Amendment W – Election Ballot Format for Judicial Retention Elections

In Section 25 of Article VI, the Colorado constitution spells out the ballot language format for judicial retention elections, requiring a separate retention question for each judge on the ballot. Amendment W proposes consolidating judges for the same court under one retention question. Each judge would continue to have their own Yes / No next to or under their name – one question, but separate places to vote on whether or not to retain each judge.

HCR 18-1001 passed both houses of the legislature unanimously with two members excused. County clerks favor the more efficient use of ballot space.

Recommendation: yes/for

I would have preferred that Amendment W extract the ballot format language from the constitution and put it into statute.

The judicial retention questions take up a large portion of the current ballot but rarely generate much interest within the electorate. There may be some psychological attitude shifts among voters if judges are grouped together, or there may be an increased chance of accidentally marking the incorrect line. These effects seem minimal.

Website for the Yes Side
No known website – Info on a supporters’ website appreciated.

Website for the No Side
No known website – Info on an opponents’ website appreciated.


Approved Ballot Language

Amendment W (CONSTITUTIONAL)

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning a change in the format of the election ballot for judicial retention elections?

YES/FOR _______
NO/AGAINST _________

HCR 18-1001 to refer Amendment W to the voters
http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/initiative%2520referendum_wfinal.pdf