Colorado voters made their own ballots longer, tell me about this news in (https://www.9news.com/article/news/politics/elections/colorado-voters-made-their-own-ballots-longer/73-865e6646-e421-431c-8c4b-f1543b59882f)
16-09-2026
The 9NEWS report explains that Colorado voters will face unusually long ballots this November, largely due to a requirement they passed themselves two years prior:
- The Cause (Proposition GG): In 2022, 72% of Colorado voters approved Proposition GG. It requires that any citizen-initiated measure altering state income tax rates must include an eight-tiered table directly on the ballot showing how the changes affect taxpayers across different income brackets.
- First Time in Effect (Amendment 87): The rule is being implemented on the ballot for the first time due to Amendment 87, a citizen initiative proposing a graduated income tax that lowers rates for most residents while raising them for top earners.
- Design Challenges for Clerks: Adding this detailed impact chart created significant layout hurdles for county election officials, who had to balance keeping fonts legible with minimizing ballot length:
- In Weld County, Clerk Carly Koppes adjusted font sizing to fit the entire ballot onto a single sheet (front and back).
- In Denver County, Clerk Paul Lopez’s office had to expand the ballot across two physical cards (four pages total). Each additional printed card costs the county around $250,000.
- In Adams County, some voters will receive ballots spanning up to three physical pages, depending on local district measures.
- Impact: Together with 14 statewide ballot measures, candidate races, and local questions, the mandated tax table makes this year’s ballots physically longer (varying from 17 to 20 inches per card) and more expensive to print and distribute.