2024 Colorado Amendment J is an amendment to the

Colorado Constitution The Constitution of the State of Colorado is the foundation of the laws and government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The Colorado State Constitution was drafted on March 14, 1876; approved by Colorado voters on July 1, 1876; and took effect u ...

that appeared on the general election ballot on November 5, 2024, in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. As it passed, the amendment repealed Amendment 43, a 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the

Constitution of Colorado The Constitution of the State of Colorado is the foundation of the laws and government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The Colorado State Constitution was drafted on March 14, 1876; approved by Colorado voters on July 1, 1876; and took effect u ...

. While Constitutional ballot measures typically require a 55% vote to pass in Colorado, Amendment J only needed a simple majority. This is because the 55% vote threshold only applies to proposed amendments adding to the Constitution, not those which repeal provisions from it.

Background

In 2006, Colorado voters passed Amendment 43 which defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman within the State of Colorado. Same-sex marriage was illegal in Colorado prior to this, with the ballot measure simply moving the state's ban on same-sex marriage from state statue to the state Constitution. Following a 2014 decision by the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...

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John Suthers John William Suthers (born October 18, 1951) is an American attorney and politician who served as the mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Attorney General of Colorado, U.S. Attorney for Colorado, executive director of the Colorado Departmen ...

declared that County Clerks within the state could not deny couples marriage licenses on the basis of sex. On June 26, 2015, the

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ruled in the case

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of th ...

which struck down same-sex marriage bans nationwide. This made the text of Amendment 43 legally unenforceable. Following the 2022 decision in

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court in which the court held ...

however, some groups in favor of same-sex marriage pushed to repeal Amendment 43 out of concern that the Obergefell v. Hodges decision could be overturned by the US Supreme Court as well. On April 19, 2024, Senator

Joann Ginal Joann Ginal is an American politician who serves in the Colorado Senate from the Colorado's 14th Senate district, 14th district since 2019, as a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Before her tenure in the state sen ...

and Representatives Alex Valdez and Brianna Titone introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 24–003 to the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in ...

to refer the issue of the Constitutionality same-sex marriage to voters. The bill passed the

Colorado Senate The Colorado State Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of abou ...

on a vote of 29 in favor to 5 opposed. All 23 Senate Democrats as well as 6

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voted in favor, with all 5 no votes coming from Republicans. The bill then passed the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distri ...

with all Democrats voting in favor other than Regina English and all Republicans voting against other than

Matt Soper Matt Soper (born 1984) is a Republican politician who represents Colorado House of Representatives District 54, which encompasses parts of Mesa and Delta counties on Colorado's Western Slope. Background Soper holds degrees from Colorado Mesa ...

and Rick Taggart. The bill was signed into law by Governor

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis ( ; ; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007, and five terms as the Unite ...

on May 8, 2024, resulting in the amendment appearing on the November 2024 ballot. The amendment was passed by voters, removing language from the Colorado Constitution stating that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman.

The amendment appeared on the ballot as follows:

Campaigns

Support

The campaign in favor of Amendment J was led by the organization Freedom to Marry Colorado. Additionally, the official state voter guide offered the argument that marriage is a basic right for all Coloradans and the

should protect that right regardless of one's sexuality, particularly if the right to same-sex marriage is overturned by the US Supreme Court.

Opposition

There was no major organized opposition to Amendment J. However, the official state voter guide offered as an argument that marriage should be between one man and one woman and if

is overturned, the Colorado Constitution should reflect that.

Results

On November 5, 2024, at 7:00 PM MT, polls in Colorado closed. Amendment J required a simple majority to pass. On the same night, at 8:50 PM MT, the

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projected, with 63.6% in favor, the passage of Proposition 3. After all votes were tabulated, the Amendment passed with 64.3% in favor.

Results by county

References

{{2024 United States elections, state=collapsed 2024 Colorado ballot measures Amendments to the Constitution of Colorado Same-sex marriage ballot measures in the United States LGBTQ history in Colorado