Election workers can do staggering amounts of work. Passing Amendment K might help them have a little more time to do their jobs.
At its simplest, passing Colorado Amendment K would make several changes to State of Colorado election-related timelines. The proposed changes will be listed below. Amendment K is an amendment to the Colorado Constitution, and needs 55% of the votes cast to pass.
The Colorado General Assembly referred what would become Amendment K to the 2024 ballot by passing Senate Concurrent Resolution 24-002. The resolution passed the state Senate unanimously, and the state House by 61-1. There was relatively little testimony in legislative committees, except for several county clerks who testified in favor of the resolution, and it passed unanimously in all legislative committees.
In brief, the bullet points below are general descriptions of the changes proposed in Amendment K:
- Change the deadline date for filing initiative petitions with the Secretary of State from its current 3 months before the general election to at least 3 months and one week before the general election;
- Change the date for filing referendum petitions with the Secretary of State from not more than 90 days after the final adjournment of the Colorado General Assembly’s legislative session to not more than 83 days after the final adjournment. With referendums, citizens can challenge bills that the General Assembly passes, unless the bills have a “safety clause” indicating the legislature believes the bill is necessary for health or safety.
- Change the date by which the state’s nonpartisan legislative research staff must publish the text and title of every measure from at least 15 days before the final date of voter registration to 45 days before the election.
- Change the period during which a Colorado Supreme Court Justice or other statewide judges must file their declaration of intent to run for another term from not more than 6 months or less than 3 months prior to the general election to not more than 6 months and one week or less than 3 months and one week before the general election. In Colorado, judges and justices face retention elections near the end of their terms.
The Colorado County Clerks Association supports Amendment K, and here’s a link to a webpage explaining why. But in a nutshell, they believe the changes proposed will give clerks and election officials more time to get their jobs done. In their words: “As Colorado’s ballots continue to get longer and more complicated, county clerks need additional time to ensure that the ballots voters get are accurate.”
Richard’s Take
Vote YES. The changes seem reasonable and logical, and I don’t feel a need to write a lot about this one. I did have to scratch my head for a minute while wondering if I liked the proposed change to referendum petition timelines. I’ve actually considered challenging a bill although the work involved seemed too daunting at the time – but if Amendment K passes, referendum proponents will just have to work a little more expeditiously. For the most part, the proposed changes won’t affect the vast majority of Coloradans, but for those who might be affected, the changes seem clear – and it’s always been up to people involved in our political system to know and meet their deadlines.
