By Carolyn Martin

November 8^th is election day. Your ballot should be in your mailbox soon. This year on everyone’s ballot there are eight statutory changes (propositions) being proposed and three amendments to the Colorado Constitution. Of the 8 propositions, two were put forth by the legislature and the remaining six by citizen groups. All 3 amendments to the CO Constitution were put on the ballot by the legislature. 

As you consider how to vote on these ballot issues, consider the following questions:

1. Does it fall within the proper role of government as outlined in the Bible and the US & CO Constitutions?
2. Is it morally and ethically right?
3. What are the unintended consequences if enacted?
4. Will it grow the government or burden the people?
5. Who is behind it and what are their goals? (Follow the money)
6. Does it elevate one group over another?

My recommendations follow each issue in parentheses.

Constitutional Changes (requires 55% approval)

Amendment D (HCR22-1005): New 23^rd Judicial District Judges. (Yes)
Determines how judges are designated to the new judicial district. This is the role of government. Only 2 legislators (Representatives Soper and Benavidez) voted against putting this amendment on the ballot. 

Amendment E (HCR22-1003): Extend Homestead Exemption to Gold Star Spouses. (No)
Today, if you fail to pay your property taxes the state can confiscate your property which is essentially theft. Exemptions to property taxes for one group over another puts a burden on others. Property taxes as a whole should be eliminated.

Amendment F (HCR22-1006): Charitable Gaming Constitutional Amendment. (No)
Expands gambling. Currently, a nonprofit must be in existence for five years before running a gaming operation. If this passes, someone could establish a nonprofit and run gaming operations immediately.

Statutory Changes

Proposition FF (HB22-1414): Healthy Meals for All Public School Students. (No)
Only five Republicans voted to put this on the ballot: Senators Coram, Hisey, and Simpson, and Representatives Bradfield and Rich. It is not the role of government to feed the masses. It increases taxes for certain groups of people. In addition, the Biden Administration has tied any federal dollars used for these programs to changes in the Title IX definition of gender.

Proposition GG (SB22-222): Amount of Tax Owed Table for Initiatives. (No)
Passed the legislature on a party-line vote which means NO Republicans voted for it. Being supported by the past Democrat President of the Colorado Senate, John Morse, who was recalled in 2013. The issue committee (Coloradans for Ballot Transparency) has raised over $700K to push this ballot measure. It will give voters a false sense of truly understanding the fiscal impacts of ballot initiatives.

To find information on contributions to campaigns, use the campaign state finance tool Tracer.

To view the full text of these propositions and amendments, go to the CO Secretary of State’s website.

Proposition 121: State Income Tax Rate Reduction. (Yes)
Counteracts the creation and increase in fees the legislature recently implemented. Will help keep money in the pockets of all families and out of the hands of the government. 

Proposition 122: Access to Natural Medicine. (No)
This proposition legalizes the use of a group of psychedelics. The issue committee (Natural Medicine Colorado) behind this proposition raised over $2.8M which will be used to convince you to pass this in the name of liberty. The bulk of the funding (over $2.6M) has come from a group in DC. This violates biblical principles and the unintended consequences on our youth could be extreme.

Proposition 123: Dedicated State Income Tax Revenue for Affordable Housing Programs. (No)
This proposition is borne out of the idea that housing is a fundamental right and that the government has the job of redistributing wealth from those who have it to those who don’t. Consider all the above questions as you contemplate this proposition. The issue committee (Coloradans for Affordable Housing Now) who put this question on the ballot has raised over $3.6M. Over a million dollars came from an organization run by a former Democrat Senator. 

Additional resources on the ballot issues:

• Common Sense Institute: Check out their research reports on propositions FF, 121, and 123.
• Centennial Institute
• Independence Institute 

To find everything that will be on YOUR ballot, go here to view a sample ballot.

Regarding Candidates: (CHEC cannot endorse candidates, but here are some places to go to see the voting records of incumbent candidates)

• CHEC’s End-of-Session Report.
• Liberty Scorecard
• Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT)

VOTE! I recommend you vote in-person on the day of the election at your clerk and recorder’s office or, at the very least, drop your ballot off at your election office on the day of the election.

Much more could be said on all of these. Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to discuss any of the issues or candidates further.

About the Author: Carolyn Martin

Carolyn Martin serves as CHEC’s Director of Government Relations, working for you and other liberty-loving families to protect homeschool freedom, parental rights, and religious liberty at the state capitol. Subscribe to the CHEC blog for Carolyn’s regular updates here, learn more about legal issues in Colorado here, and donate to support Homeschool Freedom here. Contact Carolyn directly at carolyn@chec.org.

Disclaimer – The opinions expressed in this blog/post do not necessarily reflect the official position of Christian Home Educators of Colorado.