Colorado 2019 ballot measures

Elections in Colorado, 2019

• Primary: No statewide races
• General election: Nov. 5
• Voter registration deadline: None
• Early voting: 15 days prior to the election
• Absentee voting deadline: N/A

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: Yes
• Voter ID: ID required for in-person voting
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m

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On the ballot: State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Recalls • 

2020 →

← 2018

In 2019, two statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in Colorado on November 5, 2019. Voters defeated Proposition CC and approved Proposition DD.

HIGHLIGHTS

In 2019, two measures were certified for the ballot. Proposition CC would have allowed the state to retain excess revenue it is currently required to refund under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), but it was defeated.

Proposition DD was approved. Proposition DD authorized sports betting in Colorado and created a tax of 10% on those who conduct sports betting.

An additional measure was originally certified for the 2019 ballot, but the legislature voted to move the measure to the 2020 ballot instead. That measure would authorize the state to issue transportation revenue anticipation notes (TRANs)—a specific type of bond debt—in the amount of $2.337 billion with no increase to any taxes.

To get an initiated state statute or constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2019, proponents needed to collect 124,632 valid signatures within six months following an initiative proposal's finalization. Signatures were due on August 5, 2019. No citizen-initiated measures targeting the 2019 ballot submitted signatures by the deadline.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRSS	Proposition CC	State spending & finance, Transportation, and Education	Allows the state to retain excess revenue it is currently required to refund under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR); directs retained funds to be used for education and transportation purposes	d
LRSS	Proposition DD	Gambling and Taxes	Authorizes and taxes wagering on sporting events (sports betting)	a

Getting measures on the ballot

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in Colorado and Laws governing the initiative process in Colorado

In Colorado, citizens have the powers of initiative, both statute and constitutional, and veto referendum.

Odd-year ballot measures

Measures that can go on the ballot during odd years are limited to topics that concern taxes or state fiscal matters arising under TABOR, the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (Section 20 of Article X of the Colorado Constitution). This requirement was added to state statute in 1994.

Measures that can go on odd-year election ballots include measures proposing new taxes, tax increases, an extension of taxes, tax policy changes resulting in a net tax revenue gain, changes to revenue or fiscal obligations, delays in voting on ballot issues, and approval for the state to retain and spend state revenues that otherwise would be refunded for exceeding an estimate included in the ballot information booklet.

Deadlines and signature requirements

To get an initiated state statute or initiated constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2019, proponents needed to collect 124,632 valid signatures within the six months following the initiative proposal's finalization. Section 1 of Article V of the Colorado Constitution states that signatures are due three months before the election, which was August 5, 2019.

Colorado is one of 23 states that allow citizens to refer an enacted bill to the ballot as a veto referendum. As with initiatives, a veto referendum required 124,632 valid signatures. A referendum petition must be filed within 90 days following the Colorado General Assembly's final adjournment of the session in which the bill was passed. This deadline was August 1 for bills passed in the 2019 legislative session.

Proposing measures and applying to petition

Initiative proponents must submit the original text of the measure to the directors of the legislative council staff and the office of legal services for review and comment. The results of the review are presented in at least one public meeting. The proponents may then make revisions in response to the recommendations given at the meeting. If the revisions go beyond the recommendations, the revised language must be resubmitted. If no further recommendations/comments are required an additional hearing is not required. Compliance with these recommendations is not mandatory.

Once the proposed measure has been reviewed, the original, amended and final drafts must be filed with the Colorado secretary of state. The secretary must then convene a "title board," which includes the secretary of state, the Colorado attorney general, and the director of the Office of Legislative Legal Services or the director's designee. At a public meeting, the board selects a title for the measure by majority vote. The title must be phrased in the form of a "yes" or "no" question. The board may also reject a measure if it fails to comply with the state's single-subject rule. If the proponents or any registered voter are unsatisfied with the title board's chosen title or single-subject ruling, a motion for a rehearing may be filed. If objections remain after the rehearing, the proponents or any registered voter may file an appeal with the Colorado Supreme Court.

Legislative referrals

The Colorado General Assembly may also propose amendments to the people as legislatively referred constitutional amendments. A two-thirds vote of each chamber of the legislature is required to refer an amendment to the ballot. The 2019 legislative session ran from January 14 through May 3, 2019. Legislators were also able to refer state statutes to the ballot. Colorado's TABOR Amendment requires voter approval for all new taxes, tax rate increases, extensions of expiring taxes, mill levy increases, valuation for property assessment increases, or tax policy changes resulting in increased tax revenue.

