2022 Election in Review: Ballot Initiatives – Part 1

This is Part 1 in a series reviewing the 2022 Colorado General Election

Colorado’s 2022 election saw interesting results.

Decriminalized psychedelics, wine in grocery stores, a decrease in the state income tax, and several new regulations all passed into law.

I’m going to explore the results of each of the ballot initiatives and explore the sources of funding for the measures.

You can take a look at my analysis of each of the Statewide initiatives in my voter guide.

You can also find the official Secretary of State results by clicking here, and Ballotpedia has great information on the initiatives here.

All three Amendments were referred to voters by the State Legislature, and they all required a 55% majority vote to pass.

Note: The finance numbers I pulled from TRACER are not exhaustive (there is always a chance I missed something, and of course there is a chance that some spending was not reported.

Let’s get started.

Amendment D: New 23rd Judicial District Judges

Results: Amendment D passed with 67.38% of the vote. Total count in support was 1,502,866.

Supporters: Colorado State Legislature, Governor, Attorney General and judges across the state.

Opposition: The Judicial Integrity Project (link to website)

Spending: No recorded spending for or against this measure that I could find.

Map of results from the Secretary of State:

Amendment E: Extend Homestead Exemption to Gold Star Spouses

Results: Amendment E passed with 87.93% of the vote. Total count in support was 2,109,471.

Supporters: Colorado State Legislature, and Path 2 Zero. Path 2 Zero is a Issue Committee listing over $10,000 of in-kind contributions from the Independence Institute.

Opposition: No known opposition

Spending: No campaign spending except the in-kind contributions from Path 2 Zero.

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Amendment F: Changes to Charitable Gaming Operations

Results: Amendment F failed with only 40.64% of the vote. Total count in support was 930,370.

Supporters: Colorado State Legislature, Charitable Gaming Issue Committee (Henry Charles Kyle III) setup by the Colorado Charitable Bingo Association

Opposition: Colorado Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Path 2 Zero (I wonder why the Independence Institute was against this amendment)

Spending: Nothing was reported by the Charitable Gaming Issue Committee because they didn’t exceed the $5,000 threshold. In-kind contributions from Path 2 Zero were used against this measure.

Note: Denver was the only county to have voted in favor of the measure (52.14% in support, 131,238 votes in favor). Efforts to loosen gambling laws in Denver might be worth the effort!

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Proposition FF: Healthy School Meals for All

Results: Proposition FF passed with 56.75% of the vote. Total count in support was 1,384,852.

Supporters: Healthy School Meals for All Colorado Students (Marc Jacobson)

Opposition: Path 2 Zero, Liberty Grassroots Activists

Spending:

• Healthy School Meals for All Colorado Students received and spent over $1.6 million.
  • Hunger Free Colorado contributed $557,719.
  • Save the Children in Washington DC contributed $70,651.
  • Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington DC contributed $50,000.
  • United for a New Economy contributed $15,000.
  • Sage Media Planning & Placement in Washington DC was paid over $646,000.
  • Uplift in California was paid over $200,000.
  • American Heart Association was paid $51,025.

Ballotpedia lists the following as major donors:

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Proposition GG: Add Tax Information Table to Petitions and Ballots

Results: Proposition GG passed with 71.92% of the vote. Total count in support was 1,704,757.

Supporters: Coloradans for Ballot Transparency (Joseph Kabourek), Coloradans Coming Together (supported GG and opposed 121),

Opposition: Path 2 Zero

Spending:

• Coloradans for Ballot Transparency raised and spent $1,057,052.
  • $400,000 of this went to Uplift, a Berkley California based Democratic marketing company.
  • Contributions came from United for a New Economy ($65,000 reported on 10/17/2022), The National Education Association (NEA) ($250,000 given on 9/21/2022),
  • Merle Chambers, a lawyer and philanthropist was the first donor to this group with a whopping $100,000.
  • Sixteen Thirty Fund contributed $500,000 at the beginning ofAugust.
  • Colorado Fund for Children and Public Education contributed $100,000 at the end of August.
  • The Rose Community Fund contributed $50,000 in September.
• Coloradans Coming Together reported $10,000 in monetary contributions, and over $85,000 in non-monetary contributions.
  • Over $43,000 in non-monetary contributions were reported from the Colorado Education Association. These included phone banking, canvass lit, and digital ads.
  • $20,000 in monetary contributions were reported from United for a New Economy Action.
  • Nearly $16,000 in contributions from Working Families Power
  • $4,000 from Together Colorado.

