Colorado Timeline for Counting Ballots Initiative (2024)
| Colorado Timeline for Counting Ballots Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Elections and campaigns | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Colorado Timeline for Counting Ballots Initiative was not on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.
This initiative would have required mail-in ballots to be counted upon receipt; require every ballot received before election day to be counted by election day; eliminate curing identification-deficient ballots received before election day; prohibit election results from being reported until 7:00 p.m. on election day.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the initiative would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning processing election ballots, and, in connection therewith, requiring that the counting of mail ballots begin upon receipt; requiring that every ballot received before election day be counted by election day; prohibiting the release of election results until after 7 p.m. on election day; eliminating the ability to cure an identification-deficient ballot received before election day; preserving the ability to count certain cured ballots and military and overseas citizens ballots received up to eight days after election day; and requiring the general assembly to provide the necessary funding to allow timely counting and reporting of election results? | ” |
Full text
The full text is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Colorado, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of Colorado secretary of state in the preceding general election. For initiated constitutional amendments, signature gathering must be distributed to include signatures equal to 2 percent of the registered voters who live in each of the state's 35 senate districts.
State law provides that petitioners have six months to collect signatures after the ballot language and title are finalized. State statutes require a completed signature petition to be filed three months and three weeks before the election at which the measure would appear on the ballot. The Constitution, however, states that the petition must be filed three months before the election at which the measure would appear. The secretary of state generally lists a date that is three months before the election as the filing deadline.
Constitutional amendments in Colorado require a 55% supermajority vote to be ratified and added to the state constitution. This requirement was added by Amendment 71 of 2016.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures: 124,238 valid signatures
- Deadline: August 5, 2024
The secretary of state is responsible for signature verification. Verification is conducted through a review of petitions regarding correct form and then a 5 percent random sampling verification. If the sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required valid signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If the sampling projects more than 110 percent of the required signatures, the initiative is certified. If less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed by Charles Dukes and Reoberta Lynn Moreland on January 5, 2024. Ballot language was issued for the initiative on January 18, 2024.[1]
- Sponsors did not submit signatures by the deadline on August 5, 2024.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
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