Referral of 2019 state statutes

Colorado Proposition DD, Legalize Sports Betting with Tax Revenue for Water Projects Measure				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 18	Yes votes: 27 (77.14%)	No votes: 8 (22.86%)	Yes: 16; No: 3	Yes: 11; No: 5
House:	Required: 33	Yes votes: 58 (89.2%)	No votes: 6 (9.2%)	Yes: 36; No: 4	Yes: 22; No: 2
Colorado Proposition CC, Retain Revenue for Transportation and Education TABOR Measure				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required: 18	Yes votes: 20 (57.14%)	No votes: 15 (42.86%)	Yes: 19; No: 0	Yes: 1; No: 15
House:	Required: 33	Yes votes: 41 (63.07%)	No votes: 23 (35.38%)	Yes: 41; No: 0	Yes: 0; No: 23

Summary of campaign contributions

See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2019

The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees had amassed in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:

Note: In some cases committees were registered to support or oppose multiple propositions. Ballotpedia lists the total sum that all committees registered to support or oppose each proposition have received in contributions. This means that the sum of all contributions in the chart below is higher than the total amount contributed.

Ballot Measure:	Support contributions:	Opposition contributions:	Outcome:
Colorado Proposition DD	$3,866,554.44	$0.00	a
Colorado Proposition CC	$4,638,093.25	$1,921,849.90	d

Media endorsements

The table below records the endorsements of Proposition CC and Proposition DD that were made by Colorado media editorial boards. Visit the measure articles (linked at the top of the chart) to read what the editorial boards wrote regarding each measure.

If you are aware of a media editorial that is missing from the chart, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Media	Prop. CC (Retain TABOR refunds)	Prop. DD (sports betting/water projects)
The Steamboat Pilot & Today	a	a
The Journal	a	a
The Journal-Advocate	tc	a
The Daily Camera	a	a
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel	a	a
The Pueblo Chieftain	a	a
The Colorado Springs Business Journal	a	tc
The Colorado Springs Gazette	d	tc
The Denver Post	d	tc
Boulder Weekly	a	d

Historical facts

See also: List of Colorado ballot measures and History of Initiative & Referendum in Colorado

• A total of 131 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Colorado from 1995 through 2018.
• Through all years between 1995 and 2018, odd and even, the approval rate for measures appearing on Colorado's ballot (all types) was 41.22 percent. For even years only, the approval rate was 41.88 percent.
• From 1995 through 2018, the number of measures on statewide ballots ranged from zero to 14.
• From 1995 through 2018, an average of between nine and 10 measures appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years.
• From 1995 through 2018, about 42 percent (49 of 117) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years were approved, and about 58 percent (68 of 117) were defeated.

Not on the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRSS	Tobacco and Nicotine Tax Increase Measure	Taxes and Tobacco	Increases cigarette and tobacco taxes; creates a tax on nicotine products (vaping products)
CISS	Independent Oil and Gas Regulatory Commission Initiative (#64-67)	Natural resources	Abolishes the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC); creates the Colorado Independent Oil and Gas Regulatory Commission; other changes
CICA/SS	Establish Income Tax Brackets and Raise Taxes for Education Initiative (#56)	Education and Taxes	Establishes an income tax bracket system rather than a flat income tax rate and raise taxes for individuals earning more than $150,000 per year, raise the corporate income tax rate, and create the Quality Public Education Fund
CISS	Oil and Gas Severance Taxes Initiative (#22)	Energy and Taxes	Makes changes to severance taxes on oil and gas

State profile

Demographic data for Colorado
	Colorado	U.S.
Total population:	5,448,819	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	103,642	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	84.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	4%	12.6%
Asian:	2.9%	5.1%
Native American:	0.9%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	3.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	21.1%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.7%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	38.1%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$60,629	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	13.5%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Colorado. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Colorado

Colorado voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Colorado, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Colorado had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Colorado coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Colorado
• United States congressional delegations from Colorado
• Public policy in Colorado
• Endorsers in Colorado
• Colorado fact checks
• More...

See also

• 2019 ballot measures
• November 5, 2019 ballot measures in Colorado
• List of Colorado ballot measures
• Laws governing the initiative process in Colorado
• History of Initiative & Referendum in Colorado

External links

• Colorado Secretary of State Proposed Initiative Status
• Initiatives Filed with the Colorado Legislative Counsel