2024 Colorado Amendment J

Amendment J

November 5, 2024
Repealing the Definition of Marriage in the Constitution
as of 5:51:51 P.M., November 15, 2024 MST
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 1,981,331 64.32% No 1,098,928 35.68% Total votes 3,080,259 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 4,046,520 76.12%
For   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% Against   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%
Source: Colorado Secretary of State[1]

Elections in Colorado
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Ballot measures List of Colorado ballot measures 1893 2 1972 8 1974 1 1982 1 1992 2 2000 20 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 2018 A 2020 B C EE 113 114 2022 125 126 FF 2023 HH II 2024 79 80 I J 127 128 129 131
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El Paso County Local elections 2018
Pueblo Mayoral elections 2023–24
v t e

2024 Colorado Amendment J is an amendment to the Colorado Constitution that appeared on the general election ballot on November 5, 2024, in Colorado. As it passed, the amendment repealed Amendment 43, a 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the Constitution of Colorado. 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.^[2]

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, Attorney General John Suthers declared that County Clerks within the state could not deny couples marriage licenses on the basis of sex.^[3] On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled in the case Obergefell v. Hodges 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 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.^[4]

On April 19, 2024, Senator Joann Ginal and Representatives Alex Valdez and Brianna Titone introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 24–003 to the Colorado General Assembly to refer the issue of the Constitutionality same-sex marriage to voters. The bill passed the Colorado Senate on a vote of 29 in favor to 5 opposed. All 23 Senate Democrats as well as 6 Republicans voted in favor, with all 5 no votes coming from Republicans. The bill then passed the Colorado House of Representatives with all Democrats voting in favor other than Regina English and all Republicans voting against other than Matt Soper and Rick Taggart.^[5] The bill was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis on May 8, 2024, resulting in the amendment appearing on the November 2024 ballot. Should the amendment be passed by voters, it will remove language from the Colorado Constitution stating that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman.^[6]

The amendment appeared on the ballot as follows:^[7]

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution removing the ban on same-sex marriage?

The campaign in favor of Amendment J was led by the organization Freedom to Marry Colorado.^[8] Additionally, the official state voter guide offers the argument that marriage is a basic right for all Coloradans and the Colorado Constitution should protect that right regardless of one's sexuality, particularly if the right to same-sex marriage is overturned by the US Supreme Court.

There is no major organized opposition to Amendment J. However, the official state voter guide offers as an argument that marriage should be between one man and one woman and if Obergefell v. Hodges is overturned, the Colorado Constitution should reflect that.

On November 5, 2024, at 7:00 PM MT, polls in Colorado closed. Amendment J requires a simple majority to pass. On the same night, at 8:50 PM MT, the Associated Press projected, with 63.6% in favor, the passage of Proposition 3.^[12]

• 2006 Colorado Amendment 43
• Same-sex marriage in Colorado
• 2024 California Proposition 3
• 2024 Hawaii Amendment 1