Ballot Measures

‘Eggmendment’ backers go national, vow to target every petition state

Despite a crushing defeat at the ballot box in Colorado on Tuesday, supporters of Amendment 48, the so-called “Personhood” Amendment, aren’t “taking the loss personally,” and have launched plans to take the fight to 16 more states, according to an anti-abortion news site and a Web site established by the group. The measure would have defined a fertilized egg as a person. It was widely seen as an end run around Roe v. Wade in an attempt to outlaw abortion, but opponents said it would also ban most forms of contraception.

Two more states go ‘green’ as Mass., Mich. ease marijuana laws

In results that underline a national trend, Massachusetts and Michigan voters approved easing marijuana laws on Tuesday.

After Colorado loss, Ward Connerly may pull the plug on affirmative-action bans

Anti-affirmative-action guru Ward Connerly will likely halt his nationwide push to end race and gender preferences. Connerly, a part black California businessman, spoke with the Colorado Independent an hour after Amendment 46 toppled by an extremely thin margin.

The so-called Colorado Civil Rights Initiative was the first Connerly amendment to flop after making it onto a state ballot. It was also a key measure in Connerly’s Super Tuesday for Equal Rights campaign, a nationwide thrust to dismantle affirmative action programs in five states this year. In three of those states, the measure failed to make it onto the ballot, and Thursday, after a feverishly close tally, it collapsed in Colorado. Nebraska was the only state this year to approve the proposal.

Yes on 50 means more action in Colorado’s casinos, big payout for higher ed

As foreshadowed by the $7.5 million campaign put together by Coloradoans for Community Colleges, Amendment 50 has passed. That means voters in Cripple Creek, Central City and Blackhawk will soon vote on raising the maximum bet limit in Colorado from $5 to $100, allowing casinos to stay open 24/7 and bringing in craps and roulette.

BREAKING: Amendment 46 shot down

Amendment 46, the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, has failed. The Rocky Mountain News just posted the outcome of the race on its election results page; the contest was in limbo for the past day and a half.

Remaining anti-union ballot measure may go to courts

Amendment 54, the “clean government” initiative targeting union supporters and their family members, looks likely to pass, sparking was could be another costly legal battle.

‘Right-to-work’ gets trampled in Colorado

On Election Day, Colorado voters decided against Amendment 47, a contentious “right-to-work” measure that sought to restrict the way unions organized in the state. It has been more than three decades since such a proposal was actually defeated on the ballot.

Liveblog: Colorado ballot amendment results

Early results are starting to trickle in for Colorado’s record slate of 10 ballot amendments and four referenda, and just as the latest polling numbers indicated, it’s not looking good for controversial measure ranging from a personhood (or egg as a person) amendment to a slew of right-to-work measures to an anti-affirmative action amendment critics claim was deceptively worded.

Will Democratic dominance doom the energy boom?

With Democrats poised to win Colorado’s second U.S. Senate seat, solidify their hold on the state legislature and possibly win commissioner seats in key energy-producing counties, former Republican congressman Scott McInnis warns the state’s natural-gas boom is about to bust.

Amendment 50: Odds on the casinos

Amendment 50 promises to pour millions into Colorado’s community colleges without raising taxes in an economy teetering towards recession. Why then, are so many people complaining that this gift horse has rotten teeth?