Colorado Amendment 54

Elections in Colorado
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State government General elections 2010 2014 Gubernatorial elections 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 Legislative elections 2013 recalls
Ballot measures 2004 36 2006 38 41 42 43 44 E F G H I J K 2008 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 54 58 59 L 2010 62 2012 64
Denver Mayoral elections 2011

Amendment 54 was a proposed initiative on the Colorado ballot for 2008. It passed with 51.2% of the vote.^[1]

Purpose

According to the Blue Book, the state-provided ballot guide, Amendment 54 "proposes amending the Colorado Constitution to:

• prohibit certain government contractors from contributing to a political party or candidate for the contract's duration and two years thereafter;
• prohibit contributors to ballot issue campaigns from entering into certain government contracts relating to the ballot issue;
• apply the prohibitions on campaign contributions and ballot issue contracts to any contractor with a government contract or contracts that does not use a public and competitive bidding process soliciting at least three bids and with a total value greater than $100,000 in a single year; and
• apply the prohibitions on campaign contributions and ballot issue contracts to a labor organization holding a collective bargaining agreement with a state or local government."^[2]

Results

Amendment 54^[3]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,130,055	51.21
No	1,076,654	48.79
Total votes	2,206,709	100.00

Support and opposition

Supporting organization

Yes On Colorado Amendment 54

Opposing organization

Protect Colorado's Future

Injunction issued

An injunction against Amendment 54 was issued by Denver District Court Judge Catherine Lemon in June 2009. Judge Lemon concluded that the language of the amendment was vague and often confusing, creating a law that would violate the right to free speech.^[4]

References