Colorado voters on Tuesday passed Amendment A, a measure that will remove language from the state constitution that allows slavery and forced servitude as punishment for crimes.
With more than 95 percent of Colorado counties reporting results, the amendment had the support of 64.9 percent of voters, according a Colorado Secretary of State’s Office update just after 9 p.m. Tuesday. More than 1.07 million Coloradans supported the amendment while 578,299 opposed it.
The constitutional change needed 55 percent of the vote to become law.
Slavery and involuntary servitude are already illegal at a federal level in the Unites States, so the law change is symbolic. Proponents argue erasing the 1876 language authorizing it as punishment for crimes in Colorado will reaffirm the state’s commitment to equality for all.
Amendment A is the second attempt to remove the slavery language from Colorado’s guiding government document in two years. Its precursor failed in 2016 due in part to confusing ballot language.
