CBS Colorado put all 14 ballot questions to a readability test - many of them failed

This year's Colorado ballot has the most ballot questions ever—14—and many of them are complex.

In Colorado, the State Title Board writes ballot questions, or titles, for citizen initiatives. The board consists of three people appointed by the secretary of state, attorney general and the Office of Legislative Legal Services.

Because state law requires ballot titles to be written as "yes" or "no" questions, the board often writes them as one long sentence. This year's questions average 85 words. Federal plain-language guidance recommends sentences average 15 to 20 words.

CBS Colorado used the Flesch-Kincaid readability formula — one of the most widely known readability tests — to determine what grade level a reader would need to easily understand the questions on this year's ballot.

The test showed that half the measures require 13 years of education or more to understand easily. The other half require at least 10 years of education.

Even Amendment 85 — which would require all state and local ballot questions to be written at no higher than an eighth-grade reading level — scores at an 11th-grade reading level. It includes phrases such as "in connection therewith."

Amendment 85 would apply to citizen initiatives, measures referred by the Legislature, and ballot questions in schools and municipalities.

It also "prohibits laws that require specific language ... if the laws interfere with the plain language in the ballot title."

Opponents say that provision could prevent laws that add critical information or help voters better understand the effects of a measure.

They also say Amendment 85 is unnecessary, pointing out that state law already requires ballot questions to be written in "plain language that is understood by the widest possible audience."

But Ballotpedia — which has tested the readability of ballot measures since 2017 — says Colorado's questions are among the hardest to read in the country, requiring an average of 27 years of education.

The Center for Plain Language says the average U.S. adult reads at an eighth-grade level, making it a standard benchmark for clear public communication.

Proponents of Amendment 85 — including conservatives and liberals — say tax impacts and other necessary information can still appear in ballot measures. They just have to be written in a way voters can understand.

The right to vote, they say, includes the right to understand what you're voting on.