Note: Cheyenne and Kiowa counties were the only two to oppose this measure.

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Proposition 121: State Income Tax Rate Reduction

Results: Proposition 121 passed with 65.24% of the vote. Total count in support was 1,581,163.

Supporters: Path 2 Zero (Katie Kennedy), Colorado Character (Katie Kennedy), Americans for Prosperity Colorado Issue Committee

Opposition: Keeping Colorado Great (Ashley Stevens)

Spending:

• Colorado Character received $546,500 in contributions according to Ballotpedia
  • $250,000 came from Defend Colorado (501c4 non-profit – Katie Kennedy)
  • $250,000 came from Colorado Rising Action
  • $45,000 came from Coloradans for Civil Liberties
  • Over $540,000 was paid to Blitz Canvassing to collect signatures for this ballot measure.
• Americans for Prosperity Colorado Issue Committee spent $31,825 supporting 121.
  • All $31,825 came from non-monetary contributions from Americans for Prosperity in Virginia.
• Keeping Colorado Great received and spent $295,000 opposing this measure.
  • $250,000 came from the NEA
  • $45,000 came from the Colorado Fund for Children & Public Education
  • Nearly $184,000 was paid to Mission Control, headquartered in Connecticut.
  • $102,000 was paid to Battleaxe Digital in Washington DC

Note: Boulder County was the only county in Colorado to oppose this measure with 51.83% of voters against.

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Proposition 122: Access to Natural Psychedelic Substances

Results: Proposition 122 passed with 53.64% of the vote. Total count in support was 1,296,992.

Supporters: Natural Medicine Colorado (Ashley Stevens), Citizens for Natural Medicine

Opposition: Protect Colorado’s Kids (Katie Kennedy)

Spending:

• Natural Medicine Colorado raised and spent over $5.7 million.
  • $1.9 million was contributed by New Approach directly to Natural Medicine Colorado, and the Denver Pest reported that New Approach PAC and New Approach Advocacy Fund spent nearly $4.2 million in total.
  • Center for Voter Information in Washington DC contributed $1.3 million
  • Landslide Political, based out of Salt Lake City was paid over $2.38 million. (Some of which was probably for signature gathering)
  • Winning Mark, out of Portland Oregon was paid over $860,000 by Natural Medicine Colorado to support this measure. (Winning Mark was also paid $250,000 by Rocky Mountain Voter Guide this election)
  • Sage Media was paid $1.69 million to support this initiative.
  • Rocky Mountain Voter Guide was paid $254,000 to support.
• Protect Colorado’s Kids (Katie Kennedy) raised and spent nearly $51,000 in opposition.
  • The contributions that are recorded by Protect our Kids were in-kind. $50,000 for text messaging and digital advertising. They list what seems to be themselves, Protect our Kids as the “in-kind,”non-monetary” donor.

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Proposition 123: Dedicate Revenue for Affordable Housing Programs

Results: Proposition 123 passed with 52.61% of the vote. Total count in support was 1,269,816.

