Summit County's referring resolution calls the 2018 levy temporary, and the county manager's memo puts its expiration in 2028. That date gives the county's voters a scheduled decision on whether the levy, its five purposes and its rate still earn their support. A yes vote on Referred Measure 1A cancels that decision for good: the county's resolution describes the extension as lasting in perpetuity, and the question frees the revenue from the limits of TABOR and any other law.

To keep the levy past 2028, the county would have to bring Strong Future back to Summit County voters and make its case again for each of its five purposes, and we count that return trip as the check voters hold on this tax. Once the levy has no expiration, no date on the calendar requires that trip.

This measure would permanently increase the TABOR revenue limit and change its underlying formula, with retained revenue directed to K-12 education and child-related programs in the first ten years, and any other purpose in subsequent years; in other words, a blank check.

Most school districts are not subject to the TABOR limit at the local level, school enrollment is declining, and per-pupil funding is at all-time highs.

Meanwhile, TABOR remains popular in Colorado because voters understand that unrestricted government growth comes at the expense of the economy, and that taxpayers know how to spend their money better than government officials.

If passed, billions of dollars that would otherwise be returned to taxpayers will be taken out of the economy, ending TABOR refunds for the foreseeable future, exacerbating volatility in the state’s already unsustainable budget, and weakening the economy.

While this ballot question has all of the buzz words that we care about: reduce the risk of wildfire, conserve Colorado’s water, land, parks, and wildlife, and ensure the health and vitality of Colorado’s forests and watershed, this ballot question is greedily asking to keep TABOR (Colorado Taxpayers Bill of Rights) refunds, that should be returned to the taxpayers, to fund ten bureaucracies that award government grants to cronies and interested parties. The ballot question is disingenuous and dishonest because it uses the term “without raising taxes.” If Colorado keeps overcollected taxes instead of returning them to the people, that is a tax increase.

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Prop 137 allows the state to permanently “de-TABOR” state sales tax revenue generated by sporting goods and equipment for wildfire prevention and outdoor recreation purposes. Proponents estimate that roughly $175 million annually would be removed from the state’s TABOR revenue caps and redirected to state programs previously funded by lottery funds, oil and gas taxes, fishing licenses, etc., as well as $8.6 million for “Outdoor recreation workforce training” and an “Outdoor Equity Grant Program.”

Independence Institute always opposes thinly disguised budget tricks that weaken TABOR and eliminate taxpayer refunds. Prop 137 appears to be a gambit to backfill revenue for GOCO and the Department of Natural Resources, along with a few new programs redundant in purpose with existing programs. Coloradans don’t need a new government agency to teach us how to recreate outdoors.

This measure would amend the Colorado Constitution to protect the right of consumers to purchase natural gas for cooking and heating, and the right of distributors to sell natural gas.

Natural gas heats nearly 70 percent of Colorado households and is a leading source of in-state electricity generation. Natural gas was about a quarter the cost of electricity per unit of energy delivered in 2024.

Colorado is cracking down on natural gas. Gas utilities must cut emissions by 22 percent by 2030, 41 percent by 2035, and aim for 100 percent by 2050. Hitting those targets will require taking customers off natural gas, and Xcel Energy estimates residential retrofits at over $20,000 per home.

If passed, local governments that have or are considering building codes restricting natural gas will need to conform. Amendment 82 guarantees that Coloradans can keep buying the fuel that already heats their homes.

This amendment to the Colorado Constitution requires voters to add additional information to their signed ballot to establish the voter’s identity. Acceptable information includes the last four digits of a Social Security number, a Colorado Real ID number, or similar. Amendment 84 protects voters against the vulnerabilities that occur when ballots are mailed to an outdated address and should increase faith in our election process.

In 2019, Colorado legislators weakened the state’s penalties for drug possession, and within one year the overdose rate increased by over 800%. Admitting their failure, legislators revised and restored many, but not all, penalties in 2022. Prop 132 closes many of the remaining loopholes and increases sentencing requirements.

Today’s brew of synthetic drugs is extraordinarily dangerous, and illegal drug manufacturers and distributors deliberately aim for loopholes in state laws. Colorado’s recent experience clearly shows that fentanyl possession in any amount leads to more addiction and overdose deaths.

Prop 134 requires student athletes to participate on men’s or women’s teams that match their biological reproductive systems. Current Colorado law allows athletes to play on teams that do not match their biological sex, while federal and international organizations prohibit such participation. There may be a debate about how prevalent this recent phenomenon is in Colorado, but there is no question that any number of biological boys participating in girls’ athletics is unacceptable and jeopardizes the integrity of the sport, not to mention the rights of every girl to fair competition.

The impacts of allowing biological males to participate in girls’ sports degrade every student’s perception of fairness and the values of hard work and competition. This is as close to Orwell’s “2 + 2 = 5” test as we may ever see. The International Olympic Committee completed an exhaustive review of relevant studies in March of 2026 and confirmed that biological males have clear advantages in every form of competition involving endurance, agility, or strength. The IOC subsequently imposed clear rules ensuring that only biological women can participate in women’s sports. Colorado’s state law favoring transgender athletes places athletic programs, schools, and girls everywhere in an impossible position. Colorado voters should vote “yes” and change that law.

