Proposed Initiative #120 (“Prohibition on Late-Term Abortion”) Qualifies For 2020 Ballot
Denver, June 8, 2020 – The Elections Division of the Colorado Secretary of State's Office announced today that Proposed Initiative 120 ("Prohibition on Late-Term Abortion") obtained the sufficient number of signatures needed to qualify for the 2020 General Election ballot.
On March 4, the "Prohibition on Late-Term Abortion" Initiative submitted 137,624 petition signatures, needing 124,632 valid signatures to qualify for inclusion on the 2020 ballot. After a 5% random sample of qualified signatures, the Elections Division determined the projected verification level to be 97.51%, falling within 90-110% of the number required and thereby necessitating line-by-line signature verification. After examining and reviewing each signature, the Secretary of State's Office determined that 114,647 signatures were valid, falling short of the 124,632 valid signature threshold. These requirements are outlined by Article V, Section 1 (3) of the Colorado constitution.
The proponents initially did not submit the required number of signatures but by law were afforded an opportunity to cure the insufficiency. By order of a district court, the proponents secured an extension of the period in which they could acquire the sufficient number of valid signatures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That cure period to reach sufficiency began on May 15 and ended at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 29, at which time an additional 48,689 signatures were submitted.
Upon review, the Elections Division has determined a sufficient number of signatures have been submitted and the proposed initiative will appear on the November 3 General Election Ballot.
Line-By-Line Verification Summary:
| Total number of qualified signatures lines | 137,624 |
| Total number of entries accepted (valid) | 114,647 |
| Total number of entries rejected (invalid) | 22,977 |
| Total number of valid signatures required for placement on ballot | 124,632 |
Cure review:
| Total number of qualified signature lines | 48,689 |
| Total number of entries accepted (valid) | 38,557 |
| Total number of entries rejected (invalid) | 10,132 |
| Total number of valid signatures from original submission | 114,647 |
| Total number of valid signatures | 153,204 |
The initial Statement of Insufficiency is available here. The subsequent Statement of Sufficiency is here. The text of the "Prohibition on Late-Term Abortion" Initiative is available here.
A record of all accepted and rejected signatures, including reasons for each rejection is on file with the Secretary of State.
The other initiatives approved for the 2020 ballot at this time are Senate Bill 19-042 National Popular Vote Referendum, Initiative 76 ("Citizen Qualification of Electors"), and Initiative 107 ("Restoration of Gray Wolves").
