Colorado 2026 Ballot Measures: What’s on the November Ballot

Your ballot is already in your hands, so this page describes each statewide question in the state’s own words rather than in ours. Two primary sources carry the official record: the Colorado Secretary of State’s certified ballot content, and the 2026 State Ballot Information Booklet, the Blue Book, prepared by the nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff of the General Assembly.

WhippleWood does not support or oppose any measure on this ballot. Nothing here is a recommendation on how to vote. For the arguments for and against every measure, read the Blue Book. Legislative Council Staff write those arguments, not the campaigns.

What Are the Colorado 2026 Ballot Measures?

Fourteen statewide measures: Amendments 81 through 87 and Propositions NN and 132 through 137. Six would change the Colorado Constitution, seven would change the Colorado Revised Statutes, and one, Amendment 87, would change both. The table gives every measure the same treatment, in the Blue Book’s own words: what a yes vote does, what a no vote does, and the share of the vote it needs.

Measure names and the yes and no descriptions are reproduced from the Quick Ballot Reference Guide in the 2026 State Ballot Information Booklet, Legislative Council Staff Research Publication No. 842. These are short titles and summaries. The full official ballot title, which is the wording that governs, appears on your ballot and in the Blue Book for every measure. The Secretary of State’s certified 2026 ballot list uses shorter designations for several measures, so a name you see elsewhere may differ from the one here.

The Blue Book also defines the two choices the same way for every question on the ballot.

“A ‘yes/for’ vote on any ballot issue is a vote in favor of changing current law or existing circumstances, and a ‘no/against’ vote on any ballot issue is a vote against changing current law or existing circumstances.” 2026 State Ballot Information Booklet, Colorado Legislative Council Staff

Is Amendment 87 Still on the Ballot?

As of October 20, 2026, yes, and a lawsuit asking a court to remove it is still pending. Amendment 87 is certified, it appears in the Blue Book, and it is printed on the ballots county clerks mailed beginning October 2.

An Arapahoe County voter filed the case in Denver District Court on September 16, 2026, as a signature protest under Section 1-40-118 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. It names Secretary of State Jena Griswold and the measure’s proponents, Chris deGruy Kennedy and Kiyana Newell.

The claim is that 69 paid circulators were not properly registered or trained. Voiding their 9,849 signatures would drop the valid total from 130,938 to 121,089, under the 124,238 the Secretary of State says were required.

No ruling had been publicly reported as of October 20, 2026, and Colorado district court dockets are not searchable online, so a decision could exist without being reported. Ballots are already with voters, and a court could still act. Check coloradosos.gov for the current status before you vote.

Which Measures Change a Tax, a Refund, or Where Revenue Goes?

Four of the 14 statewide measures do: Amendment 87, Proposition NN, Proposition 136, and Proposition 137. Front Range Passenger Rail Ballot Issue 7A adds a fifth tax question for voters inside that district. All five are reported here to one standard, using the Legislative Council Staff fiscal analysis in the Blue Book: what the measure changes, what it raises or redirects, and what it does to TABOR refunds.

• Amendment 87 (Graduated Income Tax). Replaces the 4.4% flat rate with six brackets from 3.7% to 8.4%, for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. The ballot title states a tax increase of $2.7 billion annually, which state law defines as the maximum estimate for the first full fiscal year. The staff forecast itself is $958.4 million in budget year 2026-27 and $1.972 billion in 2027-28. Legislative Council Staff report no impact on current TABOR refunds, because the added revenue is exempt from the TABOR limit as a voter-approved revenue change.
• Proposition 136 (Income Tax Rate Limit). Sets today’s 4.4% rate as a statutory maximum for individuals and corporations from January 1, 2027. The rate is already 4.4%, so Legislative Council Staff assign no fiscal impact on its own.
• Proposition NN (Keep and Spend Money for Education and Other Purposes). Raises the TABOR limit by the amount the state spends on public K-12 education. In the first year the new limit sits $4.6 billion above the current TABOR limit, and the state expects to keep about $500 million of that headroom. Legislative Council Staff estimate the measure reduces taxpayer refunds by $329.9 million in budget year 2026-27 and $521.0 million in 2027-28, eliminating TABOR refunds in both years.
• Proposition 137 (Direct Sporting Goods Sales Tax Revenue for Conservation). Changes no tax rate and no price. It exempts the state sales tax revenue from sporting goods from the TABOR limit and, in the Blue Book’s words, transfers it from the state General Fund to a new conservation fund for conservation, wildfire, and outdoor recreation programs. The estimate is $175.0 million in budget year 2027-28 and $180.2 million in 2028-29. Legislative Council Staff estimate it reduces refunds by $175.0 million in tax year 2027, between $26 and $83 per single filer and between $52 and $166 per joint filer. In years when revenue is under the TABOR limit, the money comes out of the general budget instead.
• Ballot Issue 7A (Front Range Passenger Rail District). A 0.333% district sales and use tax. The question states a tax increase of $295,000,000 annually, plus district debt of $580,000,000 with a repayment cost of $785,000,000.

