comUNIDAD! We need your support at a press conference this Thursday, October 13th at 11:30 a.m. on the west steps of the Capitol to help express our opposition to Amendment 71, also known as “Raise the Bar.”

Join us and theses organizations in opposition (more info below):
AFL-CIO
America Votes
Arapahoe Tea Party
Be the Change – USA
The Bell Policy Center
Boulder City Council Chambers
Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones
Citizens for Huerfano County
Citizens in Charge
CleanSlateNow.org
Colorado Center on Law and Policy
Colorado Common Cause
Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Firearms Coalition
Colorado Fiscal Institute
Coloradans Resisting Extreme Energy Development
Colorado Right To Life
Colorado Rising
Colorado Union of Taxpayers
Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition
Colorado Tea Party Patriots
Congressman Jared Polis
Conservation Colorado
Democratic Party of Denver
Denver Republican Party
Divestment Student Network
Eagle County GOP
EARTHWORKS
Families Against Court Embezzlement Unethical Standards
Food & Water Watch
Former CO State Senate President John Andrews
Frack-Free Co
Fracktivist
Generation Latino
Green Cities Coalition of the Pikes Peak Region
Greenpeace USA
Groups and Individuals Who are Opposed to 71
Independence Institute
Jefferson County Republican Party
The Judicial Integrity Project
Lakewood Fracktivists
The Libertarian Party of Colorado
Longmont City Councilmember Joan Peck
Metro Denver Community Rights
Mi Familia Vota & Mi Familia Vota – Colorado
NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado
New Era Colorado
North Metro Neighbors for Safe Energy
Our Health, Our Future, Our Longmont
Padres & Jóvenes Unidos
ProgressNow Colorado
The Question Alliance
Regent at Large Candidate Alice Madden
SEIU
Servicios de La Raza‘s DALE (Driving Active Latino Electorate) Program
Sierra Club
South Park Coalition
State Representative Joe Salazar
State Representative Kim Ransom
State Representative Mike Foote
State Senator John Cooke
State Senator Justin Everett
State Senator Kent Lambert
State Senator Kevin Lundberg
TABOR Committee
TransparentCourts
Wall of Women Colorado – WOW
Weld Air and Water
What the Frack?! Arapahoe
350 Central Colorado
350 Colorado

Raise the Bar deeply concerns Servicios de la Raza due to specific dangers that threaten our access and participation in Colorado’s democracy and unintended consequences that directly impact the Latino community.

As many of you know and understand, accumulating political representation that is proportional to our population in order for our interests to be adequately represented is a daily challenge. Our Latino community in Colorado has been struggling to harness our political voice and power and will suffer severe unintended consequences from passage of Amendment 71, which would result in the dilution of our political power. Raise the Bar, which is said to be backed by wealthy special interests and those in the oil and gas industry, would make it nearly impossible for Latinos in 35 districts to have a say on ballot initiatives that impact their community due to common barriers outside of our populations center, including voter suppression, intimidation tactics and generally less political engagement in more rural parts of the state.

We are working with other organizations to denounce Amendment 71, and we are all concerned about the fiscal impact Amendment 71 will place on our small community-based organizations. The measure would increase the already spiraling costs of petitioning a matter onto the ballot due to the expense of circulating petitions in all 35 state senate districts.

Additional concerns include:
· Amendment 71’s required 55% super-majority will make it difficult to improve problematic constitutional provisions.
· Amendment 71 will hamper voter consideration of repeal measures, as the repeal of as little as a single word in the constitution will require petition signatures to be collected in all 35 state senate districts.
· Amendment 71 would enable voters in a single state senate district to veto presentation of a constitutional amendment to the statewide electorate if voters in just ONE state senate district don’t sign in sufficient numbers.

We urge you to join us this Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at the west steps of the Capitol building. We feel strongly that Amendment 71 is poorly written, deeply flawed, and will result in unintended consequences that harm Colorado’s democracy.