Plain language
The ballot question would have to be written so voters can understand it without specialized legal wording.
Ballot status
Amendment 85
Listed for Colorado's 2026 ballot.
Amendment 85: Initiative #234, Plain Language Ballot QuestionsThe official question
Official ballot languageWhat voters will see
Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution concerning ballot question language, and, in connection therewith, requiring all state and local ballot questions
to be written in plain language and at no more than an 8th grade reading level
and prohibiting a state statute from requiring language that conflicts with these requirements in ballot questions for citizen-initiated measures?
Our explanation, not official ballot language
In plain terms
The standard is simple.
Eighth-grade reading level
The question would also have to meet a reading-level limit of no more than eighth grade.
Read the boundary
What the measure does not do.
A limit on conflicting statutory language
The conflict rule applies to ballot questions for citizen-initiated measures; it does not rewrite the official question itself.
Key implementation questions
What the record leaves open.
How would the reading-level standard be applied?
The official question sets the eighth-grade ceiling. The final initiative text and HB26-1320 show how the standard is applied in practice.
Which ballot questions would the standard cover?
State and local ballot questions are both covered. For the full scope, read the final initiative text.
What happens when existing law requires conflicting wording?
Under the amendment, a state statute could not mandate wording that conflicts with the plain-language standard for citizen-initiated measures. The final text sets out that rule.
Sourced FAQ preview
Answers with the record attached.
Why is Amendment 85 needed?
It starts with the wording voters see. Amendment 85 would require state and local ballot questions to use plain language and no more than an eighth-grade reading level. The official ballot listing and final text describe that standard.
How would the eighth-grade standard be measured and applied?
The ballot question sets a plain-language requirement and an eighth-grade ceiling. The final text and HB26-1320 carry the detail. This guide does not invent a scoring formula.
How does Amendment 85 relate to HB26-1320?
HB26-1320 is an enacted law on accessible statutory ballot titles. Amendment 85 is a separate, proposed constitutional change. Read them together: the law covers statutory titles, and the amendment would put the plain-language standard in the Colorado Constitution.
Start here
The measure in one sentence
Amendment 85 would set a plain-language standard for state and local ballot questions, with a reading level no higher than eighth grade.
Amendment 85: Initiative #234, Plain Language Ballot QuestionsAbout this guideSource desk
Begin with the official record.
Every explanation on this site starts with the state's published ballot materials.
Amendment 85: Initiative #234, Plain Language Ballot QuestionsSee all sourcesNext step
Read every clause.
The guided text walks the official question clause by clause, linking each note to the public record it explains.
Open the guided text