The 2026 General Election ballot includes one local measure and fourteen statewide measures. Recommendations are listed below, and more information on each measure can be found in Colorado Public Radio’s voter guide.

Learn more about the Democratic candidates on this Fall’s ballot on the Colorado Democratic Party’s website.

Please consider voting YES on Ouray County 1A and two of the statewide measures:

YES – Ouray County 1A – Disaster Fund
Build a restricted fund for declared disasters in order to pay for fast initial responses, and to apply for state and federal disaster resources that require a local match. Will benefit Ouray County, Town of Ridgway, and City of Ouray. Without it, future disaster responses in Ouray County will be slower and reduced in scope.

YES - Amendment 87 - Graduated Income Tax
Colorado currently has a flat income tax rate of 4.4%. If passed, the 97% of Coloradans who make less than $500k would pay lower income taxes. Those who make over $500k would pay a higher 7% – 8% rate with $2.7 billion new dollars going to schools, health care, and child care. More info here.

YES - Proposition NN – State Public K-12 Education Funding
Colorado ranks 50th in the nation for teacher pay. Prop NN would increase school funding by allowing the state to retain revenue it already collects, without raising taxes. The money would be spent on teacher pay and retention, reducing class sizes, and creating funding for career and technical education. More info here.

Proposition 137 - Designate Sporting Goods Sales Tax Revenue for Conservation
Does not increase taxes, but retains revenue that is already collected. Moves conservation projects up in state funding priorities but will compete with other state general fund priorities like Medicaid and schools. If 87 and NN pass, this will be less of an issue. This proposition is a mixed bag, but Ouray County would disproportionally benefit due to more money in programs like GOCO and wildfire mitigation grants.

Why are there so many ballot questions?

Two billionaire funded groups paid to place 11 questions on our ballots:

"Advance Colorado" and "Protect Kids Colorado"

Don't be fooled by their deceptive ad campaigns. Vote NO to keep state law the same and tell them to stop abusing Colorado's ballots.

NO - Amendment 81 - Law Enforcement Reporting Requirements to Federal Authorities
Integrates ICE into local law enforcement, overriding current state law.

NO - Amendment 82 - Right to Natural Gas
This is a constitutional amendment that is intended to reverse Colorado climate policies that limit the use of natural gas, also known as methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. It is a handout to fossil fuel companies and would accelerate climate change impacts.

NO - Amendment 83 - Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish
An attempt to preempt future conservation efforts. Coloradans already have this right.

NO - Amendment 84 - Mail Ballot Voter Identification
Introduces new barriers to voting in Colorado as a “solution” to nonexistent fraudulent voting.

NO - Amendment 85 - Plain Language Ballot Questions
Sounds good on face value but would have the effect of allowing ballot language that is deceptive and confusing. Although ballot questions can be long and technical, they are transparent and do not hide information from voters. This question is funded by dark money organization “Advance Colorado” to run bad-faith and confusing ballot questions in the future.

NO - Amendment 86 - Congressional Redistricting
Places more restrictions on redrawing congressional maps in Colorado in an attempt to keep the state from joining the nationwide gerrymandering fight. Colorado currently has very robust redistricting laws and a mid-decade redistricting would be very difficult under current law, hence why Colorado did not redistrict this year like other states.

NO - Proposition 132 - Penalties for Fentanyl Crimes
Increases jail time for possessing small amounts while doing nothing to go after high level drug traffickers. Puts people seeking drug treatment at risk of going to jail. Another tired “war on drugs” extension.

NO - Proposition 134 - Male and Female Participation in School Sports
The measure is vaguely written and would create a regime of mandatory sex-confirmation checks for student-athletes, potentially including genital inspections.

NO - Proposition 135 - Prohibit Certain Surgeries on Minors
A very niche topic that affects very few people. Gender affirming health care is a decision that should stay between a family and their doctor. These are personal and private decisions that do not affect other people, and where government intervention would be needlessly invasive.

NO - Proposition 136 - Income Tax Rate Cap
Trickle down economics that benefits the richest 1%. Funded by dark money to interfere with the popular Amendment 87-Graduated Income Tax on this same ballot.

NO - Proposition 133 - Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor
This proposition would require life in prison for human trafficking of minors. The expanded definition of human trafficking could be abused by abortion opponents to prosecute anyone who helps a minor travel to Colorado to get an abortion, including paying for transportation and lodging. It could also result in victims of trafficking being imprisoned for life by removing judicial discretion. Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, and abortion rights advocates oppose the initiative.

More Resources

Colorado Public Radio Ballot information
https://www.cpr.org/2026/09/24/vg-2026-colorado-midterm-election-voter-guide/

Learn more about TABOR
https://coloradofiscal.org/issues/budget-taxes/#tabor

Advance Colorado advocacy group www.whoisadvancecolorado.org

Advance Colorado is a right-wing dark money group that abuses Colorado’s ballot initiative process. Eight of these ballot proposals are from Advance Colorado and its frontman, Michael Fields: Amendments 81-86, Propositions 132, and 136. Another group, Protect Kids Colorado is behind Props 133, 134, and 135

Rather than writing checks directly to ballot campaigns, billionaires write checks to foundations, which write checks to nonprofits, which write checks to advocacy groups. All to place misleading and divisive questions on Colorado’s ballot because these unpopular policies fail to become law through the Colorado Legislature. This is dark money in politics showing its ugly head.