SAVING DEMOCRACY 

Colorado Democrats commit to a democracy where every voice matters, every vote counts, every official answers to the law and the people, and no amount of money can buy the government that belongs to all of us. We expect our elected leaders to support only actions, laws, and policies that promote the well being of the people of Colorado. Without free elections, protected freedoms, accountable government, and an informed public, no other policy promise matters. 

Protecting Democratic Freedoms

Democracy protects the daily freedom to speak, assemble, organize, and hold power accountable without fear of retaliation. We will work to:

• Defend the First Amendment in full — speech, press, assembly, petition, and religion.

• Protect the right to protest without militarized response, surveillance, or prosecution.

• Uphold the separation of church and state. No religious doctrine should dictate government policy.

• Oppose political retaliation by the government. Firing employees for their views and weaponizing agencies against critics are hallmarks of authoritarianism.

• Defend academic freedom, scientific independence, and the right to organize.

• Oppose any Article V constitutional convention until clear rules, transparency, and enforceable safeguards are established to prevent abuse of the amendment process.

Free, Fair, and Representative Elections

Colorado leads the nation in election integrity and access. To protect that legacy, we will work to:

• Defend state-run elections against federal attempts to nationalize or militarize the process.

• Protect mail-in voting, same-day registration, drop boxes, and Confidential Voter registration.

• Ensure election security through nonpartisan audits, paper ballots, and the right to verify and cure ballots.

• Protect election integrity by criminalizing intimidation, voter suppression, deliberate misinformation to voters, threats to election staff, or any other act that undermines fair elections.

• Guarantee voting access regardless of race, gender, party, religious beliefs, income, housing status, disability, language, active duty military status, or criminal justice history.

• Support independent redistricting commissions, except as needed in defense of democracy.

• Support ranked-choice voting for party primaries, special elections, nomination contests, and non-partisan elections.

• Support statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico. Citizens should have representation in congress and be able to vote in presidential elections.

A Government of Laws, Not Power

Our constitutional system depends on the separation of powers, and a system of checks and balances. That separation is under assault and needs to be strengthened. We will work to:

• Close accountability loopholes, including claims of immunity and privilege, that allow powerful officials to evade justice.

• Limit executive overreach. The executive branch must faithfully execute laws, not rewrite them or issue decrees.

• Protect judicial independence and require a transparent and binding code of ethics for the Colorado Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Defend Colorado's constitutional authority to govern itself and pass its own laws.

• Oppose any attempt to transform our democratic republic into a dictatorship.

• Enforce the 14th Amendment. Those who engage in insurrection are disqualified from office.

People In, Money Out

The influence of concentrated wealth in our elections, enabled by the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, is the single greatest structural threat to our representative democracy. We will confront it directly. We will also work to: 

• Support a constitutional amendment to prevent any anonymous funding of political campaigns. Money is not speech; corporations are not people. 

• Require full disclosure of political spending and “Dark Money” donors intended to influence elections.

• Support public financing that allows a broader pool of candidates. You shouldn’t have to be rich to run for office. 

• Oppose the concentration of political power in the hands of the ultra wealthy and foreign interests.

Accountable, Ethical Government

Corruption and conflicts of interest destroy public faith in democracy. Restoring trust requires transparency, enforceable ethics, and real consequences. We will work to:

• Ban stock trading and betting by elected officials and their families. Public servants must avoid even the appearance of conflicts.

• Bar industry executives from being appointed to agencies that regulate their former employers.

• Prohibit regulators from working in related industries for a minimum number of years after government service. 

• Strengthen Open Records laws and oppose attempts to weaken Open Meeting requirements.

• Protect whistleblowers from retaliation and public identification.

• Extend whistleblower protections to government attorneys, Inspectors General, and officials who report violations of law, misconduct, or improper political interference.

• Protect government employees and members of the military who refuse unlawful orders that violate their oath.

An Informed and Engaged Public 

Democracy depends on truthful and factual information, and on an informed electorate. We will work to:

• Defend a free, independent press from censorship and the excessive concentration of ownership. 

• Support civic education so that every student understands democracy.

• Expand media literacy so the public can recognize propaganda, and mis- and disinformation.

• Clearly identify advertising and AI-generated online content. For more, please see the GUIDING COLORADO’S NEW TECHNOLOGY AND AI plank.

• Support funding for public broadcasting and local news outlets to combat news deserts.

• Ensure internet providers deliver information fairly to all customers.

Economic Policy, Job Creation, and Social Justice

By recognizing that social justice embraces the whole of Colorado communities, from urban, suburban, unincorporated, rural, and frontier areas, we will promote the advancement of inclusion and belonging of all. From childhood throughout our lifespan, we will be a model for a just, sustainable, inclusive vision of society that can advance in ways that support human dignity while honoring biodiversity and connectedness for a vital future.