Supporters: Coloradoans for Affordable Housing Now (Rachel Gordon),

Opposition: No Prop 123 (Natalie Menten), Path 2 Zero

Spending:

• Coloradoans for Affordable Housing Now raised and spent just over $6.5 million.
  • Gary Ventures Inc out of Denver contributed over $2 million to support this initiative.
  • Gary Advocacy contributed $750,000.
  • Bohemian Companies in Fort Collins contributed $500,000.
  • Healthier Colorado contributed $315,250.
  • Urban and Land Conservancy in Denver contributed $250,000.
  • Civitas Resources contributed $250,000.
  • Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver contributed $250,000.
  • Action Now from Texas contributed $500,000.
  • Servicios de la Raza contributed $230,000.
  • AirBnb contributed $100,000.
  • Comcast contributed $25,000.
  • Blitz Canassing was paid over $700,000, for signature gathering.
  • Landslide Political was paid $1.345 million to support the campaign (this includes signature gathering).
  • Adbeat Strategies was paid over $700,000 for advertising.
  • Bluewest Media was paid over $3 million for advertising.

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Proposition 124: Increase Allowable Liquor Store Locations

Results: Proposition 124 failed with 37.69% of the vote. Total count in support was 905,565.

Supporters: Coloradans for Consumer Choice and Retail Fairness (Robert Schraeder), Path 2 Zero.

Opposition: Keeping Colorado Local (Rachel Gordon)

Note: Keeping Colorado Local raised and spent money to oppose all three liquor initiatives.

Spending:

• Coloradans for Consumer Choice and Retail Fairness raised and spent $13.3 million.
  • Colorado Fine Wines & Spirits LLC contributed nearly $12 million to the effort.
  • Robert Trone from Maryland, and of Corridor Wine Inc contributed $899,230.
  • David Trone, also from Maryland, and a Congressman, contributed $900,000.
  • Bluewest Media in Denver was paid $7.685 million for advertising.
  • Blitz Canvassing was paid at least $2.135 million for signature gathering services.
  • Onsight Public Affairs in Boulder was paid over $866,000 for advertising.
• Keeping Colorado Local raised and spent $807,000, with an additional $95,784 in non-monetary in-kind contributions.
  • Hazel’s Beverage World in Boulder contributed $200,000.
  • Colorado Licensed Beverage Association contributed just over $104,000.
  • Wyatt’s JV LLC in Longmont contributed over $120,000.
  • Notable Investments from Littleton contributed $100,000.
  • Argonaut in Denver contributed $80,000.
  • Fisher’s Liquor Barn contributed just over $10,000.
  • Various other liquor stores and companies contributed as well.

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Proposition 125: Allow Grocery and Convenience Stores to Sell Wine

Results: Proposition 125 passed with 50.58% of the vote. Total count in support was 1,228,404.

Supporters: Wine In Grocery Stores (Richard Evans), Path 2 Zero

Note: Wine in Grocery Stores supported both Propositions 125 and 126.

Opposition: Keeping Colorado Local

Spending:

• Wine in Grocery Stores raised and spent over $14 million.
  • Doordash contributed nearly $3.7 million.
  • Instacart contributed $4.8 million.
  • Wholefoods contributed $1.7 million.
  • Target contributed $1.1 million.
  • Abertsons/Safeway contributed $1.6 million.
  • Kroger contributed $1.3 million.
  • 7-11 contributed nearly $150,000.
  • Colorado Media and Mail was paid over $12.5 million for advertising.
  • Reiter & Associates was paid nearly $563,000 for their services.
  • Counterpoint Messaging was paid $300,000.
  • Maven Law Group in Denver was paid $164,602.

Note: Keeping Colorado Local and Wine in Grocery Stores spent money on multiple initiatives.

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Proposition 126: Third-Party Delivery of Alcohol Beverages

Results: Proposition 126 failed with 48.86% of the vote. Total count in support was 1,183,059.

Supporters: Wine In Grocery Stores, Fair Delivery for All Small Businesses (Levi Mendyk), Path 2 Zero

Opposition: Keeping Colorado Local

Spending:

• Fair Delivery for All Small Businesses raised and spent $8,000 in support.
  • The Colorado Retail Council contributed all $8,000 to this group.
  • $2,880 was paid to 180 Degrees Design in North Carolina
  • $5,138 was paid to Marketology LTD in Florida.

