Voters in Colorado to decide on 14 ballot measures in Nov., the most of any state in 2024

Colorado voters will decide on 14 ballot measures on Nov. 5, making Colorado the state with the most number of statewide measures on the ballot this year.

Seven of the measures are citizen initiatives and seven were referred to the ballot by the state legislature. Two additional initiatives concerning property taxes that had qualified for the ballot are set to be withdrawn by Sept. 6 and, therefore, will not appear on the ballot.

The measures cover a range of issues, including ranked-choice voting, abortion, and law enforcement funding. The secretary of state’s office recently confirmed that nine citizen initiatives and seven legislative referrals have qualified for the ballot.

Colorado becomes sixth state to add ranked-choice voting question to Nov. ballot

Colorado Voters First qualified an initiative for the ballot that would establish top-four primary elections and ranked-choice voting general elections for the following offices: U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, Colorado University board of regents, state board of education, and state legislature.

In addition to Colorado, five other states —Alaska, Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Oregon—have certified ballot measures for Nov. 5 related to adopting, repealing, or pre-empting ranked-choice voting. This is the most RCV-related statewide ballot measures being featured in any year. There are also two ballot initiatives, one in Arizona and one in Montana, that could lead to the adoption of RCV in these states, depending on how the legislatures choose to implement the proposals if approved.

Colorado is one of ten states set to vote on abortion-related ballot measures

Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom qualified an initiative for the ballot that would provide a right to abortion in the state constitution.

Voters in ten states—Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, and South Dakota—will decide on 11 abortion-related ballot measures in Nov. 2024. This is the most on record for a single year.

Colorado joining two other states in removing constitutional same-sex marriage bans

The state legislatures in Colorado, California, and Hawaii referred constitutional amendments to the ballot that would remove same-sex marriage bans from their state’s constitutions.

In 2020, Nevada became the first state to repeal its same-sex marriage ban from its constitution.

Three measures related to law enforcement and criminal justice will appear on the ballot

Advance Colorado qualified two initiatives for the ballot related to law enforcement and criminal justice.

One initiative would create the Peace Officer Training and Support fund to provide funding for law enforcement training, retention, and hiring; training surrounding the use of force; and death benefits for surviving spouses and children of officers or first responders killed in the line of duty.

Another initiative would increase the time that must be served by individuals convicted of certain violent crimes before becoming eligible for parole.

The Colorado State Legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the ballot that would remove the right to bail in cases of first-degree murder when the proof is evident, or the presumption is great.

Compromise deal and withdrawal of property tax initiatives

On Aug. 29, the state legislature concluded its special session after passing a bill to reduce property tax assessment rates as a compromise deal with Advance Colorado, which will, in turn, withdraw its property tax initiatives that had already qualified for the ballot.

One of the initiatives would have capped property tax revenue to 4% annual growth, and the other would have reduced property tax valuation assessment rates. The deadline to withdraw the initiatives is Sept. 6.

The state legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the 2024 ballot that would expand the property tax exemption for veterans with a disability to include veterans with individual unemployability status as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Two statutes referred by the legislature would increase state revenue requiring voter approval

The state legislature is seeking voter approval of two laws increasing state revenue. The measures require voter approval under TABOR, Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

One measure would allow the state to retain tax revenue collected above $29 million annually from the tax on sports betting proceeds. In 2019, voters approved Proposition DD, which legalized sports betting and enacted a 10% tax on sports betting proceeds.

Another measure would enact a 6.5% excise tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition which would be levied on firearms manufacturers, dealers, retailers, and ammunition vendors, and allocate the revenue to the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax Cash Fund to be used to fund crime victim services programs, education programs, and mental and behavioral health programs for children and veterans.

Two measures related to animals on the ballot

An initiative sponsored by Cats Aren’t Trophies would prohibit trophy hunting, defined by the initiative as “intentionally killing, wounding, pursuing, or entrapping a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx; or discharging or releasing any deadly weapon at a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx.”

An initiative sponsored by All Pets Deserve Vet Care would create the profession of veterinary professional associate (VPA), which would require a master’s degree and registration with the State Board of Veterinary Medicine. VPAs would be allowed to practice veterinary medicine under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.

Constitutional right to school choice on the ballot

An initiative sponsored by Advance Colorado would add a sentence to the state constitution that says, “Each K-12 child has the right to school choice.” The amendment would state that “all children have the right to equal opportunity to access a quality education” and that “parents have the right to direct the education of their children.” Under the amendment, school choice would be defined to include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.

Constitutional amendments referred by state legislature addressing state judiciary and election deadlines

The state legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the ballot that would create an independent judicial discipline adjudicative board and create rules for the judicial discipline process.

Another amendment would change deadlines for filing initiative and referendum petition signatures and judicial retention notice deadlines to remove one week to allow one extra week for the secretary of state to certify ballot order and content and election officials’ deadline to transmit ballots.

Colorado to have the most measures on the ballot out of 41 states voting on ballot measures in Nov.

As of Aug. 30, 2024, 159 statewide ballot measures have been certified for the ballot in 41 states for elections in 2024. That total includes the two initiatives set to be withdrawn in Colorado as they haven’t been formally withdrawn yet. Colorado will have the most measures on the ballot with a total of 14, followed by Arizona, which will see 13 measures on the ballot.

Over the last two decades, Colorado voters have decided on 94 ballot measures during even-numbered election years, approving 46 (48.94%) of the measures and rejecting 48 (51.06%). The annual average of measures appearing on the even-year ballot since 2004 was between nine and ten, with a minimum of three and maximum of 14 measures on the ballot.