On Tuesday, voters expressed strong support for repealing the outdated definition of marriage in the Colorado Constitution, which limited unions to only those between a man and a woman.
More than 1.7 million votes have been counted so far, and Amendment J is currently leading with 64% support as of 8:15 p.m.
The proposed measure aims to eliminate the provision in the state’s constitution that restricts legal marriages to heterosexual couples. Back in 2006 voter-approved amendment enshrined this definition in the constitution.
Election Results: Stay updated with live Colorado election results for the 2024 election. Same-sex marriages have been legalized since a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling rendering the issue moot.
The supporters of this year’s amendment, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, and Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, expressed concerns about the potential risk to these unions if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn previous rulings.
Opponents, like the Colorado Catholic Conference, argue that marriage should be founded on biological reproduction between a man and a woman. They believe that the current definition of marriage in the constitution should be upheld, in case the courts ever reconsider their position on same-sex marriage in the future.