A ballot initiative backed by the conservative group Advance Colorado has qualified for the November general election, setting up a statewide vote on whether to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal authorities.

Ballot measure 95 would change the state constitution to allow law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

That practice has been prohibited under state law since 2019, when lawmakers passed House Bill 19-1124, which bars Colorado law enforcement from arresting someone solely on the basis of a civil immigration detainer request.

Since then, state law has also been changed to bar law enforcement from providing personally identifying information about someone’s immigration status to immigration authorities. 

In 2025, Senate Bill 25-276 extended those prohibitions to political subdivisions, including local governments, school districts, special districts, the judicial and legislative branches and higher education institutions.

A violation could earn a $50,000 civil penalty, according to the law signed by Gov. Jared Polis on May 23.

According to a December statement from Advance Colorado, Colorado law enforcement would be required to report “an offender to the Department of Homeland Security if they are charged with a violent crime or repeat felony and are in the country illegally.”

That notification must take place within 72 hours of the person being charged with a crime. It would also apply to someone whose immigration status is unknown or who has been convicted of a prior felony.

It does not require law enforcement to report the person who is charged with a violent crime to be convicted of that crime.

The measure says law enforcement must make a reasonable effort to determine someone’s immigration status.

Ballot measures must collect 124,238 valid signatures; Advance Colorado said in December that it turned in nearly 200,000 total signatures.

The Secretary of State’sm Office said on Jan. 23 that the ballot measure came in with 188,861 signatures; the Elections Division determined that 142,299 were valid.

Measures that change the state constitution must collect 2% of the total registered electors in each of the 35 state Senate districts. Once on the ballot, the measure must be approved by 55% of the votes cast.

Petition counts showed that petitions in every state Senate district had comfortable margins above the 2%. That included Denver districts home to safe Democratic seats, such as those held by Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, Senate President James Coleman and Sen. Julie Gonzales, who co-sponsored SB 25-276.

Just how much Advance Colorado spent to collect signatures in all 35 Senate districts is unknown. No petition circulator listed with the Secretary of State includes Initiative 95 in their current work, and Advance Colorado has not filed an issue committee to report any expenditures for petitions.

No issue committees are registered with the secretary of state’s TRACER system to oppose the measure. 

For a statewide ballot measure that changes the constitution, Rick Ridder of RBI Strategies estimated the cost to collect signatures is likely around $2.5 million.

Advance Colorado is a “dark money” group, meaning it does not disclose its donors. ProPublica reported the conservative nonprofit raised $5.72 million in 2024, including a $2.65 million donation from the Colorado Opportunity Foundation. 

According to CauseIQ, Michael Fields, the president of Advance Colorado, also runs the Colorado Opportunity Foundation. 

Initiative 95 is the second ballot measure Advance Colorado has pushed to the 2026 ballot. Voters will also decide on Initiative 85, which asks voters to increase the penalties for the possession of fentanyl.