In 2002, Colorado voters approved Amendment 27 by a 2-to-1 margin to enact comprehensive campaign finance reform for state-level political campaigns. A coalition of groups, including the League of Women Voters of Colorado, Colorado Common Cause, Reclaim Democracy, and Voter Revolt helped develop and supported the grassroots reform measure under the campaign slogan "Get Big Money Out of Politics".
The amendment puts campaign finance reforms into the State’s constitution so any changes in the future must be put to the citizenry for a vote. The measure changes the following:
- Reduces contribution limits from $5,000 to $500 for Governor, $1,500 to $200 for state Senate, and $1,000 to $200 for state House races.
- Bans corporate and union contributions to candidates and political parties.
- Lowers the contribution limit to Political Action Committees (PACs) from $25,000 a year to $500 per two-year cycle and limits their contributions to candidates
- Creates small-donor committees for individual citizens to pool $50 contributions.
- Requires better disclosure of the funding sources of so-called "educational committees" that run attack ads about candidates.
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