the initiative would help reduce crime.

🚫 Proposition 131: Establishing all-party primaries and ranked-choice voting for general election

This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have replaced single-party primaries with all-candidate primaries and introduced ranked-choice voting for general elections. The change would affect races for Congress, state Legislature, governor, and other state offices like the State Board of Education. Local races and presidential elections would have remained unchanged. For the all-party primaries, every candidate would be listed on the same ballot, with the top four vote-getters moving on to the general election. In the general election, instead of selecting one candidate, voters would rank candidates in order of preference.

Similar proposals for nonpartisan primaries and ranked-choice voting are on the ballot in Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, South Dakota, and Montana this election (and all seem poised to fail, as in Colorado). The measure was endorsed by a number of high-profile politicians, including Governor Jared Polis, Senator John Hickenlooper, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, with many of them claiming it would encourage bipartisanship.

The state Republican and Democratic parties both came out against the initiative, though, saying that it would help wealthy candidates because primaries would become more expensive to compete in.

✅ Proposition JJ: Retaining additional sports betting revenue

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow the state to keep excess money garnered from the recently legalized sports betting industry to spend on water conservation projects. When voters approved sports gambling in 2019, a 10 percent tax on casinos’ sports gambling (up to $29 million) was instituted. The levy helps fund the state’s sports gambling addiction programs, with any remaining money going to Colorado Water Conservation Board. But Coloradans love sports betting so much that tax collections are expected to exceed $36 million this year—well above the limit. Under the current framework, any excess funds would be returned to the sportsbooks; Proposition JJ lets the state hang on to it.

✅ Proposition KK: Instituting a new excise tax on gun and ammunition

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will create a new 6.5 percent tax on all sales of ammunition, firearms, and gun parts. Money generated by the levy will be used to support programs for crime victims and behavioral support groups for veterans and kids. It’s estimated the tax will raise around $39 million annually. (Democratic state lawmakers referred the tax to the ballot.) Opponents, including the National Rifle Association and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said it was an effort by the government to make it more difficult for citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Denver Ballot Measures

✅ Ballot Measure 2Q: Raising sales taxes to support Denver Health

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will increase the city’s sales tax by 0.34 percent—3.4 cents on a $10 purchase—to help fund Denver Health. The extra money (estimated to be about $70 million a year, based on 2023 data) will help with a budget deficit of some $120 million at Colorado’s premier safety-net hospital. Denver Health serves about a quarter of the city’s population each year.

🚫 Ballot Measure 2R: Imposing a sales tax to fund affordable housing

This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have enacted a 0.5 percent sales tax to help fund Mayor Mike Johnston’s plan to build and preserve thousands of affordable housing units. The levy would have been equivalent to five cents on a $10 purchase, bringing in an estimated $100 million a year (in addition to the $60 million Johnston set aside in his 2025 budget to help with affordable housing). Four City Council members voted against putting this measure on the ballot, on the grounds that it lacked specifics about how the money will be spent. Johnston and other supporters have said the vagueness is by design, giving them flexibility on how best to use the funds.

✅ Ballot Measure 2S: Making the Denver Department of Human Rights and Community Partnerships a full cabinet agency

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will establish the Denver Department of Human Rights and Community Partnerships as a full cabinet agency. The mayor will be able to nominate someone to lead it, and City Council members will have the power to approve or veto said candidate. Denver Councilwoman Jamie Torres said boosting the department would “serve as a powerful symbol of Denver’s unwavering dedication to human rights and the well-being of its diverse communities.”

✅ Ballot Measure 2T: Removing the citizen requirement for police and fire department jobs

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will direct the city to remove the citizenship requirement for police and fire department jobs; right now, only U.S. citizens are allowed to apply for those roles. The initiative will allow noncitizens to apply, as long as they meet hiring standards like age and education requirements and background checks. The change will bring Denver into compliance with a federal law that prevents employers from discriminating based on national origin and citizenship status.

✅ Ballot Measure 2U: Expanding collective bargaining rights to more city employees

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will give collective bargaining rights to some 7,000 city employees, should they choose to unionize. At present, only Denver police and firefighters, along with teachers working for Denver Public Schools, are allowed that right. The initiative does not automatically make every city employee a member of a union; various groups working for the government will still have to decide to unionize. Labor groups said the measure’s passage would make city jobs more desirable and stable.

✅ Ballot Measure 2V: Adapting the collective bargaining agreement for city firefighters

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will change the bargaining agreement for Denver firefighters, making it so a neutral third-party arbiter has decision-making power in disputes between the city and the firefighters union (as it currently does in disputes between the city and the unions that represent the Denver Police Department and the Denver Sheriff Department). The change will prevent disagreements between the city and the firefighters union from going to voters to decide.

✅ Ballot Measure 2W: Changing the approval process for raising elected officials’ salaries in Denver

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow raises for elected officials in Denver to go into effect automatically. Right now, the City Council must vote to approve all increases. Proponents of the measure argued that approving the raises, which are determined by a formula outlined in the city charter, is usually just a formality, and removing the requirement will prevent awkward situations, like when the City Council must vote to give itself raises.

🚫 Ballot Measure 308: Banning fur product sales in Denver

This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have banned the sale, distribution, and trade of fur products, including mink stoles and animal-lined fur coats. Supporters of the initiative wanted to curtail the influence of the fur industry, which they said is barbaric and not environmentally friendly. Opponents argued a ban would have been harmful to local businesses that celebrate Denver’s Western heritage, as well as major area events like the Denver Powwow and the National Western Stock Show.

🚫 Ballot Measure 309: Banning slaughterhouses in Denver

This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have completely banned slaughterhouses in Denver. At the moment, there is only one operational slaughterhouse in the city: Superior Farms, a lamb-processing plant in the Globeville neighborhood (and the largest of its sort in the country). Proponents of the ban wanted to help curtail a practice they deem inhumane to both animals and humans, but the proposed ban drew criticism for targeting a single business and attempting to force the operation’s 160 employees, many of whom are immigrants, out of jobs. Opponents also argued the facility does have humane practices, including a process that is in accordance with Islamic religious traditions, and has USDA inspectors on-site at all times.

✅ Ballot Measure 4A: Allowing a $975 million bond for renovations to Denver Public Schools

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will approve a $975 million bond to help with improvements at Denver Public Schools, including upgrading safety systems and installing air conditioners at 29 DPS buildings. The financial package will be the largest in the school district’s history. It will not require a new tax; rather, it will extend taxes that were put in place to pay for bonds previously approved by Denver voters.

✅ Ballot Measure 6A: Raising debt to pay for the revitalization of downtown Denver

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow the Denver Downtown Development Authority to take on $570 million in debt—which will require a repayment cost of $847 million with interest—to help revitalize large swaths of downtown Denver. Supporters of the measure said the money could be used for things like the creation of parks and open space and converting office buildings into housing.

✅ Ballot Measure 7A: Allowing RTD to keep all of its revenue

This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow RTD to keep revenue that it’s currently required to return to taxpayers due to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), which puts a limit on how much money government entities can keep and spend in Colorado. Other local authorities have been successful in asking voters to get rid of such restrictions; RTD sought to do the same, so that half of its revenue (some $670 million) would no longer be subject to TABOR.