Colorado Politics: The federal appeals court based in Denver rejected a conservative group’s challenge on Friday to a 2021 Colorado law that requires tax-cutting ballot initiatives to provide details to voters about affected services, even if the mandated information is inaccurate.

Following the 1992 enactment of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, ballot measures seeking to increase tax rates or impose new taxes must include a statement disclosing the amount in the title voters see. Three years ago, the Democratic-controlled legislature enacted a law requiring similar disclosures for measures that reduce spending — including the amount of revenue to be lost and the programs that could be affected.

Advance Colorado, a conservative organization that has backed tax-cutting measures in the past, argued the law compels them to incorporate the government’s own message in its ballot initiatives in violation of the First Amendment. A trial judge disagreed with the group, and a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit confirmed that Colorado’s process for setting ballot titles meant the disputed “speech” was actually from the government, expressed by the government.

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