Colorado Amendment 71 passed in the November election with a 55.7 percent majority. The amendment will make it harder to pass future amendments to the Colorado Constitution by increasing the required majority vote to 55 percent in favor of the amendment. Collecting signatures to get an amendment on the ballot has changed as well. At least 2 percent of registered voters in each state senate district must sign the petition to have the amendment placed on the ballot.Each of the 35 senate districts has about 123,000 residents. Senate District 2, which represents eastern El Paso County, including eastern Falcon and Peyton, also surrounds Colorado Springs and extends along the Highway 9 corridor up to I-70. Ballot gatherers trying to collect signatures from 2 percent of registered voters in the district will have to spend more time and money to achieve their goal.ìThis will create balance,î said Chad Vorthmann, executive director of the Colorado Farm Bureau. ìYou’ll have to gather signatures from around the state in the rural areas; you won’t be able to just stand on the 16th Street Mall and ask people to sign your petition. That’s why farmers, ranchers and people in rural communities are excited about this amendment.îPetition gatherers will still need 5 percent of the total number of votes cast in the previous election, or about 100,000. These signatures can be gathered anywhere in the state. Statutes will continue to need 50 percent plus one vote to be approved.
