History of Election Results for Ballot Issues

Both the Colorado Constitution and state statutes are subject to amendment by legislatively referred and citizen-initiated measures. The process is governed by the Colorado Constitution and state law.¹

Legislatively referred measures. The Colorado General Assembly may refer constitutional measures to the voters with a two-thirds vote of both houses, and may refer statutory measures to the voters with a majority vote of both houses. The General Assembly submitted its first measure to Colorado voters in 1880.

Citizen-initiated measures. Any Colorado resident may place a constitutional or statutory measure on the ballot. The use of citizen initiated measures for constitutional and statutory changes was voted into law in 1910 and became available in 1912.

Even- and odd-numbered year elections. State law clarifies the types of proposals that may appear on a statewide ballot in odd-numbered years.² Odd-year election proposals are limited to state matters arising under TABOR. These types of proposals include a new tax, a tax rate increase, an extension of an expiring tax, a tax policy change directly causing a net revenue gain, and emergency taxes. They also include the creation of multiple-year fiscal obligations or debt, an increase in the assessment rate for a class of property, the weakening of a state limit on spending, and voter-approved revenue changes. State law does not limit the types of proposals that are eligible for the ballot in even-numbered years.

Numbering and lettering for ballot measures. Beginning in November 2010, statewide citizen-initiated measures are numbered, while those that are legislatively referred are lettered. Table 1 provides further detail on the numbering and lettering schedule for statewide ballot measures.

Table 1

Ballot Measure Numbering and Lettering Schedule

	Amendment (Constitutional)	Proposition (Statutory)
Citizen-Initiated	1 to 99 (Beginning with 60*)	100 to 199 (Beginning with 100*)
Legislatively Referred	A to Z (Beginning with P*)	AA to ZZ (Beginning with AA*)

Source: Section 1-5-407, C.R.S.

*Parenthetical notes indicate the number or letter used as a starting point in 2010.

¹Colo. Const. art. V, § 1 and Sections 1-40-101, et seq., and 1-41-101, et seq., C.R.S.

²Section 1‑41-102, C.R.S.

Statewide Ballot Measures Since 1880

The tables below provide information about statewide ballot measures since 1880. Table 2 displays ballot measures by type, origin, and outcome. Table 3 classifies measures by category.

Table 2

Statewide Ballot Measures by Type, Origin, and Outcome

Type/Origin	Total	Adopted	Rejected
Constitutional	352	165	187
Citizen-initiated	157	49	108
Legislatively referred	195	116	79
Statutory	112	44	68
Citizen-initiated	79	31	48
Legislatively referred	20	10	10
Referendums*	13	3	10
Question**	9	4	5
Withdrawn/Insufficient Signatures***	6
Total Measures	479	213	260

Source: Legislative Council Staff.

*Referendums occur when citizens request a vote against any act or section of an act that contains a referendum clause and was passed by the legislature. That last referendum occurred in 1932.

**A question is a proposition in the form of a question arising under TABOR without reference to specific state legislation or a specific amendment to the state constitution.

***Ballot measures appeared on the ballot but were withdrawn or later determined to have insufficient signatures.

Table 3

Statewide Ballot Measures by Category

Category*	Total	Adopted	Rejected
Abortion	8	2	6
Agriculture and Livestock	7	2	5
Alcohol	8	3	5
Business and Labor	22	12	10
Children and Domestic Matters	4	1	3
Civil Rights	8	5	3
Criminal Justice and Public Safety	9	5	4
Education	23	10	13
Elections	46	30	16
Energy and Utilities	13	4	9
Gaming	23	9	14
General Assembly	17	10	7
Government Finance	17	5	12
Health and Human Services	11	6	5
Initiative Process	13	6	7
Judiciary and Courts	22	13	9
Local Government	22	11	11
Marijuana	4	3	1
Natural Resources	11	3	8
Public Employee Compensation	16	5	11
Public Pension	7	2	5
Property	6	2	4
State Government	49	20	29
Taxation	72	24	48
Technical Amendments	10	9	1
Term Limits	13	6	7
Transportation	12	5	7
Withdrawn/Insufficient Signatures**	6
Total	479	213	260

Source: Legislative Council Staff.

*Ballot measures were categorized by the most appropriate category; however, many measures fit under multiple categories.

**Ballot measures appeared on the ballot but were withdrawn or later determined to have insufficient signatures — Business and Labor (4); Civil Rights (1); and Marijuana (1).

Online Database of Statewide Ballot Measures Dating Back to 1880

The Secretary of State’s Office also maintains an archive of election results at: http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Archives.html.