El Paso County backs 11, opposes four November ballot measures

El Paso County commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 29 to support 11 statewide measures and oppose three, along with a Front Range passenger-rail funding question, on Colorado’s Nov. 3, 2026, ballot. The board’s positions are guidance and do not direct individual voters. The meeting minutes record the 5-0 vote on Resolution 26-330, and the resolution lists the measures and the board’s reasons.

The resolution frames its support around law-enforcement cooperation and accountability, protections for children and fairness in sports, election procedures, and constitutional rights related to natural gas and hunting and fishing.

Measures the county supports:

• Amendment 81, on notifying federal immigration authorities in specified cases; Proposition 132, increasing penalties for fentanyl crimes; and Proposition 133, increasing penalties for human trafficking of a minor. The resolution groups these as measures to strengthen law-enforcement coordination and accountability.
• Amendment 82, establishing a constitutional right to purchase and sell natural gas, and Amendment 83, establishing a constitutional right to hunt and fish.
• Amendments 84, 85 and 86, concerning identification requirements for mail ballots, plain-language ballot titles and requirements for off-cycle congressional redistricting. The resolution says these would strengthen election safeguards and clarity.
• Proposition 134, setting rules for male and female participation in school and collegiate sports, and Proposition 135, prohibiting specified surgeries on minors in response to perceptions of sex or gender. The resolution says these would protect children and fairness in athletics.
• Proposition 136, limiting the state income-tax rate. The resolution supports it as a way to limit future rate increases.

Measures the county opposes:

• Amendment 87, which would replace Colorado’s flat income-tax structure with graduated rates. The resolution says the measure would raise the top rate to 8.4%.
• Proposition 137, directing sporting-goods sales-tax revenue to conservation, and Proposition NN, allowing the state to retain and spend money for education and other purposes. The resolution argues both would erode taxpayer protections and refund requirements under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, known as TABOR.
• Ballot Issue 7A, which would fund Front Range passenger rail. The resolution objects to the additional sales-and-use tax and long-term costs, saying El Paso County residents could pay for a decade or more before a train is operating.

The state’s official list of certified ballot measures includes 14 statewide measures and lists Issue 7A for El Paso County. The Colorado Legislative Council’s 2026 ballot information booklet says the proposed 7A tax would be 0.333% and that the measure applies only to voters within the rail district’s boundaries—not necessarily every voter in the county. The district includes Colorado Springs. The booklet provides the official measure texts and analyses; its estimates and explanations describe proposed effects, not election results.