Bill to require plain, accessible ballot titles advances after broad testimony

Representatives Wynne and Garcia presented HB13‑20 to improve the readability of ballot titles for citizen initiatives by embedding plain‑language drafting principles in the Title Board process and giving drafters flexibility to organize required content in a clearer, more comprehensible way.

Witnesses from language‑access and voting‑rights organizations—Claro, Mi Familia Vota, Colorado ASL advocacy, the League of Women Voters, and disability‑rights advocates—testified that Colorado’s ballot titles are often legally complex and difficult for many voters to parse. Mike Cortez (CLARO) and Christo Luna (Mi Familia Vota) said long, technical titles discourage participation and disproportionately affect people with lower formal education or whose first language is not English. Amy Spicer presented a before/after example showing a complex title simplified to more accessible wording and cited readability tests.

The committee adopted Representative Winn’s amendment l_002 to codify accessibility elements and clarify interactions with a separate ballot‑transparency bill under consideration; the amended bill advanced to the Committee of the Whole on a vote of 8‑3.