Income taxes are taxes on productivity, creativity, and hard work; therefore income taxes should be low and treat all taxpayers equally and impartially. Under a flat tax, individuals earning more income pay more in taxes. Someone making $50,000 would pay $2,200.00 in state income tax while someone making $500,000 would pay $22,000.00. Paying the same tax rate for all Coloradans is only fair and equitable.

The language in this ballot is loose. They use the words "SUCH AS" instead of what exactly they plan on doing. The previous Mill Levy was voted in on the premise the money would be used to boost young teacher salaries and recruit new teachers. Instead they boosted senior teachers salaries giving them higher retirement pensions and left the younger teachers with a fractional pay raise. 

Summit's school board approved its 2026-27 budget on a consent agenda without additional discussion, then asked district voters for $5.9 million more in 2027 and whatever later amounts the override limit allows. We find that order backward. In the district's survey, 64% of respondents said it has the resources to provide students an excellent education, and only 40% agreed that it spends taxpayer money appropriately.

We want a school district to show its community, line by line, how it spends the money it has and what that money does for students before it seeks more. The question lists pay for teachers and staff as one example among several and reserves no part of the revenue for it. We oppose Issue 4A. We ask Summit's board to put its spending through that kind of public review before it returns to the ballot.

This measure would amend the Colorado Constitution, removing the requirement that all individual and corporate incomes be taxed at one rate. It would then create a graduated income tax system with six marginal tax brackets that are not indexed to inflation, and is expected to generate billions of dollars in TABOR-exempt revenue annually.

Because of bracket creep, all Coloradans will experience long-term tax increases under this “progressive’ system, as incomes rise due to wage growth and inflation, while the brackets remain fixed. This is a major long-term tax increase on Coloradans through no fault of their own.

Additionally, Colorado’s highest earners, whom this measure targets, are crucial to the state’s business and philanthropy sectors, government revenue, and job creation. The downstream economic effects of punishing Colorado’s most productive will result in fewer businesses, fewer jobs, higher tax burdens, and a weaker economy.

This amendment to the Colorado Constitution will require state and local law enforcement agencies to notify federal immigration authorities if they cannot determine the immigration status of a violent criminal or a repeat criminal offender.

As a general rule, we oppose the federal government meddling in education, health care, and many other sectors never mentioned in the US Constitution. Immigration, however, is most definitely a federal power, and American states would not be “united” if each one interpreted immigration law differently. This amendment does the absolute bare minimum to ensure that federal authorities are aware of potential foreign nationals who have committed crimes.

This amendment to the Colorado Constitution guarantees the citizens the status quo right to hunt and fish established game species in the state. It clarifies that hunting and fishing will remain Colorado’s preferred method of managing fish and wildlife populations, while also protecting against trespass on private property.

Independence Institute is a leading voice for 2nd Amendment rights in Colorado, and protecting our right to hunt is essential in order to exercise our constitutional right to lawfully use a firearm.

This amendment to the Colorado Constitution requires plain language be used for ballot titles and their supporting text. We generally oppose any limitations on citizen-led ballot initiatives, but we also want Coloradans to understand what they are voting on. Amendment 85 provides some necessary guardrails to ballot language, both referred and citizen-initiated. Locally referred measures, in particular, often seem complicated and cryptic when a plain language description should be easy to generate.

This amendment to the Colorado Constitution prohibits modifications to the final congressional map mid-cycle if they divide communities of interest or purposefully favor one political party, and without a minimum of three public hearings. Background: In the middle of a nationwide state-by-state mid-cycle redistricting battle, the Colorado Supreme Court rejected efforts by the Democrat-controlled Colorado legislature to gerrymander Colorado’s congressional districts for partisan gain on procedural grounds. Amendment 86 ensures that such mid-cycle gerrymandering attempts are clearly prohibited. Colorado’s current redistricting process may not be perfect, but it’s probably better than all of its preceding versions.

Colorado’s children are not for sale. It is egregious to buy or sell a child for sex, therefore we support life in prison without parole or release for such individuals. VOTE YES ON PENALTIES FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING OF A MINOR.

Prop 135 prohibits healthcare professionals from performing or providing surgeries to persons under age 18 for the purpose of altering biological sex characteristics, and prohibits the use of tax dollars or insurance coverage to pay for such procedures.

While a federal prohibition on such surgeries works its way through the courts, the fact that such procedures remain possible causes all kinds of ethical and legal questions beyond the obvious life-altering impacts of such surgeries.

Colorado has seen several instances where a parent lost control of their child’s welfare simply because they did not embrace the child’s “gender identity.” Prop 135 does not prevent kids from receiving hormone treatments, or families from adapting to their kids’ needs, but rather prohibits medical procedures that may render a child sterilized for life based upon a faulty psychological assessment.