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Colorado Ballot Measure Would Protect Hunting and Fishing in State Constitution
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Ballot Measure Would Protect Hunting and Fishing in State Constitution

By Mike Krause | Complete Colorado DENVER–Colorado voters will decide in November whether to enshrine hunting and fishing as a constitutional right, after the secretary of state’s office on Wednesday confirmed Initiative #302 qualified for the general election ballot. Backers of the measure, formally titled “Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish,” turned in over 184,000 petition signatures, with state election officials declaring more than 145,000 of those as valid, easily clearing the roughly 124,000 signature threshold required for constitutional amendments, as well as the 2% per-district requirement in all 35 of Colorado’s state senate districts. The measure, backed by the newly formed T. Roosevelt Conservation Alliance, amends the Colorado Constitution to establish...
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Hunters and Anglers Rally Behind Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Hunters and Anglers Rally Behind Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish

By Chris Dorsey | The Denver Gazette For generations, Coloradans hunted elk, caught trout and managed wildlife without consulting a constitutional attorney. That was before wildlife management became a recurring statewide election issue, replete with consultants, national pressure groups and enough political mail to denude an aspen grove.   Now comes Initiative 302, the proposed “Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish,” driven by sportsmen who have concluded that activities legal today may require constitutional protection to remain legal tomorrow. Supporters submitted more than 180,000 signatures on July 8, well above the 124,238 valid signatures required. The secretary of state has until Sept. 2 to verify them. Nothing says “settled Colorado tradition” quite li...
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Convention of States has a Colorado bill ready for 2027. It still has no sponsor.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Convention of States has a Colorado bill ready for 2027. It still has no sponsor.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Convention of States Action (COSA) says more than 62,000 Coloradans have signed its petitions calling for a constitutional convention to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit its power, and set term limits for Congress.  The organization has a draft bill ready for the 2027 legislative session.  Its representatives have met with senior policy staff in the Governor's Office.  According to Michael Forbis, a 20-year Army veteran and Colorado Springs resident who volunteers on COSA Colorado's Legislative Liaison Team, House Republican staff distributed an earlier version of the proposal to the caucus's 22 members. What it does not have is a single Colorado legislator willing to spons...
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RNC Sues Griswold Over Overseas Voters With No Colorado Residency History
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

RNC Sues Griswold Over Overseas Voters With No Colorado Residency History

By: Mike Krause | Complete Colorado DENVER–The Republican National Committee on Friday filed suit in Denver District state court against Secretary of State Jena Griswold, challenging her office’s policy of allowing overseas voters who have never set foot in Colorado to cast ballots in state elections. Filed just four days before Colorado’s primary election, the suit argues Griswold’s implementation of the state’s overseas voter law runs headlong into the Colorado Constitution’s residency requirement. Griswold is also a candidate for Colorado attorney general in the June 30 Democrat primary. “Residency is not inherited and cannot be established by proxy,” the complaint reads. “An individual who has never personally made Colorado his or her home has not ...
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Colorado’s Original Constitution Was a Bold Blueprint for Liberty
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s Original Constitution Was a Bold Blueprint for Liberty

By Rob Natelson | Commentary., Complete Colorado This year marks the 150th anniversary of the original Colorado Constitution, which in a recent column I called “an extraordinary testament to human freedom.” The state constitution remains in effect today, but in a mangled form far less protective of liberty than when it became effective on August 1, 1876. As my prior column pointed out, the document imposed severe limitations on taxes, spending, and state debt—limitations far more restrictive than those currently mandated by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). The Colorado founders’ dedication to freedom also appeared in their constitution’s bill of rights. The U.S. Bill of Rights consists only of ten relatively short amendments; the original Colo...
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Bird Resignation Rekindles Debate Over Unelected Lawmakers
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Bird Resignation Rekindles Debate Over Unelected Lawmakers

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER – Despite new laws governing vacancies in the Colorado legislature, Democrat statehouse member Shannon Bird has still found a workaround that throws a wrench into her constituents’ ability to choose their representative at the ballot box. Bird announced earlier this month she would be stepping down from her seat in House District 29 on Jan. 5 to focus on her bid for the US Congressional District 8 seat, currently held by Republican Gabe Evans. Bird’s unique timing for vacating HD 29, which includes parts of Adams and Jefferson counties, takes advantage of a quirk in the law allowing for her replacement to serve possibly an entire extra year more than state statute sets forth for House members. The meaning of ‘half’ ...
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Colorado Voters Could Decide Future Of ICE And Local Law Enforcement Cooperation
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Voters Could Decide Future Of ICE And Local Law Enforcement Cooperation

By Ryan Fish | Denver7 Initiative, currently undergoing signature verification, would include offenders charged with a violent crime or repeat felony. DENVER — Next fall, Colorado voters could decide whether local law enforcement should be required to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in certain cases. The proposed ballot measure would require law enforcement notify the Department of Homeland Security if a person “not lawfully present in the United States”—or with an “unknown” lawful presence after a “reasonable effort” to determine it—is charged with a violent crime or if the person has been convicted of a prior felony. Conservative non-profit Advance Colorado is pushing for the p...
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Colorado election results may violate 1946 Secret Ballots Amendment
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado election results may violate 1946 Secret Ballots Amendment

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Colorado Constitution guarantees the right for citizens to vote in secret.  Article VII, Section 8 states that all elections by the people shall be by ballot, and no ballots shall be marked in any way that would allow the ballot to be identified as the ballot of a particular person. And in 1946, Colorado voters approved the Secret Ballots Amendment that explicitly provided for secret ballots.  However, if a voter voluntarily shares how he or she voted, they may do so. Colorado Revised Statute §1-13-712 says that any voter who makes available an image of the voter’s own ballot through electronic means, after it is prepared for voting, is deemed to have consented to the transmittal of that image. So i...
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Push to Enshrine the Public’s Right to Know in Colorado Constitution Gains Steam
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State, Approved, Colorado Freedom of Information

Push to Enshrine the Public’s Right to Know in Colorado Constitution Gains Steam

By Jeffrey A. Roberts | Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition Colorado’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press, broadly stating that “every person shall be free to speak, write or publish whatever he will on any subject.” Should it also guarantee freedom of information? An ad hoc group that includes the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition is exploring that idea this summer for a possible ballot initiative in 2026. The impetus is what seems to be a backsliding in the General Assembly on government transparency matters: The legislature exempted itself from major portions of the Colorado Open Meetings Law in 2024 and lawmakers next year will likely try for a third straight session to weaken the Colorado Open Records Act. Also involved in the ...
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