2024 Colorado Amendment 79

2024 Colorado Amendment 79 was a constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 5, 2024, ballot. The amendment established a right to Abortion in Colorado in its constitution, and repealed a constitutional ban on public funding for abortions. The amendment passed, surpassing the 55% supermajority vote required for the amendment to be approved.

Text In the Colorado Constitution, Article II is amended by the addition of a new section 32 as follows:

The right to abortion is hereby recognized. Government shall not deny, impede, or discriminate against the exercise of that right, including prohibiting health insurance coverage for abortion.

Background Colorado's abortion laws

In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens. Colorado's first ban on abortion was passed in 1861.Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., No. 19-1392, slip op. at 84 (U.S. June 24, 2022). It read:“[E]very person who shall administer substance or liquid, or who shall use or cause to be used any instrument, of whatsoever kind, with the intention to procure the miscarriage of any woman then being with child, and shall thereof be duly convicted, shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars; and if any woman, by reason of such treatment, shall die, the person or persons administering, or causing to be administered, such poison, substance or liquid, or using or causing to be used, any instrument, as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of manslaughter, and if convicted, be punished accordingly.”

In 1967, Colorado decriminalized abortions in cases of rape, incest, or in which a pregnant woman would be permanently disabled as a result. Despite adopting what was considered a more progressive law, elective abortions were still illegal under state law.

1984 Colorado Amendment 3 In 1984, Colorado voters narrowly approved Amendment 3. The amendment effectively banned the usage of public funding for abortions except in certain circumstances. The amendment, which is still a part of the Constitution of Colorado, reads:"No public funds shall be used by the State of Colorado, its agencies or political subdivisions, to pay, or otherwise reimburse, either directly or indirectly, any person, agency, or facility for the performance of any induced abortion, PROVIDED HOWEVER, that the General Assembly, by specific bill, may authorize, and appropriate, funds to be used for those medical services necessary to prevent the death of either a pregnant woman or her unborn child under circumstances where every reasonable effort is made to preserve the life of each."

Ballot measure submission In 2023, Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom, the group sponsoring the initiative, filed the amendment with Jena Griswold, the Colorado Secretary of State. The measure was approved for circulation on November 14, 2023. On April 18, 2024, the group submitted some 225,000 signatures, well over the 124,238 needed to gain ballot access. Griswold certified the signatures on May 17, 2024.

Endorsements

Polling Date of opinion pollConducted bySample sizeMargin of errorIn favorAgainstUndecidedOctober 28–30, 2024Keating Research600 (LV)± 4.0% 32%8%October 18–30, 2024YouGov754 (LV)± 4.54% 32%10%

