Five citizen-initiated proposals have made it onto Colorado’s November ballot so far.
On Monday, Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams announced a proposal had qualified that would amend the state constitution to triple taxes on each pack of cigarettes, to $2.59 per pack, and hike the tax on other tobacco products by 22 percent of the manufacturers' list price. Other citizen initiatives that have already made the November 8th ballot would raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour, give citizens the right to die through legally obtained prescriptions, create a statewide universal health-care system akin to Medicare, and make it more difficult to amend the state constitution in the future. Four other initiatives turned in to the Secretary of State are still being evaluated to see if the petitions have enough valid signatures. The office has until September 7th to announce whether a proposal has made the ballot. There will also be tworeferenda from the state legislature. Colorado leads the Four Corners states in the number of questions it will pose to voters. According to Ballotpedia, Utah has three statewide issues so far, Arizona has two, and New Mexico one. Generating the most interest by far is one of Arizona’s proposals, which would legalize recreational marijuana.
