EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story stated that Amendment W had passed. Constitutional amendments require 55 percent to pass, not a simple majority
Even though more than 50 percent of voters have approved Amendment W, it did not get enough votes to pass and become law.
Amendment W would amend the state constitution to remove the requirement that a retention question be asked for each judge and justice.
The amendment was referred to voters by the state legislature and had support from a bipartisan group of state senators and representatives.
In 2016, voters approved Amendment 71, which now requires 55 percent approval for constitutional amendments to pass, instead of 50 percent plus one.
As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, the Secretary of State's Office reported that Amendment W had 53.26 percent support with 100 percent of counties voting.
Since it did not reach 55 percent, it did not pass.
Colorado law requires judicial retention elections for all levels of state courts, including the Supreme Court, district courts, county courts, City and County of Denver Probate Court, Denver Juvenile Court and any other state court created by the state legislature, such as the Court of Appeals.
For judicial retention elections, the Colorado Constitution required that a separate question be placed on the ballot for each justice or judge up for retention as follows: “'Shall Justice (Judge) ... of the Supreme (or other) Court be retained in office?' YES/NO”.
Amendment W proposed a change so that the county clerk and recorder would be required to display the retention question once for each court type, followed by a list of each individual justice or judge seeking retention on that court with the “yes” or “no” option next to each name.
Supporters said the new rules will make the ballot easier to read and more concise. Detractors argued it was unnecessary and could confuse voters.