Results

By county County For Against Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % Adams 137,794 62.01% 84,405 37.99% 53,389 24.03% 222,199 Alamosa 3,615 50.99% 3,475 49.01% 140 1.97% 7,090 Arapahoe 206,611 65.36% 109,490 34.64% 97,121 30.72% 316,101 Archuleta 4,625 51.59% 4,340 48.41% 285 3.18% 8,965 Baca 472 24.62% 1,445 75.38% -973 -50.76% 1,917 Bent 883 41.77% 1,231 58.23% -348 -16.46% 2,114 Boulder 153,538 80.43% 37,361 19.57% 116,177 60.86% 190,899 Broomfield 31,547 68.98% 14,185 31.02% 17,362 37.96% 45,732 Chaffee 8,864 62.83% 5,244 37.17% 3,620 25.66% 14,108 Cheyenne 217 21.11%811 78.89% -594 -57.78% 1,028 Clear Creek 3,963 67.04% 1,948 32.96% 2,015 34.09% 5,911 Conejos 1,526 38.26% 2,462 61.74% -936 -23.47% 3,988 Costilla 1,097 56.11%858 43.89% 239 12.23% 1,955 Crowley 613 36.95% 1,046 63.05% -433 -26.10% 1,659 Custer 1,528 40.38% 2,256 59.62% -728 -19.24% 3,784 Delta 8,124 42.76% 10,877 57.24% -2,753 -14.49% 19,001 Denver 283,105 80.80% 67,286 19.20% 215,819 61.59% 350,391 Dolores 505 37.16%854 62.84% -349 -25.68% 1,359 Douglas 129,390 54.49% 108,063 45.51% 21,327 8.98% 237,453 Eagle 19,284 71.67% 7,623 28.33% 11,661 43.34% 26,907 El Paso 193,839 51.98% 179,080 48.02% 14,759 3.96% 372,919 Elbert 7,346 36.87% 12,580 63.13% -5,234 -26.27% 19,926 Fremont 10,907 43.67% 14,067 56.33% -3,160 -12.65% 24,974 Garfield 17,948 60.73% 11,605 39.27% 6,343 21.46% 29,553 Gilpin 2,656 65.79% 1,381 34.21% 1,275 31.58% 4,037 Grand 5,805 59.86% 3,893 40.14% 1,912 19.72% 9,698 Gunnison 7,668 71.91% 2,996 28.09% 4,672 43.81% 10,664 Hinsdale 322 54.67%267 45.33% 55 9.34% 589 Huerfano 2,327 54.08% 1,976 45.92% 351 8.16% 4,303 Jackson 330 41.10%473 58.90% -143 -17.81% 803 Jefferson 232,101 65.38% 122,900 34.62% 109,201 30.76% 355,001 Kiowa 238 28.85%587 71.15% -349 -42.30% 825 Kit Carson 980 27.54% 2,579 72.46% -1,599 -44.93% 3,559 La Plata 23,314 67.21% 11,373 32.79% 11,941 34.43% 34,687 Lake 2,555 67.40% 1,236 32.60% 1,319 34.79% 3,791 Larimer 140,284 64.09% 78,593 35.91% 61,691 28.19% 218,877 Las Animas 3,828 51.10% 3,663 48.90% 165 2.20% 7,491 Lincoln 847 33.68% 1,668 66.32% -821 -32.64% 2,515 Logan 3,448 34.96% 6,416 65.04% -2,968 -30.09% 9,864 Mesa 43,084 48.21% 46,279 51.79% -3,195 -3.58% 89,363 Mineral 389 53.80%334 46.20% 55 7.61% 723 Moffat 2,464 38.53% 3,931 61.47% -1,467 -22.94% 6,395 Montezuma 7,119 48.83% 7,460 51.17% -341 -2.34% 14,579 Montrose 10,815 43.18% 14,231 56.82% -3,416 -13.64% 25,046 Morgan 5,018 38.48% 8,024 61.52% -3,006 -23.05% 13,042 Otero 3,829 43.92% 4,890 56.08% -1,061 -12.17% 8,719 Ouray 2,642 65.87% 1,369 34.13% 1,273 31.74% 4,011 Park 6,238 52.65% 5,610 47.35% 628 5.30% 11,848 Phillips 641 28.65% 1,596 71.35% -955 -42.69% 2,237 Pitkin 8,797 82.01% 1,930 17.99% 6,867 64.02% 10,727 Prowers 1,758 35.32% 3,220 64.68% -1,462 -29.37% 4,978 Pueblo 44,162 53.50% 38,381 46.50% 5,781 7.00% 82,543 Rio Blanco 1,136 31.87% 2,429 68.13% -1,293 -36.27% 3,565 Rio Grande 2,652 43.83% 3,399 56.17% -747 -12.35% 6,051 Routt 11,623 72.72% 4,360 27.28% 7,263 45.44% 15,983 Saguache 1,911 59.18% 1,318 40.82% 593 18.36% 3,229 San Juan 395 73.69%141 26.31% 254 47.39% 536 San Miguel 3,771 81.08%880 18.92% 2,891 62.16% 4,651 Sedgwick 465 36.05%825 63.95% -360 -27.91% 1,290 Summit 12,816 75.52% 4,154 24.48% 8,662 51.04% 16,970 Teller 6,696 41.81% 9,319 58.19% -2,623 -16.38% 16,015 Washington 677 24.84% 2,048 75.16% -1,371 -50.31% 2,725 Weld 87,153 49.96% 87,302 50.04% -149 -0.09% 174,455 Yuma1,298 28.62%3,238 71.38% -1,940 -42.77%4,536Total 1,921,59361.97%1,179,26138.03%742,33223.94%3,100,854

By congressional district "Yes" won all eight congressional districts, including four that elected Republicans.https://x.com/DrewSav/status/1901428263760560459 District Yes No Representative 81% 19%Diana DeGette 74% 26%Joe Neguse54%46%Lauren Boebert (118th Congress)Jeff Hurd (119th Congress)50.02%49.98%Greg Lopez (118th Congress)Lauren Boebert (119th Congress)52%48%Doug Lamborn (118th Congress)Jeff Crank (119th Congress) 65% 35%Jason Crow 64% 36%Brittany Pettersen58%42%Yadira Caraveo (118th Congress)Gabe Evans (119th Congress)

2024 Colorado Amendment 79

Bron en licentie