2004 Colorado Amendment 36

Amendment 36 was an initiated constitutional amendment on the ballot in Colorado on November 2, 2004. It would have changed the way in which the state apportioned its electoral votes. Rather than assigning all of the state's electors to the candidate with a plurality of popular votes, under the amendment, Colorado would have assigned presidential electors proportionally to the statewide vote count, which would be a unique system (Nebraska and Maine assign electoral votes based on vote totals within each congressional district). The amendment did not pass.

Amendment 36

November 2, 2004
Selection of Presidential Electors
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 696,770 34.78% No 1,306,834 65.22% Valid votes 2,003,604 93.38% Invalid or blank votes 141,951 6.62% Total votes 2,145,555 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 2,421,970 88.59%
For   50–60% Against   80-90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%

Contents

The amendment appeared on the ballot as follows:

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning popular proportional selection of presidential electors, and, in connection therewith, creating procedures for allocating Colorado's electoral votes for president and vice-president of the United States, based on the proportion of ballots that are cast in this state for each presidential ticket; making the terms of the proposed amendment effective so that popular proportional selection of presidential electors applies to the 2004 general election; setting forth procedures and timelines that govern the certification of election results and the potential recounting of votes in elections for presidential electors and in the election on this proposed amendment; granting the Colorado supreme court original jurisdiction for the adjudication of all contests concerning presidential electors and requiring that such matters be heard and decided on an expedited basis; and authorizing the general assembly to enact legislation to change the manner of selecting presidential electors or any of the procedures contained in this amendment?

Results

The amendment ultimately failed, garnering only 34.78% of the vote:

Colorado Amendment 36

Choice	Votes	%
No (remains winner-take-all)	1,306,834	65.22
Yes (proportional split)	696,770	34.78
Valid votes	2,003,604	93.38%
Total votes	2,145,555	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	2,421,970	88.59%

External links

• Proposed text of Colorado Amendment 36
• Official results of vote on Colorado Amendment 36
• Pros and cons of Colorado Amendment 36