Amendment 87 and Proposition 136 point in opposite directions above $500,000 of income, and if both pass the Blue Book says the outcome is unresolved. We work through the brackets, the conflict rule, and a worked example in our summary of the two income tax measures, filed under their pre-certification numbers, Initiatives 195 and 232.

Two dollar figures on Amendment 87 are easy to confuse. $500,000 is where the higher bracket rates start. $510,834 is the break-even point: below that level of Colorado taxable income, tax owed falls, and at or above it, tax owed rises. The Blue Book also publishes a separate table by federal adjusted gross income, and it cautions that those income ranges do not line up with the bracket thresholds.

What Would the Ten Non-Tax Measures Change?

The ten non-tax measures are Amendments 81 through 86 and Propositions 132 through 135, and none of them changes a tax, a refund, or where revenue goes. Each is described here in the Blue Book’s own words, to the same depth the five tax measures get.

• Amendment 81. Requires “certified peace officers employed by a law enforcement agency, correctional officers, and district attorney personnel to notify the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) within 72 hours of charging someone with a crime if the charge is a crime of violence or if the individual has a prior felony conviction.”
• Amendment 82. Grants consumers a right to purchase natural gas “for cooking or heating in homes or businesses,” and grants distributors and utilities a right to sell it.
• Amendment 83. “Establishes a right in the Colorado Constitution to fish and hunt certain wildlife, and establishes hunting and fishing as the preferred means of managing fish and wildlife populations.”
• Amendment 84. For federal and statewide elections, “requires voters to include the last four digits of a government-issued identification number when submitting their mail ballot,” on top of the current signature check.
• Amendment 85. Requires all state and local ballot questions to be “written in plain language and at no more than an 8th grade reading level.”
• Amendment 86. “Requires that any off-cycle redistricting, if it were to occur, be approved by the commission and adopted by the Colorado Supreme Court.” At least three public hearings must be held first, and the measure “prohibits off-cycle changes to congressional districts that intentionally favor a political party or unnecessarily divide communities of interest.”
• Proposition 132. “For those convicted of distributing any amount of fentanyl, the measure requires a prison sentence of between 8 and 32 years.” It also makes possession of any amount a felony, though for someone who possesses less than one gram and completes court-ordered treatment, “the felony charge may be reduced to a misdemeanor.”
• Proposition 133. Concerns “human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude.” The ballot title expands the offense to “knowingly trading anything of monetary value to buy or sell sexual activity with a minor” and increases “the penalty to be life in prison without parole or release.”
• Proposition 134. “Requires that any school-based team or sport be explicitly designated as being: for biological males only; for biological females only; or coeducational or mixed.” Students “must compete on teams that match their biological sex or on a coeducational team.”
• Proposition 135. “Prohibits surgery on minors for the purpose of altering biological sex characteristics as a treatment in response to a minor’s perception of sex or gender,” and bars state or federal funds, Medicaid, and insurance from paying for it.

These quotations come from the Blue Book’s summary and analysis of each measure and from the certified ballot titles. For the arguments for and against every measure, read the Blue Book.

What Is Ballot Issue 7A, and Who Will See It?

Ballot Issue 7A is a district measure, not a statewide one, and it appears only for voters inside the Front Range Passenger Rail District. The Blue Book defines that district by municipality rather than by county, listing 31 municipalities from Fort Collins to Trinidad plus Sterling Ranch Colorado Metropolitan District Nos. 1 through 7. Those municipalities sit across 13 Front Range counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Huerfano, Jefferson, Larimer, Las Animas, Pueblo, and Weld. If you are unsure, your ballot settles it.

The district board referred 7A to voters to build and run the Colorado Connector passenger rail service. The 0.333% rate equals one third of a penny on a $1 purchase. Standard state exemptions apply, including gasoline, food, residential electricity and gas, prescription drugs, and medical supplies. The district estimates $144,000,000 of spending in 2027, its first partial fiscal year, and $295,000,000 in 2028, the first full one.

