Amendment 85: Plain Language Ballot Questions
Colorado
My vote power
Above average
Election date
November 3, 2026
How do we calculate my vote power?
What determines the vote power rating for ballot measures: Representation: how much weight one vote carries here compared with a statewide vote — the smaller the district, the more each vote counts. You have more power in ballot measures because you vote directly on the policy.
Representation: Average · 50 out of 100
This district covers a large share of its state, so each vote carries about average weight — like a vote in a statewide race. About 5,862,189 people live here.
Show the representation math
score = 50 + 50 × ln(state population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50 + 50 × ln(5,862,189 ÷ 5,862,189) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50, measured against a statewide vote in CO (grades: 66+ high, 55+ above average, 33+ average, otherwise low; a statewide race is the 50 baseline)
Average representation + a direct vote on the policy → My vote power: Above average.
Ballot Measure
All state and local ballot questions would have to be written in plain language at no more than an 8th-grade reading level. State laws could no longer force extra wording into citizen-initiated ballot titles, and your taxes do not change.
A YES vote means
Ballot questions must be written in plain language at an 8th-grade level or lower, and required legal wording could not be added to citizen initiative titles.
A NO vote means
Ballot questions keep their current wording rules, including state-required language in some titles.
Campaign Finance Information
Campaign Finance Information
Largest donors supporting
- Common Sense America · VANational nonprofit; donors not public$250,000
- Advance ColoradoColorado conservative advocacy nonprofit$20,000
- Richard McCormickDenver retiree$5,000
Some of this money went to groups that also work on other measures.
Largest donors opposing
- Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Action FundImmigrant rights advocacy group$50,000
- Coloradans for Real Safety SolutionsColorado issue committee against Proposition 132Its top donors: Lynn Schusterman (Tulsa philanthropist); ACLU of Colorado; Signal Behavioral Health Network$50,000
- Cobalt FoundationAbortion rights advocacy group$35,000
- AFSCME · DCPublic employees union$25,000
- Colorado Fund for Children & Public EducationColorado teachers union political fund$15,000
Some of this money went to groups that also work on other measures.
Filings as of September 17, 2026 · Sources: tracer.sos.colorado.gov2
Sources: coloradosos.gov · sos.state.co.us