# 2008 Colorado Amendment 46

Elections in Colorado :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential caucuses and primaries
Democratic
2000
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1876
1879
1883 sp
1885
1889
1891
1895
1897
1901
1903
1907
1909
1913
1913 sp
1914
1918
1920
1924
1924 sp
1926
1930
1932
1932 sp
1936
1938
1942
1942 sp
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1927
1st sp
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
3rd sp
1941
4th sp
1942
1944
1st sp
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1983
6th sp
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
4th sp :
State government
General elections
2010
2014
2018
2020
2022
Gubernatorial elections
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Secretary of State elections
2022
Attorney General elections
2014
2018
2022
Treasurer elections
2022
Colorado State Board of Regent elections
2016
Senate elections
2013 (recall)
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures
List of Colorado ballot measures
1893
2
1972
8
1974
1
1982
1
1992
2
2000
20
2004
36
2006
38
41
42
43
44
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
2008
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
54
58
59
L
2010
62
2012
64
2018
A
2020
B
C
EE
113
114
2022
125
126
FF
2023
HH
II
2024
79
80
I
J
127
128
129
131 :
Colorado Springs
Local elections
2019
Mayoral elections
1995
1997 sp
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
Denver
Mayoral elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
El Paso County
Local elections
2018 :
Pueblo
Mayoral elections
2023–24 :
vte :
Amendment 46, also known as the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, was a proposed initiative on the Colorado ballot for 2008. If ratified, Article II of the Colorado Constitution would have stated:
   The State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

## Controversy

The proposed initiative was sponsored by Californian Ward Connerly. In April, 2008, a Colorado group sued, claiming that over 69,000 signatures on the ballot petition were invalid. Some citizens also claimed that they signed the petition through voter fraud.
Governor Bill Ritter opposed the amendment, along with the Colorado Council of Churches.

## Petition company

National Ballot Access was hired to manage this petition drive.

## Result

Amendment 46 :
| Choice | Votes | % |
| No | 1,138,134 | 50.81 |
| Yes | 1,102,046 | 49.19 |
| Total votes | 2,240,180 | 100.00 |

## Aftermath

Initiatives with the same language have been introduced and approved in five other states, including California (1996), Washington (1998), Michigan (2006), Nebraska (2008), and Arizona (2010); Colorado was the first state where it was defeated. On December 17, 2010 the University of Colorado at Boulder released a report analyzing the factors that led to the defeat of Amendment 46. According to the study, "...Coloradans overwhelmingly intended to support affirmative action on Election Day; arguably, were Amendment 46 a clearly worded referendum on attitudes toward affirmative action, it would have failed by a much wider margin: 66 to 34 percent." The report also found that (a) many voters were confused by the initiative, (b) voters who followed the measure in the media were more likely to oppose it, and (c) proposed alternative initiatives in support of equal opportunity contributed to the measure's defeat.