Colorado's Ballot Measures Test Whether Voters Will Check the State's Leftward Policy Drift
Source: Helen Raleigh. "Colorado Puts 'Tax The Rich' And 'Trans The Kids' To The Test." October 27, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Colorado's Democrat-run government has pushed the state too far left, hurting businesses and pursuing radical gender policies. She says voters should vote no on a graduated income tax and yes on two measures limiting trans athletes and youth surgeries, as a way to put a brake on that trend.
Conclusion
Colorado voters should reject Amendment 87 and pass Propositions 134 and 135, because Democratic one-party governance has produced economic harm and ideological overreach, and these measures are the voters' chance to impose limits on the state's leftist direction.
Premises
- Amendment 87 would replace the flat income tax with a graduated system whose brackets do not adjust for inflation, so inflation-driven income growth would push more taxpayers into higher brackets and raise taxes over time for all Coloradans, not just high earners.
- Amendment 87 would remove TABOR's single-rate requirement and exempt the new revenue from TABOR's spending limits and refunds, weakening a core taxpayer protection.
- Higher rates could nearly double taxes for companies with $3 million or more in profit, in a state that has already lost or failed to attract nearly 100 companies since 2019 (about 13,607 jobs affected, per a Chamber of Commerce report).
- Even the left-leaning Denver Post opposes Amendment 87, which suggests the measure is extreme.
- Colorado's Democratic supermajority and Gov. Polis have for years expanded mandated coverage of transgender medical interventions and school affirmation policies, and shielded them from outside challenge (e.g., HB25-1309).
- Prop 134 addresses real fairness, safety, and privacy concerns because males retain physical advantages after transition, and 27 other states have comparable policies.
- Prop 135 is justified because irreversible surgeries on minors raise consent concerns, as shown by detransitioner accounts and by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' guidance that such surgeries wait until age 19.
Assumptions
- Colorado's job losses, business departures, and rising cost of living are caused primarily by Democratic governance rather than by broader economic factors.
- Inflation-driven bracket creep will outweigh the initial rate cuts for most households, so the net effect of Amendment 87 is a tax increase.
- Opposition from the Denver Post is meaningful evidence about a measure's merits.
- Sex-based categories for sports and age limits on surgeries are legitimate, desirable policy goals rather than discriminatory ones.
- Ballot measures are a valid way to check legislative policy, and the outcomes will reflect voters' views on the state's overall ideological direction.
- Tax policy and gender policy are part of one coherent pattern of 'leftist' overreach that voters should judge together.