Overview:
Read more about Amendments 86 and 87 in Colorado’s upcoming 2026 midterm elections and the current vote counts.
As of 8:55 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4, Colorado voters appear to have rejected both amendments 86 and 87.
Compared to a proposition, which requires a simple majority to pass, amendments require 55% of the vote to be enacted. According to current totals, 53.39% of voters voted no on Amendment 86, and roughly 50% voted no on Amendment 87.
Amendment 86 would change the state constitution to force the state’s independent redistricting commission and the Colorado Supreme Court to approve mid-decade redistricting.
The revision is backed by Advance Colorado, a conservative group whose donors are not publicly disclosed. It focuses on “reversing radical policies” and “restoring common sense values and principles in Colorado,” according to its website.
Redistricting typically only happens once a decade. This amendment will require 55% of voter support to pass. If it doesn’t pass, congressional districts will continue to be redrawn every 10 years.
Amendment 87, which appears on this year’s midterm ballot, proposes a six-tiered graduated income tax. Under this measure, an annual $2 billion in revenue will be put toward education, healthcare and childcare initiatives. It will also cut taxes for those earning below $500,000 a year and raise taxes for those making over a million a year.
Governor Polis and governor-elect Phil Weiser publicly opposed the measure, saying it could clash with Proposition 136, which would cap state income tax at 4.4%. Senator Michael Bennett, who lost the Democratic primary to Weiser, backs the revision. The amendment is also backed by liberal advocacy groups, including the Bell Policy Center, the Colorado Fiscal Institute and the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.
Colorado has had a flat income tax rate since 1987. Currently, all individuals and businesses in the state pay a flat 4.4% on their yearly income.
If both Amendment 87 and Prop 136 pass, a court or the state legislature will decide whether Amendment 87’s proposed tax cuts will still take effect. Weiser said this could cut state revenue by $600 million. Supporters of the measure say the new brackets should apply to all incomes or not at all.
