Amendment G  - Modify Property Tax Exemption for Veterans with Disabilities

This amendment would change the state constitution to extend eligibility for the homestead exemption to veterans who have unemployability status. Currently, veterans can only qualify if they have a service-connected disability rated as 100 percent. 

CDP recommends voting YES because:

3,400 veterans in Colorado will qualify for this property tax exemption if the amendment passes, and it will expand existing law to capture all veterans with unemployability status. Qualifying individuals can reduce their property taxes by exempting 50 percent of the first $200,000 of the value of their home. In 2023, the homestead exemption reduced property taxes for veterans and Gold Star spouses by an average of $586.

Amendment H - Judicial Discipline Procedures and Confidentiality

This initiative aims to increase the transparency, independence, and integrity of the judicial discipline process. It would: 

• Create an independent adjudicative board to preside over ethical misconduct hearings; 

• Allow for increased public access to judicial discipline proceedings and records. 

CDP recommends voting YES because:

This measure is a compromise recommended by nearly all members of the General Assembly and formally by the Judicial Branch. Should this pass, Colorado’s judicial system will be more accountable and transparent to the public.

Amendment I - Bail Exception for First Degree Murder

This amendment would restore the ability of judges to deny bail to people charged with first degree murder when certain criteria are met.

CDP recommends voting YES because:

This measure closes a loophole that allows those charged with first-degree murder to post bail. This loophole was inadvertently opened in 2020 when Colorado abolished the death penalty.

Amendment J  - Repealing the Definition of Marriage in the Constitution

This amendment would repeal the definition that states that only a union of one man and one woman is a valid or recognized marriage in Colorado.

CDP recommends voting YES because:

LGBTQ+ members of our community deserve the same access to marriage as anyone, and this initiative will allow our Constitution to better reflect our values that marriage is a basic right for all Coloradans. It will also protect Coloradans’ right to marriage should the Supreme Court overturn previous decisions.

Amendment K - Modify Constitutional Election Deadlines

This amendment would make deadlines 1 week earlier for citizens to submit signatures for initiative and referendum petitions and for judges to file declarations of intent to seek another term. It would also require that the content of ballot measures be published 30 days earlier than under current law.

CDP recommends voting YES because:

This measure will assist election officials in conducting elections to the best of their ability. It will give election officials more time to format, translate, and review ballots for accuracy before they are sent to voters. It ensures that newspapers publish the content of ballot measures sooner and before voters receive their ballots.

Amendment 79 - Right to Abortion 

This initiative would make abortion a constitutional right in Colorado and repeal the existing constitutional ban on state and local government funding for abortion

CDP recommends voting YES because:
People enrolled in state health insurance plans – teachers, firefighters, and other state employees – should have access to abortion coverage. We all deserve the freedom to make personal, private healthcare decisions – and that right shouldn’t depend on the source of their health insurance or who is in office. 

More info: Protect the Right to Abortion in Colorado

Proposition JJ  - Retain Additional Sports Betting Revenue

This amendment would allow the state to keep sports betting tax revenue above the current amount allowed and use this money for water projects, rather than refunding it to casinos and sports betting operators.

CDP recommends voting YES because:

Retaining all collected tax revenue from sports betting will strengthen financial support for water conservation and protection projects in Colorado, particularly as national demands on Colorado water increase. Voters approved retention of revenue from sports betting and capped it at $29M in 2019; this initiative allows for collection of all sports betting revenue as the industry grows and revenue surpasses that cap.

Proposition KK - Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax

This amendment would create a new tax on firearm sellers of 6.5% of sales of firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition, and exempts this money from the state’s revenue limit as a voter-approved revenue change. The new tax revenue will be used to fund crime victim support services, mental health services for veterans and youth, and school safety programs.  

CDP recommends voting YES because:

Securing reliable funding for victim and mental health services for communities and individuals impacted by gun violence is an important goal of this measure. This initiative will address funding insecurity for veterans, crime victims, and behavioral health programs while exempting law enforcement officers, agencies and active-duty military service members from the tax.

Amendment 80 - School Choice

This initiative addresses school choice for parents of children in K-12. It defines school choice to include private schools and “other future innovations in education.”

