Colorado.
Amendment A, November 6, 2018. Colorado is in the enforcement phase.
Documents gathered and read September 28, 2026. Tracker entry · Where we stand
Colorado Constitution, Article II, Section 26.
There shall never be in this state either slavery or involuntary servitude.
Amendment A, November 6, 2018.
The question on the ballot.
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?
Source: 2018 State Ballot Information Booklet, Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly.
Before and after.
Before the amendment.
There shall never be in this state either slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.
Read from: 2018 State Ballot Information Booklet, Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly.
The official arguments.
For.
This measure eliminates slavery and involuntary servitude in all circumstances.
Against.
The measure can be viewed as making a change to the Colorado constitution that is redundant.
Source: 2018 State Ballot Information Booklet.
After the vote.
Established holding Mortis v. Polis, Denver District Court, Case No. 2022CV30421, February 13, 2026 (Wallace, J.). 61 pages. Colorado Department of Corrections' coercive labor practices held unconstitutional under the Colorado Constitution, Article II, Section 26, as amended by the voters in 2018. The first ruling to give a removal operational force. Decided as involuntary servitude; the court was never asked to say what slavery means.
The record, to download.
- 2018 State Ballot Information Booklet: analysis, arguments, ballot title, and text. Amendment A begins at page 38 (PDF)
- 2018 State Ballot Information Booklet, Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly, official copy
- Colorado's first attempt, Amendment T, fell short in November 2016. Its ballot question has not yet been gathered from an official copy.
- The referred measure required at least fifty-five percent of the votes cast on it.
- The certified results have not yet been gathered from an official copy.
Cite this page. Abolish Slavery National Network, “Colorado: The Punishment Exception, Removed,” https://abolishslavery.us/state-co.html.