Note: Wine in Grocery Stores and Keeping Colorado Local spent money on multiple initiatives.

Map of the results from the Secretary of State:

Ballot Measures by Vote Count in Support

Ballot Measures Sorted by Vote Count:

Passed:

Amendment E: 2,109,471

Proposition GG: 1,704,757

Proposition 121: 1,581,163

Amendment D: 1,502,866

Proposition FF: 1,384,852

Proposition 122: 1,296,992

Proposition 123: 1,269,816

Proposition 125: 1,228,404

Failed:

Proposition 126: 1,183,059

Amendment F: 930,370

Proposition 124: 905,565

Conclusions

The results of the 2022 election were mostly a loss for Liberty in Colorado.

FF, and 123 were two of the worst initiatives that passed.

These new tax burdens on Coloradoans will make life more difficult and expensive.

GG was also an unfortunate outcome, setting the stage for more attempts to steal our income.

The failures of F, 124 and 126 were also a disappointment.

Thankfully, 121 passed, providing much needed tax relief.

E, 122, and 125 were also wins for liberty.

Liberty Activists should look at which counties supported pro-liberty initiatives, and focus efforts in those areas.

My recommendations below should be considered mostly at the county and municipal levels.

A Path Forward for Liberty

Amendment E received massive support, showing that tax exemptions for certain segments of the population can win easily.

I recommend that future property tax relief initiatives target veterans, seniors, and the disadvantaged.

Proposition GG was sold to the voters as “increasing transparency,” and similar propositions should present themselves in the same way.

I recommend that future initiatives focus on government transparency, especially government spending and the behavior of politicians.

Proposition 121, with 65.241% of the vote outperformed 2020’s Proposition 116 (passed with 57.86%).

Of course, 2022 was a midterm election, so it isn’t too surprising that 121 performed so well.

This is a great sign for future income tax reduction measures.

Amendment D wasn’t something I was in favor of, but wasn’t destructive to our liberty.

Proposition FF gave taxpayer-funded food to school children, showing that Colorado voters care about children (even if it was misguided).

I recommend that future initiatives focus on helping children by giving them more schooling options and other pro-liberty, pro-child concepts.

Proposition 122 showed that Colorado voters will support drug decriminalization efforts.

This can be expanded to many other related issues.

I recommend that in counties where 122 passed with very high numbers, activists support further drug decriminalization efforts.

Proposition 123 showed that Colorado voters want to address high housing costs.

Unfortunately, 123 could make housing more expensive for many people, and create a state housing scheme that will most likely fail to live up to it’s promises.

I recommend that future efforts based on free-market principles that specifically address the high cost of housing are presented to voters.

Proposition 125 barely passed, but shows that many voters will support ending outdated restrictions on alcohol sales.

I recommend that Liberty Activists focus on counties that supported this initiative to expand liquor liberty.

Proposition 126’s failure shows that Colorado voters in most areas are not open to allowing legal alcohol delivery.

Unfortunately, this issue might take many more years before voters support it.

The benefits of getting alcohol drinkers off the road is a net benefit.

I recommend that this pro-liberty concept is explained better to voters over the next few years.

Amendment F failed in every county except Denver.

Efforts to expand legal gambling may see success in Colorado’s capitol.

I recommend that pro-gambling efforts focus only in Denver for the time being.

Proposition 124 was the worst performing ballot initiative in 2022.

Colorado voters seem to overwhelmingly support local businesses over their national counterparts.

Free-market based efforts to support local business could achieve success with Colorado voters.

I recommend focusing future efforts on the benefits to local businesses and the local community.

Well, that’s all I got for this one.

This series will continue, and I hope that this information can be useful to Liberty Activists.

What do you think?

Leave a Comment Below!

Join the Free State Colorado Email Newsletter:

Follow on Telegram: t.me/FreeStateColorado