Colorado Amendment 80 was a proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution that appeared on the general election ballot on November 5, 2024, in Colorado. If passed, the amendment would have added a provision to the state's Constitution guaranteeing the right to school choice. The measure must have been approved by at least 55% of voters to pass.

Background Currently, K-12 students in Colorado have the options of attending public, charter, private, online, or neighborhood schools as well as homeschooling. Students can also use the state's open enrollment process to attend public schools in school districts they do not live in for free. This has been the case since 1994, when open enrollment was implemented by state law.

Amendment 80 was referred to the ballot by a citizen initiated petition. Both petitioning for the measure and the campaign in favor were led by the conservative group Advance Colorado Action. The group is also behind Proposition 128 and Proposition 130. Some supporters claim this amendment would simply move the existing school options in Colorado from state statute to the state Constitution. Many opponents argued Amendment 80 would create a school voucher system in Colorado and take funding away from public schools.

Contents The amendment appeared on the ballot as follows:

Campaigns Support Support for Amendment 80 was led by the group School Choice For Every Child. Colorado's official voter guide also offers the arguments for the measure that it should be a parent's right to choose whatever school they see fit for their child, whether public or private, and that Amendment 80 would protect parents and children by putting that right into the Colorado Constitution.

Opposition Opposition to Amendment 80 was led by the group Public Schools Strong. The state's official voter guide offered the arguments against the amendment that Colorado already offers free public education, the language of the amendment is unclear, and it would lead to public funds being put into private schools.

Results Amendment 80 required a 55% majority to pass. It failed, receiving just under 50% of the vote.

Results by county County For Against Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % Adams 118,427 54.23% 99,932 45.77% 18,495 8.47% 218,359 Alamosa 3,732 53.15% 3,289 46.85% 443 6.31% 7,021 Arapahoe 153,143 49.00% 159,412 51.00% -6,269 -2.01% 312,555 Archuleta 5,181 58.46% 3,682 41.54% 1,499 16.91% 8,863 Baca898 46.84% 1,019 53.16% -121 -6.31% 1,917 Bent 1,020 48.14% 1,099 51.86% -79 -3.73% 2,119 Boulder 66,866 35.92% 119,273 64.08% -52,407 -28.15% 186,139 Broomfield 19,908 44.31% 25,023 55.69% -5,115 -11.38% 44,931 Chaffee 6,523 46.97% 7,364 53.03% -841 -6.06% 13,887 Cheyenne516 50.34%509 49.66% 7 0.68% 1,025 Clear Creek 2,788 48.12% 3,006 51.88% -218 -3.76% 5,794 Conejos 1,941 49.06% 2,015 50.94% -74 -1.87% 3,956 Costilla 1,070 55.30%865 44.70% 205 10.59% 1,935 Crowley897 53.87%768 46.13% 129 7.75% 1,665 Custer 2,255 60.01% 1,503 39.99% 752 20.01% 3,758 Delta 11,483 61.01% 7,338 38.99% 4,145 22.02% 18,821 Denver 137,100 39.93% 206,285 60.07% -69,185 -20.15% 343,385 Dolores782 58.49%555 41.51% 227 16.98% 1,337 Douglas 113,118 48.22% 121,454 51.78% -8,336 -3.55% 234,572 Eagle 13,046 49.85% 13,126 50.15% -80 -0.31% 26,172 El Paso 207,203 56.29% 160,884 43.71% 46,319 12.58% 368,087 Elbert 11,913 60.16% 7,888 39.84% 4,025 20.33% 19,801 Fremont 13,975 56.46% 10,775 43.54% 3,200 12.93% 24,750 Garfield 14,876 50.98% 14,302 49.02% 574 1.97% 29,178 Gilpin 1,908 48.02% 2,065 51.98% -157 -3.95% 3,973 Grand 4,616 48.12% 4,977 51.88% -361 -3.76% 9,593 Gunnison 4,407 42.49% 5,964 57.51% -1,557 -15.01% 10,371 Hinsdale329 57.32%245 42.68% 84 14.63%574 Huerfano 2,322 54.47% 1,941 45.53% 381 8.94% 4,263 Jackson446 55.68%355 44.32% 91 11.36%801 Jefferson 160,676 45.83% 189,914 54.17% -29,238 -8.34% 350,590 Kiowa417 49.70%422 50.30% -5 -0.60%839 Kit Carson 2,108 59.56% 1,431 40.44% 677 19.13% 3,539 La Plata 16,635 49.19% 17,185 50.81% -550 -1.63% 33,820 Lake 1,818 48.77% 1,910 51.23% -92 -2.47% 3,728 Larimer 102,170 47.34% 113,661 52.66% -11,491 -5.32% 215,831 Las Animas 4,040 54.21% 3,412 45.79% 628 8.43% 7,452 Lincoln 1,225 48.59% 1,296 51.41% -71 -2.82% 2,521 Logan 5,027 51.47% 4,740 48.53% 287 2.94% 9,767 Mesa 53,896 61.14% 34,260 38.86% 19,636 22.27% 88,156 Mineral352 49.65%357 50.35% -5 -0.71%709 Moffat 3,885 61.06% 2,478 38.94% 1,407 22.11% 6,363 Montezuma 8,249 57.13% 6,191 42.87% 2,058 14.25% 14,440 Montrose 15,558 62.96% 9,154 37.04% 6,404 25.91% 24,712 Morgan 7,015 54.16% 5,937 45.84% 1,078 8.32% 12,952 Otero 4,057 46.68% 4,635 53.32% -578 -6.65% 8,692 Ouray 1,826 46.57% 2,095 53.43% -269 -6.86% 3,921 Park 6,366 54.33% 5,351 45.67% 1,015 8.66% 11,717 Phillips 1,150 51.94% 1,064 48.06% 86 3.88% 2,214 Pitkin 4,337 41.88% 6,018 58.12% -1,681 -16.23% 10,355 Prowers 2,527 50.99% 2,429 49.01% 98 1.98% 4,956 Pueblo 46,446 56.65% 35,548 43.35% 10,898 13.29% 81,994 Rio Blanco 2,014 56.65% 1,541 43.35% 473 13.31% 3,555 Rio Grande 3,253 54.15% 2,754 45.85% 499 8.31% 6,007 Routt 6,646 42.39% 9,031 57.61% -2,385 -15.21% 15,677 Saguache 1,665 51.84% 1,547 48.16% 118 3.67% 3,212 San Juan231 42.54%312 57.46% -81 -14.92%543 San Miguel 1,947 43.58% 2,521 56.42% -574 -12.85% 4,468 Sedgwick718 55.96%565 44.04% 153 11.93% 1,283 Summit 7,354 44.78% 9,069 55.22% -1,715 -10.44% 16,423 Teller 9,590 60.46% 6,272 39.54% 3,318 20.92% 15,862 Washington 1,392 51.03% 1,336 48.97% 56 2.05% 2,728 Weld 97,964 56.70% 74,810 43.30% 23,154 13.40% 172,774 Yuma 1,993 44.16% 2,520 55.84% -527 -11.68% 4,513Total 1,507,23649.32%1,548,67950.68%-41,443-1.36%3,055,915

See also

2024 United States ballot measures

References