CDP recommends voting NO because:

The Colorado Constitution already guarantees a free public education and Colorado has robust school choice laws that allow parents to choose from many public school options, or to educate their children in private or home schools. The measure could result in redirecting funding from public schools to private and home schools.

More info: Don’t be fooled: Amendment 80 is not just about school choice

NO on 80 - Protect Our Public Schools

Proposition 128 - Concerning Eligibility for Parole

This initiative would increase the amount of prison time a person convicted of certain crimes of violence must serve before becoming eligible for discretionary parole or earned time reductions, and make a person convicted of a third crime of violence ineligible for discretionary parole or earned time reductions.

CDP recommends voting NO because:

This initiative removes the opportunity for convicted people to achieve earned time,

giving them less incentive to obey prison rules or take advantage of rehabilitation opportunities. It will cause the prison population to grow, costing the state $28 million, and will require additional staff when many prisons are already short-staffed and have difficulty recruiting and retaining employees. There is no evidence the measure will reduce crime rates, nor that increased penalties deter crime in general. Colorado should instead invest in addressing the root causes of crime, including income inequality and a lack of community resources.

Proposition 131 – Establishing All-Candidate Primary and Ranked Choice Voting General Elections

This initiative would create an all-candidate primary election for certain state and federal offices, where the top four candidates advance to the general election. It would allow voters to rank those candidates in the general election with votes counted over multiple rounds to determine who wins the election.

CDP recommends voting NO because:

Kent Thiry, an extremely wealthy Colorado businessman who has mused about running for Governor, is the primary power and money behind the measure. Thiry dropped $1.1 million just days before the 2024 Colorado primary to influence the outcomes, and has a long history of using his personal wealth to influence our elections and state policies. 

The system Thiry is proposing would likely make political extremism worse and increase the amount of dark money in Colorado’s elections. It would allow for well-funded special interest groups and wealthy individuals to have even more sway over our politics and which candidates move on to the General Election. 

A University of Minnesota Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs 2023 study found that this system: does not tend to produce more diversity of elected officials; decreases voter participation due to confusion; and does not decrease negative campaigning or polarization in elections. 

To make matters more complicated and dangerous, there is no statewide CO SOS approved risk-limiting audit to verify the outcome of these types of elections the initiative proposes, inviting risk and doubt to cloud results when compared to our current system.

The Democratic Party favors approaching RCV in a responsible manner, including testing RCV in more contests and in more areas to identify best practices and common issues before forcing it upon the entire state in an unproven and unsafe way. 

This is not a partisan issue; we must ensure that everyone’s vote counts and that we do not give millionaires and special interests even more power over our democracy.

For more info: Western Colorado Alliance Strongly Opposes Prop 131

Proposition 127 - Prohibit Trophy Hunting of Mountain Lions, Lynx, and Bobcats 

This initiative would prohibit the hunting or trapping of bobcats, lynx, and mountain lions while continuing to permit the killing of these animals under certain circumstances and establishing penalties for violations.

CDP has not taken a position on this initiative because:
Wildlife biology is best conducted at the discretion of experts in the field, government agencies, and wildlife advocates, not at the ballot box, and the impact of increased mountain lion populations on humans and livestock interactions is unknown.

Proposition 129 – Establishing Veterinary Professional Associates

This initiative would create a state-regulated profession of veterinary professional associate in the field of veterinary care, and outline minimum education and qualifications required.

CDP has not taken a position on this initiative because:

Policies regarding veterinarian services are best set by experts in the field, government agencies, agriculture interests, and wildlife/animal advocates, not at the ballot box.

More Info: https://coloradosun.com/2024/10/17/opinion-colorado-proposition-129-vet-associate-against/

Proposition 130 – Funding for Law Enforcement

This initiative directs the state to spend $350 million to recruit, train, and retain local law enforcement officers and provides an additional benefit for families of officers killed in the line of duty. The measure does not create a new revenue source to fund this mandate.

CDP has not taken a position on this initiative because:

This measure is an unfunded mandate that doesn’t raise any revenue in our budget for law enforcement officers or agencies. Law enforcement officers and agencies deserve more than political tactics and messaging measures meant to create negative ads: they deserve dedicated sustainable funding sources that don’t result in possible cuts to other critical public services, such as K-12 education and crime prevention policies.