Support
← Why it matters

Why clarity matters

See the difference in Colorado’s own voter guide.

Colorado’s Blue Book pairs official ballot titles with shorter explanations of what a yes or no vote means. Looking at both shows how the same policy choice can be presented with very different levels of structural complexity.

From Colorado’s 2024 Blue Book

Two official titles. Two official explanations.

The long ballot title and the shorter “What Your Vote Means” summaries below all come from the same official state voter guide. The summaries are not campaign rewrites.

Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax

Proposition KK

Reading-level score
39
Official title
89 words

Official ballot title

SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED BY $39,000,000 ANNUALLY TO FUND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, INCLUDING FOR MILITARY VETERANS AND AT-RISK YOUTH, SCHOOL SAFETY AND GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION, AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES BY IMPOSING A TAX ON GUN DEALERS, GUN MANUFACTURERS, AND AMMUNITION VENDORS AT THE RATE OF 6.5% OF THE NET TAXABLE SALES FROM THE RETAIL SALE OF ANY GUN, GUN PRECURSOR PART, OR AMMUNITION, WITH THE STATE KEEPING AND SPENDING ALL OF THE NEW TAX REVENUE AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE?

Official Blue Book summaries

What a yes vote means

A “yes” vote on Proposition KK creates a new tax on firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition, and uses the revenue for crime victim services, mental health services for veterans and youth, and school safety programs.

What a no vote means

A “no” vote on Proposition KK means the state’s taxation of firearms and ammunition will not change.

Sources: Official voter guide, Readability analysis

Modify Property Tax Exemption for Veterans with Disabilities

Amendment G

Reading-level score
30
Official title
50 words

Official ballot title

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning the expansion of eligibility for the property tax exemption for veterans with a disability to include a veteran who does not have a service-connected disability rated as a one hundred percent permanent disability but does have individual unemployability status?

Official Blue Book summaries

What a yes vote means

A “yes” vote on Amendment G reduces the property taxes paid by some veteran homeowners by expanding the existing homestead exemption to include veterans whose disability is rated as making them unemployable.

What a no vote means

A “no” vote on Amendment G means that existing requirements to receive the homestead exemption remain in place, and it continues to be available to veterans whose disability is rated as 100 percent permanent and total.

Sources: Official voter guide, Readability analysis

A tax-language example

The tax information can stay.

The same rate, products, sellers, revenue estimate, spending authority, and funded services can be presented in shorter sentences.

Official Proposition KK title

SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED BY $39,000,000 ANNUALLY TO FUND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, INCLUDING FOR MILITARY VETERANS AND AT-RISK YOUTH, SCHOOL SAFETY AND GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION, AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES BY IMPOSING A TAX ON GUN DEALERS, GUN MANUFACTURERS, AND AMMUNITION VENDORS AT THE RATE OF 6.5% OF THE NET TAXABLE SALES FROM THE RETAIL SALE OF ANY GUN, GUN PRECURSOR PART, OR AMMUNITION, WITH THE STATE KEEPING AND SPENDING ALL OF THE NEW TAX REVENUE AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE?

Illustration—not official ballot text

Should Colorado add a 6.5% tax to retail sales by gun dealers, gun makers, and ammunition sellers? The tax would apply to guns, gun parts, and ammunition. It would raise about $39 million each year. The state would keep and spend all the new revenue as a voter-approved revenue change. The money would fund services for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes, mental health care for military veterans and at-risk youth, school safety, and programs to prevent gun violence.

Estimated reading level: grade 8. The Flesch-Kincaid calculation produced 7.9, rounded to the nearest grade.

Sources: Official voter guide, Readability analysis

A Colorado precedent

The same constitutional issue appeared twice.

Colorado voters considered the same constitutional issue in 2016 and 2018. The official questions described that change differently.

2016

Amendment T

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning the removal of the exception to the prohibition of slavery and involuntary servitude when used as punishment for persons duly convicted of a crime?

Did not pass: 1,280,037 yes; 1,296,722 no.

2018

Amendment A

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution that prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime and thereby prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude in all circumstances?

Passed: 1,599,790 yes; 816,342 no.

The figures do not establish what caused either result.

Sources: 2016 Amendment T — No Exceptions to Involuntary Servitude Prohibition, 2018 Amendment A — Prohibit Slavery and Involuntary Servitude in All Circumstances

How the score works

How the score is calculated.

Microsoft Word displays Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level statistics after checking a document’s spelling and grammar.

Amendment 85 does not name a formula. Implementation requires a consistent, published method.

Sources: Ballot Measure Readability Scores, 2024, Get Your Document's Readability and Level Statistics in Microsoft Word

Source record

Read the documents behind the examples.

  1. Official voter guide

    2024 State Ballot Information Booklet

    Colorado Legislative Council

  2. Readability analysis

    Ballot Measure Readability Scores, 2024

    Ballotpedia

  3. Readability documentation

    Get Your Document's Readability and Level Statistics in Microsoft Word

    Microsoft Support

  4. Official election record

    2016 Amendment T — No Exceptions to Involuntary Servitude Prohibition

    Colorado Secretary of State

  5. Official election record

    2018 Amendment A — Prohibit Slavery and Involuntary Servitude in All Circumstances

    Colorado Secretary of State