Government: civic participation and Colorado state and local government (grade 12) · lesson

Colorado's ballot measures and TABOR

💡 Colorado voters can make laws and change the constitution directly, and they hold the final say on tax increases.

In an initiative, citizens gather enough valid signatures to put a proposed law or amendment on the ballot. In a referred measure, the legislature sends a proposal to the voters. The difference is who starts it.

The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), passed by voters in 1992, requires voter approval for tax increases. The legislature can't raise a tax on its own; it must send the increase to the ballot.

Since 2016, most new amendments to Colorado's constitution need 55% of the vote, while a regular law needs only a majority. The higher bar makes the constitution harder to change than ordinary law.

🧠 Let's work it out

Ask who starts a measure and who decides it.
Citizens start initiatives; the legislature starts referred measures; voters decide both.
For a tax increase, TABOR always puts voters last in line with the final say.

What do you think comes next?

initiative: a law or amendment proposed by citizens through petition
referred measure: a proposal the legislature sends to voters
TABOR: Colorado's rule that voters must approve tax increases

State and local government

💡 The level of government closest to an issue usually handles it, so neighborhood questions go to local officials.

Colorado's state legislature, the General Assembly, has a Senate and a House of Representatives. The governor can veto state bills and appoints state supreme court justices from a list chosen by a commission.

Local governments handle many daily matters. City councils and county commissioners set zoning, which decides what can be built where. Voters in each school district elect a school board that sets policies, like school hours, and hires the superintendent.

🧠 Let's work it out

Ask how far the issue reaches.
One neighborhood or one school district? Go local.
The whole state? The General Assembly or governor.
The whole nation? Congress or the president.

What do you think comes next?

zoning: local rules about how land can be used
school board: the elected group that runs a school district
General Assembly: Colorado's state legislature

Voting in Colorado

💡 To vote you must be a citizen and 18 by Election Day, and Colorado mails every registered voter a ballot.

The 26th Amendment (1971) set the voting age at 18. A voter must be 18 by Election Day. Colorado lets younger people pre-register. Voters must be US citizens. Property and literacy tests are not allowed.

Colorado mails a ballot to every registered voter. Voters mark the ballot, sign the return envelope, and return it by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Since 2018, unaffiliated voters, who haven't joined a party, may vote in one major party's primary. A primary picks each party's nominee. The general election decides who wins the office.

🧠 Let's work it out

Check each requirement against the date.
Turning 18 a week after Election Day means not yet eligible for that election.
For primaries, remember the order: the primary picks nominees, the general election picks winners.

What do you think comes next?

primary: an election that picks a party's nominee
unaffiliated: not registered with any political party

🔗 National Archives: Voting Rights Act (1965) · National Archives (free) ↗

Taking part beyond voting

💡 Any citizen can influence government between elections by contacting officials and speaking at public meetings.

Voting is only one way to take part. Citizens can call or write to elected officials, who hear from the people they represent. Many city council and school board meetings set aside time for public comment.

Some actions belong only to officials. Only a governor can veto a state bill, and judges are appointed through official processes. Citizens can still try to influence those decisions by speaking up.

🧠 Let's work it out

Sort actions by who is allowed to do them.
If any citizen can do it, like writing a letter, it is a form of participation.
If it needs an office, like a veto, it belongs to an official.

What do you think comes next?

public comment: time at a government meeting when residents may speak

🔗 Khan Academy: Political participation · Khan Academy (free) ↗