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Colorado Amendment 71 Repeal and Electronic Signatures Initiative (2018)
| Colorado Amendment 71 Repeal and Electronic Signatures Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Direct democracy measures | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Colorado Amendment 71 Repeal and Electronic Signatures Initiative was not on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have allowed for electronic signatures for initiated constitutional amendments and repeal the signature distribution and supermajority vote requirements for initiated amendments instituted by Amendment 71, which voters passed in 2016.[1]
Specifically, the measure's repeal of Amendment 71 would have meant that (a) the requirement that signatures be gathered from at least two percent of the registered electors in each of the state's 35 senate districts is replaced by a requirement that signatures be gathered from five percent of the registered electors statewide; and (b) the requirement that initiated amendments pass by 55 percent at the ballot box is replaced with a simple majority, 50 percent plus one, requirement.
Text of measure
Full text
A draft of the full text is available here.
Background
Amendment 71
At the election on November 8, 2016, Colorado voters approved Amendment 71. This measure required that any petition for a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment be signed by at least 2 percent of the registered electors who reside in each of the state's 35 senate districts for a proposed amendment to be placed on the ballot. This sort of law is known as a distribution requirement. Moreover, the amendment required a 55 percent supermajority vote for approval of any proposed amendment except one designed only to repeal language from the constitution.[2]
Path to the ballot
Peter Coulter and Robin Austin submitted the initiative to the Colorado Legislative Counsel for review and comment on April 17, 2017. The counsel offered comments on May 1, 2017.[3] Compliance with these recommendations is not required. The next step is for proponents to submit a draft to the Colorado secretary of state, who will convene a title board to evaluate whether the initiative meets the single-subject rule and write a ballot title.
The number of signatures required for a successful petition is equal to 5 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of secretary of state in the last general election. The same number of signatures is required for constitutional amendments, statutes, and referendums. In 2018, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment was 98,492. Due to the passage of Amendment 71 in November 2016, signatures equivalent to at least 2 percent of the registered electors who reside in the state's 35 senate districts must be part of the total.
In Colorado, petitioners have six months to collect signatures after the ballot language and title are finalized. The Colorado Constitution says that signatures must be filed three months before the election at which the measure would appear. In 2018, three months before the November election is August 6.
The measure did not qualify for the November 2018 ballot because it had either (a) never been cleared for signature gathering, (b) was abandoned by sponsors, or (c) otherwise reached a certain stage in the initiative process, but did not make the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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