Which Measures Need 55% of the Vote to Pass?

Amendments 81 through 86 each need 55% of the votes cast. Amendment 87 and all seven propositions pass with a simple majority. Colorado sets a 55% bar for constitutional amendments, with one exception: an amendment limited to repealing constitutional language needs only a majority. The Blue Book states the rule plainly.

“[A]dopting a constitutional amendment requires at least 55 percent of the votes cast, except that when a constitutional amendment is limited to a repeal, it requires a simple majority vote.” 2026 State Ballot Information Booklet, Colorado Legislative Council Staff

Amendment 87 falls inside that exception. Its only constitutional change deletes the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requirement that all taxable net income be taxed at one rate. Its new brackets go into the Colorado Revised Statutes instead.

The state Title Board found that the measure “only repeals, in whole or in part, a provision of the state constitution and therefore does not require a 55% majority for passage.” The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the Title Board’s action in April 2026. That is why the one measure changing both the constitution and the statutes is also the one amendment passing on a simple majority.

The gap matters when you read results on election night. A measure can draw more yes votes than no votes and still fail if it lands between 50% and 55%.

When Would These Measures Take Effect?

Most would take effect on January 1, 2027, or on the Governor’s proclamation of the vote. Propositions 132, 133, 134, and 135 name January 1, 2027 in their own text. Amendment 87’s brackets and Proposition 136’s cap would first apply to tax years beginning on or after that date. Proposition 137’s transfers begin in the 2027-28 state budget year, and Proposition NN affects refunds starting with budget year 2026-27.

Measures that name no date follow the general rule in Article V, Section 1 of the Colorado Constitution.

“[A]ll such measures shall become the law or a part of the constitution, when approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon, and shall take effect from and after the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by proclamation of the governor, but not later than thirty days after the vote has been canvassed.” Colorado Constitution, Article V, Section 1(4)

What Else Is on Your Ballot Besides the Statewide Measures?

Judicial retention questions and your own local measures, and neither appears on the list above. Start at GoVoteColorado.gov, the state’s official voter portal, where you can check your registration, look up a sample ballot for your address, sign up for ballot tracking, and find your voter service and polling center. The Secretary of State notes that county clerks hold the most complete information on local contests.

Judicial retention asks whether each judge should stay in office. This year’s ballots include one Colorado Supreme Court justice, Court of Appeals judges, and district and county judges in your area. Nonpartisan commissions evaluate each judge and publish a finding of either “meets performance standards” or “does not meet performance standards.” The Blue Book prints the ones for your district, and the full set sits with the Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation at judicialperformance.colorado.gov.

Counties, cities, school districts, and special districts also put questions on the same ballot, and those arrive separately from the Blue Book. Your county clerk publishes the full local list.

What Are the Key Dates for the November 3, 2026 Election?

Ballots were mailed October 2 through October 9, in-person voting opened October 19, and everything must be returned by 7 p.m. on November 3. These are the dates a voter holding a ballot can still act on.

1. October 2 to October 9, 2026: county clerks mailed ballots to active registered voters. October 9 was the deadline for that first mailing.
2. October 19, 2026: the required voter service and polling centers opened. They are open now, so you can register and vote in person, drop off a ballot, or get a replacement. Counties may open more.
3. October 26, 2026: last day to register by mail or online and still be mailed a ballot. This is not a cutoff for voting. Under state law you can register in person at a voter service and polling center and vote through Election Day.
4. November 3, 2026: Election Day. Centers run 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Your ballot must be in a drop box or at a center by 7 p.m., and postmarks do not count.

Where Can You Read the Official Analysis of Each Measure?

Two primary sources cover every measure. The 2026 State Ballot Information Booklet, Research Publication No. 842, runs 104 pages and gives each statewide measure a summary, arguments for and against written by Legislative Council Staff, and a fiscal impact estimate. Full fiscal impact statements sit at the same address.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s certified ballot list carries the official numbers and links to the legal text of each measure. Every figure in this article traces to one of those two sources, apart from the Amendment 87 litigation above, which comes from the complaint filed in Denver District Court and from news reporting on it.

Contact Us

This article is informational only. It describes the certified measures as of October 2026, it is not tax, legal, or voting advice, and the figures come from state analyses that may be revised.

Once results are certified, Rick Whipple, CPA, and the WhippleWood tax team can walk through how any approved measure would apply to your own numbers. In the meantime, read our summary of Colorado’s 2026 small business tax changes and our note on the sales tax on downloaded and remotely accessed software. You can also email us at info@whipplewood.com.