It’s easier to change Colorado’s Constitution than nearly any other state.

In the late 1880s, railroad barons were the most powerful people in the country- especially in rapidly growing states west of the Mississippi.  They exerted a tremendous amount of influence over politicians. In 1910, citizens in Colorado who were frustrated by the power of these special interests decided to allow voters to enact laws directly via the ballot initiative process. Since then, Colorado has in place a hybrid model of state government, combining representative democracy with direct democracy.

 

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It’s easier to change Colorado’s Constitution than nearly any other state.

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Between 1990 and 2010, special interest groups have asked voters to change the constitution a whopping 93 times.
Ironically, modern-day special interest groups now use the process to insert sometimes-conflicting mandates into the Constitution. In recent years Coloradans have been overwhelmed with requests from such moneyed groups to change the Constitution. Between 1990 and 2010, no fewer than 93 proposed constitutional initiatives – also called amendments – appeared on the statewide ballot.  Whenever these initiatives pass they become part of the permanent Constitution.
 
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Between 1990 and 2010, special interest groups have asked voters to change the constitution a whopping 93 times.

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Voters have been asked to weigh in on everything from marijuana legislation to gambling, term limits, judicial reform, telecommunications, wildlife trapping, bail bonds, and qualifications for county sheriffs and coroners. 
Many people think these issues should be addressed with statutes – which are laws that can more easily be tweaked over time – rather than permanently written into the Constitution.
 
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  Voters have been asked to weigh in on everything from marijuana legislation to gambling, term limits, judicial reform, telecommunications, wildlife trapping, bail bonds, and qualifications for county sheriffs and coroners. 

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Special interests currently need to collect a relatively small number of signatures from registered voters, and do not need to collect a geographically representative sampling from voters across the state. 

That means they can hire people to stand outside busy grocery stores in Denver and gather signatures to get something on the statewide ballot. Once on the ballot, only a simple majority is required to pass the initiative.

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Special interests currently need to collect a relatively small number of signatures from registered voters, and do not need to collect a geographically representative sampling from voters across the state. 

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Initiatives that become law in recent years have proven to be in conflict with one another – creating legal and financial nightmares. 
For example, Coloradans have separately enacted the Gallagher Amendment, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and Amendment 23, which is required funding for K-12 education. These three laws have conflicting mandates, but there is nothing that can fix them unless they are sent back to the voters – which is an expensive and unrealistic proposition.
 
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  Initiatives that become law in recent years have proven to be in conflict with one another – creating legal and financial nightmares. 

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Ballot proposals are currently written in complicated legalese. 

As a result many Coloradans may vote for – or against – something, without realizing the unintended consequences that may result.

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Ballot proposals are currently written in complicated legalese. 

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There are many alternatives to changing the Constitution. 

Existing laws can be changed by a popular vote of the people through the statewide referendum process. We can also ask, and pressure, our elected lawmakers to get rid of bad old laws, and adopt new ones. 

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There are many alternatives to changing the Constitution. 

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Nearly 50 organizations have so far signed onto Constitutional reform. 
This broad-based, bipartisan support comes from a wide range of business and community leaders across Colorado. Among the groups who have signed on include: Action 22, Club 20, Center for Colorado's Economic Future, Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, the Colorado Bar Association, Colorado Contractors Association, the Colorado Farm Bureau, the Colorado Restaurant Association, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Health Foundation, the Denver Foundation, AARP Colorado, Associated General Contractors of Colorado, and many others.
 
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  Nearly 50 organizations have so far signed onto Constitutional reform. 

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Numerous meetings have been held over the past two years in communities all over the state – from Greeley to Durango, Boulder to Colorado Springs, Grand Junction to Pueblo.
 People who have participated include business and community leaders from education, tourism and advocacy organizations, farming and ranching interests – to name just a few. 
 
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  Numerous meetings have been held over the past two years in communities all over the state – from Greeley to Durango, Boulder to Colorado Springs, Grand Junction to Pueblo.

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Currently, only a simple majority is needed to pass a ballot initiative. 
 
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  Currently, only a simple majority is needed to pass a ballot initiative.   

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Currently, special interests can spend millions of dollars to campaign for or against a ballot initiative without fully disclosing who they are.
 
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  Currently, special interests can spend millions of dollars to campaign for or against a ballot initiative without fully disclosing who they are.  

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People want to be able to understand what they are voting on. Ideally a ballot initiative should be written at an eighth grade level.
 
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  People want to be able to understand what they are voting on. Ideally a ballot initiative should be written at an eighth grade level.  

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Currently, special interest groups pay people to collect signatures in highly populated areas along the Front Range. 

To ensure fair and diverse representation, they should have to collect signatures from across the state to put an initiative on the ballot.

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Currently, special interest groups pay people to collect signatures in highly populated areas along the Front Range. 

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Voters say they want a constitutional review committee comprised of a diverse group of citizens who would periodically review the document and make recommendations for improvements.

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If reform is passed, voters can still alter Colorado’s Constitution.
The bar would just be set higher to make such permanent changes. Amending the Constitution is serious business, and should not be changed at the whim of special interests. 
 
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  If reform is passed, voters can still alter Colorado’s Constitution.

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Currently, special interest groups pay people to collect signatures in highly populated areas along the Front Range. 

To ensure fair and diverse representation, they should have to collect signatures from across the state to put an initiative on the ballot.