Petitions for final five ballot measures, including oil-and-gas, turned in today

DENVER, August 8, 2016 -- Coloradans in November could be deciding whether to allow local governments to ban oil-and-gas development, triple the taxes on a pack of cigarettes and require county clerks to send unaffiliated voters ballots for Republican and Democratic candidates during the primary election.

Today was the final day for citizens attempting to put a measure on the Nov. 8 ballot to turn in their petition signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State's office. The following five measures were turned in before the 3 p.m. deadline:

• Local government authority to regulate oil-and-gas development No. 75
• Mandatory setback for oil/gas development No. 78
• New cigarette and tobacco taxes No. 143
• Primary elections No. 98
• Presidential primary election No. 140

The office will now conduct a 5-percent random sample of submitted signatures to determine whether the proposals meet the threshold to make the ballot. To get on the ballot, proponents need to submit 98,492 valid voter signatures -- 5 percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for Colorado Secretary of State in the last general election.

The Secretary of State's Office has 30 days after signatures are submitted, Sept. 7, to announce whether a proposal made the ballot.

The backers of the following measures earlier turned in their signature petitions and are awaiting to hear whether they made the ballot:

• State minimum wage No. 101
• Medical aid in dying No. 145
• Requirements for constitutional amendments No. 96

Also on the ballot are two measures referred by the Colorado General Assembly Amendment T, regarding servitude, and Amendment U, regarding property taxes. In addition, the Denver Metro Scientific and Cultural Facilities Board put Ballot Issue 4B, a sales-and-use tax measure, on ballots in the following counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Boulder, Denver, Douglas (except Castle Rock and Larkspur) and Jefferson.

Earlier, high-profile liquor measures and a proposal dealing with the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights were pulled by their sponsors after signature-gathering had already started.