Colorado Amendment 85: Plain-language ballot titles
Colorado · Constitutional amendment · Elections · Statewide decision
Explanation reviewed 2026-10-27. AI-written and checked against linked official evidence; not an election-office summary.
AI-written summary
Would require state and local ballot titles to be written at no more than an eighth-grade reading level. Laws requiring wording that interferes with plain language could not apply to citizen initiatives. The measure does not designate who decides compliance.
What applies now
State law already requires plain ballot language, without a specified school-grade standard.
If yes / for
Add the constitutional readability standard.
If no / against
Keep existing plain-language laws.
Costs and funding
No verified fiscal estimate recorded in this baseline. This does not mean there is no cost.
Timing
Implementation date not independently established in this baseline.
Passage rule
At least 55% of votes cast.