Voting the Ballot Measures, a Cheat Sheet A
Op-Ed by Adam Dempsey
t least 39 initiatives were filed for spots on the 2016 ballot in Colorado. Only nine statewide ballot measures are certified to appear on our ballot on Nov. 8. Voters should also receive the Colorado Blue Book with both sides of the ballot measures as well. For now, the following in partnership with assistance of Ballotpedia are a few recommendations. Amendment T would remove an exception to the prohibition of slavery that allows individuals to be held in involuntary servitude if convicted of a crime. As a practical matter the State will utilize prisoners as they see fit, no matter what we care the label the practice. The State has been paying prisoners for work for decades and that is probably not going to change as they kept paying them through the years when state budgets were being cut by the recession. Therefore, nothing changes there. However, the term slavery is a leftover in need of a cleanup that we need to do. Vote yes to remove it from the constitution Amendment U would grant a property tax exemption for possessory interests whose value is $6,000 or less.
State revenue will take a small hit here, but nothing marijuana can’t make-up and will. In any case, a little tax relief for citizens is always welcome. YES is good to go here. Amendment 69 would create ColoradoCare, a new state healthcare system. The opposing Amendment 69 commercials poking fun at politicians creating healthcare are funny but don’t get carried away with them. The politicians have been creating the regulatory frameworks for all of our health care systems including Medicare to the Affordable Care Act. None-the-less, I recommend a NO vote here for more practical reasons. A single payer system does have some clear advantages however; we’d be going it alone. Although single payer activists are working in at least six other states, Vermont the only state thus far that had enacted a similar law then tried to put it into place, until its then Democratic Governor closed it down in 2014 due to the heavy cost burden. You will hear some argue to let the free market decide what to do, however it’s the free market that has us in this health care mess in the first place. Just look at prescription drug costs. The free market via Republicans prevents the government from negotiating lower drug pricing and prevents citizens from obtaining the same drug at a lower cost, even from Canada – so much for free market solutions. Yet on this same ballot in Amendment 70, we are being asked to raise the minimum wage in Colorado to a livable wage, only to turn around and negate it by using it for another health insurance system. Voting NO now gives time for single payer to work out its cost and operation impacts so it comes back better for another vote later. We’ll still need it. The Amendment 70 would increase the minimum wage to $9.30 per hour with annual increases of $0.90 each January 1 until it reaches $12 per hour effective January 2020, and annually adjusts it thereafter for
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cost-of-living increases. Some will argue where the minimum wage has been increased, jobs have been lost. However, there is always job turnover and business churn that affects job gains and losses more than managing minimum wage increases. The Amendment 71 would require that any petition for a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment be signed by at least two percent of the registered electors who reside in each state senate district for the amendment to be placed on the ballot. Although I’m not a big proponent of government by referendum because everything just does not belong in the Constitution and the petitioners who sign for referendums are not around to clean up the mess some of these initiatives may bring with them. The grow houses, transients invading Colorado, and driving while high surrounding marijuana is a recent case in point. However, when politicians place their political careers and party activism ahead of the needs of the people, having an accessible referendum process as a check and balance is necessary. Although it can lead to a ballot like this one, I’d can still decide the questions rather than not have them at all. A NO vote is necessary here. The Amendment 72 was designed to raise the tax cigarettes by $1.75 per pack of 20. Vote your own interest on this one. Smokers will vote no, no matter what I write and non-smokers having no skin in the game will probably say yes. I’m one of the latter. The Proposition 106 would make assisted death legal among patients with a terminal illness who receive a prognosis of death within six months. Do we really need to discuss this? This is not differences of opinion regarding the yet to be born. This is regarding adults making choices affecting their own lives. Although death may not be generally palatable to most of us, it is inevitable for all of us, and how we exit can be just as important as how we live. Colorado has long had issues with suicide, however this is not assisted suicide as this proposition has parameters that dictate its use. For those terminal ill, this is a needed option. A YES vote is my opinion. The Proposition 107 would restore presidential primary elections held before the end of March and make them open in Colorado. Currently, Colorado utilizes a closed primary system, in which only registered party members may participate in a party’s primary. However, unaffiliated voters may choose to affiliate with a party on Election Day in order to vote in that party’s primary.
Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – October 2016
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So we want to change the system so some people will not have to stand in a line when you have a popular election cycle. You do not see this clamor during non-Presidential cycles. As an example, I can enter your church or organization, tell you whom to select as your Pastor or Director, and not have to join, work nor contribute funds to your group. This is in essence the effect of an open primary. In this era of Citizens United and unlimited money another party can send its money and minions to vote and influence the selection of their competitors’ weakest candidates in a primary which will make them easier to defeat in the general election. This is tailor made for Republican shenanigans to insure money really influences elections. Should an independent really want a say-so, the option is there to affiliate even on Election Day. Those in a party tend pay more attention to candidates than television soundbites so better candidates are chosen. Let keep it that way. This is no-brainer NO. The Proposition 108 would allow unaffiliated electors to vote in the primary election of a major political party without declaring an affiliation with that political party and permit a political party, in some circumstances, to select candidates by committee or convention, rather than through a primary election. This is a NO vote as well. Political parties can already establish vacancy committees and tend to currently select most candidates via assemblies and conventions. Ours is not a California initiative ballot yet, but this is double what we’ve had previously. However, it is the price of citizenship that will be mailed to your door. So vote the full ballot, seal it up, stamp it up, and mail it back, all without probably leaving home. Democracy just doesn’t get any easier, so get your part done by November 1; to issue it arrives in time.
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