The 2026 election is still under a year-and-a-half away, but for Colorado citizens looking to place initiatives on the ballot, the work is already underway. 

Three initiatives have already been approved for circulation and they need to receive a certain number of signatures by either August or October of this year to make it to the 2026 ballot. The work on other initiatives is just starting, with one awaiting an initial hearing, while about two dozen more have had their official language set by the state’s Title Board.

Here is a brief rundown of the initiatives you could see on the 2026  ballot. 

Approved for signature collection

• Initiative 13 would end the reintroduction of gray wolves in Colorado by the end of 2026. Gray wolves were reintroduced to the state following the passage of Proposition 114 in 2020. Since December of 2023, 25 wolves have been brought to Colorado from Oregon and British Columbia. Within a few months, they started preying on livestock in Grand County and, more recently, in Eagle and Pitkin counties. Now some want to ensure that no more wolves are brought in to the state. Critics, meanwhile, argued that the initiative is pointless, as the state will likely already have completed the reintroductions by December 2026. The Title Board approved Initiative 13, which is being run by former Republican state Senate candidate Stan VanderWerf of Colorado Springs and New Castle resident Spencer Thomas, in February. The organizers have until Aug. 27 to collect signatures.
  

• Initiative 39, which is the brainchild of activist and political commentator Jon Caldara, would officially make Colorado a “Right to Work” state. The initiative would change the Colorado Constitution to prohibit requiring workers to join a union or pay dues to a labor organization as a condition of employment. The Title Board approved Initiative 39 in April and organizers have until October to collect signatures.

• Initiative 43 would make Colorado the second “just-cause employment state” in the country. If passed, Initiative 43 would require employers to establish “just cause” for firing an employee, such as poor performance, neglect of duties, or repeated policy violations. Behind the measure are Dennis Dougherty, the Colorado AFL-CIO executive director, and True Apodaca, the political director of SEIU Local 105. 

Awaiting initial hearing, which is scheduled for June 18

• Initiative 81 would require public colleges and universities in Colorado to automatically admit students who graduate in the top 10% of their class and meet all basic admission requirements. It would also require universities to publicly display the percentile GPA necessary to be admitted, to be updated weekly during the application window. Additionally, the initiative would eliminate a section of state statute requiring public colleges and universities in the state to “make an effort” to recruit in-state students from rural schools. The initiative appears to be run by two students, Kiran Herz and Jaiden Hwang. It is on the calendar for an initial hearing by the Title Board on June 18. 

Title set

• Initiative 16, filed by Michael Fields of Advance Colorado and Suzanne Taheri of West Group Law and Policy, requires the state to receive voter approval to impose any fee with a projected annual revenue of over $100 million in its first five years. 

• Initiative 22, also run by Fields and Taheri, would add a section to the Colorado Constitution stating that students have the right to a quality education and parents have the right to “direct the education of their children.” Fields and Taheri brought a very similar initiative to the ballot in 2024, which failed to pass by seven percentage points. 

• Initiative 24 would add a section to Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, requiring the state to obtain voter approval to create any state enterprise with a projected revenue from fees and surcharges of over $100 million in its first years. Enterprises are exempt from TABOR’s revenue limits, leading to some accusing lawmakers of creating them to evade the statutorily-imposed revenue cap. Initiative 24 is also being run by Fields and Taheri. 

• Initiatives 30 and 31, also from Fields and Taheri, deal with fentanyl crimes. Both initiatives would changes the state’s sentencing guidelines for distribution, manufacturing, and sale of fentanyl or certain kinds of synthetic opiates.

• Initiative 32, also from Fields and Taheri, would require law enforcement officers to make a “reasonable effort” to determine whether a person convicted of a a crime of violence is in the U.S. legally at least 72 hours before being released. The same would apply to individuals who have been convicted of a prior felony. If law enforcement is unable to prove the individual is in the country legally, officers are required to notify the Department of Homeland Security within 48 hours. 

• Initiatives 29 and 44. Initiative 29 prohibits state or local governments from banning the use of natural gas for cooking or heating. Initiative 44 proposes prohibiting the state from restricting or banning the use of any one type of energy source. Both initiatives are backed by Fields and Taheri. 

• Initiatives 47, 48, and 65 are Fields and Taheri’s income tax initiatives, which propose lowering the state’s current income tax rate of 4.40% to either 3.4%, 4.39%, or 4.21% respectively, starting in 2027.

• Initiative 49, backed by Curtis Link and Jessica Kunz, would modify the Colorado Constitution to allow veterans with a service-related disability rating of 100% to be exempt from having to pay property taxes starting in 2027. About one million veterans are deemed 100% disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs each year. Common reasons the VA awards a 100% disability status include multi-limb amputation, multi-limb paralysis, cancer, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Initiative 51 seeks to repeal the state’s 29-cent fee for deliveries made by vehicles. The initial fee was enacted through a law passed in 2021, with legislators passing a bill in 2023 to reduce it to 28 cents on July 1 of this year. Republicans attempted to pass a bill this session repealing the delivery fee but were unsuccessful. Initiative 51 is backed by Jeremy and Rick Nuanes of Westminster and Golden, respectively. 

• Initiative 58, from Fields and Taheri-backed, would prohibit judges from releasing defendants accused of violent crimes, motor vehicle theft, or assaulting a police officer on a personal recognizance, or PR bond, unless given permission by a district attorney. This past legislative session, a bipartisan coalition of legislators attempted introduced a bill prohibiting judges from granting PR bond to individuals accused of violent crimes who have been previously convicted of violent crimes or have at least two pending criminal charges against them for crimes of violence. The bill never got out of House Judiciary Committee. 

• Initiatives 59 and 60 propose modifying sentencing guidelines for sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust, soliciting of a child for prostitution, and pandering of a child, or intimidating them into committing prostitution. The initiative is from Fields and Taheri. This legislative session, a bipartisan bill that would have mandated an indeterminate sentence for individuals in “positions of trust” who commit sexual assault against a child failed to pass through committee.  

• Initiative 67 mirrors some provisions of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act currently being debated in Congress. Like the SAVE Act, Initiative 67 would require all voters in Colorado to sign and provide the last four digits of their Social Security Number or state-issued ID in order to vote by mail. The initiative is backed by Fields and Taheri. 

• Initiative 69 would increase human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude from a Class 2 felony to a Class 1 felony with a sentence of life in prison without parole. The initiative is backed by Teller County Deputy Sheriff Mark Geist.

• Initiative 70 , which is backed by Rich Guggenheim of the organization Gays Against Groomers, would prohibit transgender students from participating on sports teams that don’t correspond with their biological sex.

• Initiative 71 seeks to prohibit health care professionals in Colorado from providing sex-change surgery to minors. A bill seeking to do the same was introduced this session by a Republican in the House, but it failed to pass. Initiative 71 is backed by Erin Lee of Wellington. 

• Initiative 75, also backed by Fields and Taheri, would require law enforcement to notify Homeland Security at least 72 hours before releasing an individual who has been charged with a violent crime or convicted of a prior felony if the individual is in the country illegally. 

• Initiative 88, another Fields and Taheri measure, would amend the state’s theft statutes to establish mandatory minimum sentences for certain felony theft offenses and increases penalties for repeat offenders and co-conspirators.