The 2018 midterm election in Colorado had nine proposed amendments to its constitution, four of which received a passing vote. When amending the state constitution in Colorado through voter ratification, a 55 percent supermajority is required to pass unless the proposed amendment only removes words from the constitution, then a majority vote is all that is required. The passed amendments included A, X, Y and Z.
Amendment A was titled on the ballot as, “Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution that prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime and thereby prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude in all circumstances?” The passing of this measure means that Colorado is no longer a state which permits slavery in its constitution.
Amendment X on the ballot read, “Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning changing the industrial hemp definition from a constitutional definition to a statutory definition?” The passing of this amendment means that hemp is now defined in the same way as federal law states and if this law changes, so will the definition in Colorado. Under current federal law, industrial hemp includes anything from the plant Cannabis sativa L. that is used for industrial purposes with a THC concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
Amendment Y and Z both aimed to set new standards for redistricting in Colorado for both congressional and state legislative lines. A passing vote on amendment Y supported the creation of a 12-member commission to be responsible for approving the way district lines are drawn for congressional districts. A passing vote on amendment Z supported the same approval requirement for district lines regarding Colorado’s state House of Representatives and state Senate districts. Both of the 12-member committees will consist of four from the state’s largest political party and four with no party affiliation. Eight of the 12 need to approve of the district maps for them to be approved, which will have the aim to keep redistricting fair and representative of all populations in Colorado.
The five amendments not passed this November include Amendment 73, Amendment 74, Amendment 75, Amendment V and Amendment W. A supporting vote for Amendment 73 would have been for establishing an income tax bracket system, different from the current flat rate, to raise taxes for individuals earning over $150,000 per year to create the Quality Public Education Fund. This fund would have supported special education, gifted and talented programs, preschool funding, English language programs and a raise in per-student funding. The other failed amendments aimed to compensate property owners when a government law decreased that property’s value, limit campaign contributions and spending, reduce the age qualification of General Assembly members and change the wording of the judge retention portion of the ballot.
When amendments are not passed, no major change will happen in the state as new law is not put into action; the large results seen after this election in regards to this will be from the passed amendments.
