Tag: Referendum L

Colorado's gargantuan ballot includes more than 14 constitutional amendments and referenda even after four measures were withdrawn on Oct. 2 by proponents after a surprise alliance of labor and business interests joined forces to oppose three anti-union amendments that remain. The Colorado Independent is putting the press to the test — we're compiling newspaper endorsements, analyzing them and then tracking the persuasive talents of editorial boards statewide.

Supporters of one of this fall’s ballot questions, Referendum L, say its approval by voters would allow and encourage one of the more overlooked group of voters, young Coloradans, to become more involved in the political process. Referendum L, which was placed on the ballot by the state legislature earlier this year, asks voters to lower the age required to serve in the Colorado statehouse from 25 to 21.

With the longest ballot in the country this year, Colorado voters will face a dizzying list of 18 questions come November. But impassioned, signature-gathering citizens aren't the only ones to blame for packing the mondo ballot. Four of the questions were placed on the ballot by the state legislature. Called referenda, this year's items deal with state government rules and procedures. And, in a grand twist, one of them makes it harder for citizens to amend the state's constitution via the initiative process.

Colorado voters haven't faced a ballot this long since 1912, the first year citizens were able to initiate laws in the state. After striking a pro-affirmative action measure for insufficient signatures Wednesday night, the Secretary of State's office drew a line under a total 18 statewide questions for the November ballot -- 14 initiated by citizens and four referred by the State Legislature.