It’s easier to change Colorado’s Constitution than nearly any other state.
Between 1990 and 2010, special interest groups have asked voters to change the constitution a whopping 93 times.
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.
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.
Initiatives that become law in recent years have proven to be in conflict with one another – creating legal and financial nightmares.
Ballot proposals are currently written in complicated legalese.
There are many alternatives to changing the Constitution.
So far, over 50 organizations have signed onto Constitutional reform.
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.
Currently, only a simple majority is needed to pass a ballot initiative.
Currently, special interests can spend millions of dollars to campaign for or against a ballot initiative without fully disclosing who they are.
People want to be able to understand what they are voting on. Ideally a ballot initiative should be written at an eighth grade level.
Currently, special interest groups pay people to collect signatures in highly populated areas along the Front Range.
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.
If reform is passed, voters can still alter Colorado’s Constitution.