Coloradans will see three initiated measures – Initiatives 96, 121, and 122 – on the November ballot related to alcohol. The secretary of state announced that the measures qualified for the ballot on August 26. To qualify for the ballot, sponsors needed to submit 124,632 valid signatures for each proposal.
Initiative 96 would incrementally increase the number of retail liquor store licenses an individual may own or hold a share in from three to 20 in 2036 and an unlimited number in 2037. Coloradans for Consumer Choice and Retail Fairness, the campaign behind the measure, received $2.2 million and has the support of Colorado Fine Wines & Spirits LLC, U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Maryland), and his brother who co-owns Total Wine with him, Robert Trone. Sponsors for Initiative 96 submitted 225,440 signatures and 149,799 were projected to be valid.
Initiatives 121 and 122, sponsored by Wine in Grocery Stores, received $3.97 million from DoorDash and InstaCart. Initiative 121 would create a new fermented malt beverage and wine retailer license to allow grocery stores, convenience stores, and other businesses that are licensed to sell beer to also sell wine. Initiative 122 would allow retail establishments licensed to sell alcohol for off-site consumption to offer a delivery service or allow for a third-party alcohol delivery service.
For Initiative 121, 192,017 signatures were submitted and 142,697 were projected to be valid. For Initiative 122, 185,790 signatures were submitted and 139,312 were projected to be valid.
The initiatives are among 11 ballot measures that Colorado voters will decide in November. Three other citizen-initiated measures were certified for the ballot. Additionally, the Colorado State Legislature referred three constitutional amendments and two statutory measures to the ballot.
From 1985 through 2020, an average of nine measures appeared on the statewide ballot during even-numbered years in Colorado. The approval rate for measures on the ballot in even-numbered years was 47.34%.
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