The Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council recognizes that ballot measures can have real, everyday impacts on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families. Those impacts aren’t always clear from the ballot language or the messages around a measure.
With 14 statewide ballot measures on the 2026 ballot, we wanted to share personal perspectives from people with I/DD and their families about how some of these measures could affect our community. Our hope is that these stories help voters think about how ballot measures could impact people with disabilities and their families.
Amendment 85: Plain Language Ballot Questions
“Amendment 85 is a constitutional amendment that requires ballot questions be written at an 8th grade reading level. It also prevents state law from mandating language be added before, following, or in a citizen-initiated ballot title that interferes with the plain language question. This would appear, at the very least, to be good for the I/DD community, and, in fact, we should be trying to make ballot guides as plain language as possible. The concern with this amendment comes largely from explanations of tax measures. It makes the opening language of a tax initiative “Shall taxes be raised” permanent while gutting the explanatory language that voters currently get because of Referendum GG, passed in 2022.
GG requires the Blue Book to explain through charts and other visuals how an income-tax measure would affect people at various income-levels. That information helps voters understand who would pay more or less and who would benefit or be affected by a tax measure. Amendment 85 would likely erase this provision, trading a deeper understanding of who benefits and who is harmed by a tax measure for a tiny bit of simplicity in a way that is dangerous for our community.”
– Person with I/DD
Amendment 87: Graduated Income Taxes, Proposition NN: Money for Schools and Children, and Proposition 136: Income Tax Limit
“I am a person with a developmental disability. For more than twenty years, I have had a seat at the table, helping design Colorado’s Medicaid Buy-In program, the Household of One rule, and Community First Choice (CFC). This year, I have experienced them from the other side of the table. My own Medicaid eligibility was deactivated for a period, and while it was, I had to suspend my personal assistant’s services. My mother, who is in her seventies, brought me breakfast so I could get through the mornings. I also watched the state begin phasing down caregiver hours, from 84 hours a week toward 56 by July 2027, because the money the state has to work with keeps shrinking. That is the part people do not always connect: the hours a caregiver can work, and whether a person like me stays in their own apartment, are decided far upstream, in budget rooms and revenue questions, long before anyone says the word disability.
This year’s ballot has measures that speak directly to that upstream space. Proposition NN would allow the state to keep and spend money above the current TABOR limit and direct that money to K–12 education and other purposes. Amendment 87 would create a graduated income tax and use the additional revenue for K-12 education, health care, and early childhood care and education. Instead, Proposition 136 would cap the state income tax rate at 4.4%.
Whether these ballot measures feel like relief or risk depends on where you sit. What I can tell you is what sits downstream of them: the size of the state’s General Fund shapes Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), CFC, caregiver wages, and case management. It decides whether my colleagues with intellectual disabilities keep their services, or whether the hours I lost this year come back.”
– Person with I/DD
“As the mother of a 23-year-old DeafBlind young man with I/DD, I think about ballot measures like Amendment 87 through the lens of what they could mean for my son’s ability to live a full life in his community. He relies on a network of disability and health-related supports that help him participate in his community, build independence, and have a meaningful life as an adult. Amendment 87 would create additional state revenue for areas that include health care, long-term care, and supports for people with disabilities, although the legislature would determine specifically how those funds are allocated. For families like mine, decisions about how Colorado funds these systems are deeply personal because access to a strong, stable system of supports can directly affect the opportunities our family members with I/DD have to live, work, participate, and belong in their communities.”
– Parent of Person with I/DD
Proposition 132: Penalties for Fentanyl Crimes
“Proposition 132 makes the distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, or selling of any amount of fentanyl a drug felony of the most severe classification. Conviction mandates a required sentence of eight to 32 years in prison. It also increases the charge for possession to a level 4 drug felony with mandated treatment or a level 3 drug felony based on the amount of fentanyl in possession.
Now, of course, unregulated fentanyl is a dangerous drug, but the reality is more complex for the disability community. Pain medications are often opiates like fentanyl, though less strong. Continued use often lessens their effectiveness, however, requiring stronger doses or higher level medications, up to and including fentanyl itself. Particularly concerning for our community, however, is the part of the proposition that says that full knowledge of what is being possessed or sold is not required. Pain medications and anti-spasticity medications, especially off the streets, may say that they are Xanax or Valium, when, in fact, they are also laced with stronger medications like fentanyl, making a user completely unknowingly violate the law.”
– Person with I/DD
Proposition 134: Participating in School Sports
“Proposition 134 would create sex-based requirements for participation on school athletic teams. I’m concerned about how schools could implement this law for students like mine. The measure doesn’t say how or when schools will test students, and it doesn’t require notifying parents before a child is tested. This measure doesn’t reflect the values I want my child’s school to have: a community where every student is supported and safe. As a parent, I already spend a lot of time working with schools to make sure my child has meaningful opportunities to participate and feel like they belong. It’s exhausting to think that adding another set of rules could make that even harder for our child or others.”
– Parent of Person with I/DD
Proposition 135: Certain Surgeries for People Under 18
“Proposition 135 would prohibit healthcare providers from performing certain surgeries on people under 18 and would also prevent ways to pay for those procedures. As a parent of a child with I/DD, I deal with multiple specialists, insurance requirements, and decisions about what care is right for my child. I worry about what this could mean for families navigating an already complicated healthcare system. I’m also concerned about potential consequences. The definition of the surgeries covered by the measure is broad, and I worry that this vague definition could block access to healthcare services that have nothing to do with the issue the measure is intended to address. I don’t want a broad or unclear law to become another barrier to getting appropriate care for my child.”
– Parent of Person with I/DD
Local Issue 7A: A regional transportation funding measure
“Regional transportation benefits everyone. 7A will provide funding to build, operate, and maintain passenger rail service from Pueblo to Fort Collins. This service will help people have more independence and not have to depend on someone for a ride. Especially with gas prices so high right now, everyone can benefit from public transportation upgrades.
We have to vote like our life is on the line, because it is. It is important to have the right people elected in the state to represent the community. Tax dollars usage is very important. It is also important for the community to follow and track Long Term Support Services (LTSS) Medicaid funding since so many are impacted.”
– Person with I/DD
Making Informed Choices: The Everyday Impact of Ballot Measures
People with I/DD and their families are affected by decisions made at every level of government. Sometimes those impacts are easy to see. Other times, they show up as unintended consequences of how a law is written or put into practice. The Council encourages voters to listen to the lived experiences of people with I/DD and their families, and consider: Would this law or policy help create a Colorado where people with I/DD are supported, able to fully participate in their communities, and have the opportunity to live a meaningful life on their own terms?
If you want to learn more before you vote, Colorado’s official 2026 State Ballot Information Booklet (Blue Book) provides nonpartisan information about the statewide measures, including explanations and arguments for and against each measure. THINK+change also has a plain language voter guide. Election Day is November 3, 2026.
