Amendment 85: Plain Language Ballot Titles

What It Would Do

Amendment 85 would require all state and local ballot questions — not just citizen initiatives — to be written in plain language at no higher than an 8th-grade reading level. It would also bar state statutes from requiring additional language in citizen-initiated ballot titles that conflicts with that plain-language requirement. It requires 55% voter approval to pass, as a constitutional amendment.

Fiscal Impact

We were unable to confirm a specific state fiscal estimate for this measure; as a drafting-requirements measure it is likely to have a minimal cost, but we can't state that as an official figure.

Why We're Voting No

Boulder Progressives opposes Amendment 85 because it would lock rigid, one-size-fits-all language rules into the constitution for something better left to ordinary statute, limiting the legislature's future ability to write clear, accurate ballot titles without a constitutional fix every time.

Sources: Colorado Secretary of State Title Board official ballot title, Colorado Politics.