Colorado Amendment 87 Stays on November Ballot: Denver Judge Rejects Removal Lawsuit, Plaintiff to Appeal
A Denver District Court judge in Denver, Colorado on October 21 rejected a lawsuit seeking to remove Amendment 87 from the November ballot, leaving the measure on the ballot for now. According to Focal News, Judge Heidi Kutcher ruled that the plaintiff, Centennial resident Michael A. Hancock, did not meet his burden of showing that petition circulators' registration issues invalidated signatures. The plaintiff's lawyer said he intends to seek an expedited appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court, with Election Day about 13 days away, leaving the measure's future uncertain. Amendment 87 would replace Colorado's current 4.4% flat income tax with graduated rates.
The lawsuit, filed in September, argued that more than 11,000 signatures collected by 69 paid circulators should be thrown out. State officials certified 130,938 valid signatures, only modestly above the 124,238 required, so removing the disputed signatures could have taken the measure off the ballot. The Secretary of State's office said some circulators named in the filing had completed the required steps, while others had not formally been linked to the measure. Organizers argued they had substantially complied and that state law does not specify that missed registration steps invalidate otherwise valid voter signatures. The judge agreed. GSM previously reported the signature dispute hearing in this case, at which time the court had not yet ruled.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：科罗拉多州议会大厦（Denver），图片来源：Colorado State University Extension（供稿标注）
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- 2026-10-21Colorado Amendment 87 Stays on November Ballot: Denver Judge Rejects Removal Lawsuit, Plaintiff to AppealThis story