Income inequality and the distribution and concentration of wealth present a destabilizing and divisive environment for the population of the U.S. Reduction in social safety services and the fractured access to those services leaves individuals and families struggling to meet basic needs. The increasing concentration of wealth coupled with the growing income gap has placed an ongoing burden on people, resulting in an imbalance of power with diminished opportunities for financial stability and employment. We support the rights of communities to thrive through sustainable economic policies, robust job creation, training systems, and the right to unionize. We believe in sustainability, which contributes to the health and dignity of the workforce and the fundamental right to a living wage. 

Human and Basic Civil Rights are Universal

We encourage and support the right of all persons to peacefully assemble and engage in civil disobedience. We work to combat racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and white supremacy, and to protect against discrimination and to create equity in the pursuit of justice for all. We oppose the use of eminent domain to usurp property rights for the economic gain of private individuals, corporations, and organizations. Democracy requires and promotes open access to information and literature. We oppose book bans, historical revisionism, and restrictions on academic liberty. Colorado should create a framework for divestment in foreign countries with civil rights or human rights abuse issues, and repeal laws that inhibit an individual’s right to boycott specific countries or institutions. We acknowledge that corporations and the ultrawealthy use our needs and rights against us in an exclusive way, and we stand in opposition to any effort to limit or restrict open access to our foundational rights and fundamental needs as outlined below.

A system of laws and government constituted by human beings is not capable of fully enumerating the breadth of rights possessed by all living and naturally-occurring non-living entities. We support any and all rights that facilitate the full and free expression of existence. We believe in and promote a bill of positive rights that would augment the Bill of Rights and apply to all living beings, which would secure the right to:

• Exist, without experiencing violence, in a mode that applies to their situation

• Express their existence and association publicly

• Self determination

• A healthy environment

• Fully access the natural and wild environment

• Access affordable healthcare

• A diverse, equitable, high-quality, and affordable or free education

• Be employed in a just and favorable condition with adequate compensation

• Access an economy free from exploitation and unfair competition 

• Not engage or be influenced by commercial interests

• Access a robust judicial system with equitable legal representation

• Freedom from manipulation and defraudment 

• Ownership of all personal information, including data privacy

• Fully own and control one’s property, while not doing damage to other properties

• Housing or shelter

• Live and age in place in one’s own community in a home that is accessible

• Healthy food and clean water and air 

• Equal pay

• Bodily autonomy and well being

• Have children

• Not have children

• Nurture children in a safe and healthy environment

• Life free from fear

• Life free from mental, emotional, sexual, and physical violence.

These positive rights will not be used to override any other natural, common, or constitutional right.

Patriarchal Systems, Religious Nationalism, and Systemic Racism 

Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Educate the public on the benefits and meaning of bodily autonomy and the right to make choices with our life.

• Enact and enforce laws that address hate crimes by maintaining a hate crime reporting system that is easily accessible to everyone.

• Prohibit religious exemptions, legislation, and ballot initiatives that mask discrimination as religious beliefs.

• Hold all religious entities accountable to the same civil rights responsibilities as all other government and public entities.

• Prohibit the authorization of exemption from generally applicable law if the exemption would impose religious views, habits, or practices upon another.

• Prevent legislation or regulations from denying goods or services the government has contracted, granted, or agreed to provide to a beneficiary, or a person's complete and equal enjoyment of taxpayer-funded goods, services, benefits, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations.

• Prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity in all areas, including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system.

• Prohibit discrimination based on hair style, hair texture and facial hair. 

• Allow all people living in Colorado to access state provided public services without checking immigration status.

• Support affirmative action and public assistance programs to enhance equal access.

• Expand the definition of public accommodations to include places or establishments that provide (1) exhibitions, recreation, exercise, amusement, gatherings, or displays; (2) goods, services, or programs; and (3) transportation services.

• Ensure indigenous peoples and People of Color (POC) have the right to autonomy, self-determination, and to preserve their ways of life.

• Honor unique cultural differences and socio-economic needs of native tribes and people. 

• Support native tribes and peoples in the preservation and perpetuation of their native languages.

• Protect indigenous environments, existing treaties, and sovereign rights.

• Assess reparations/land transfers to POC for previous takings of life, liberty, artifacts, and land. We support consideration of new lands for native tribes and peoples along the front range. 

• Support the assessment of reparations to Colorado native tribes and peoples for previous takings of life, liberty, artifacts, and land.

• Advocate for immigrants, regardless of documentation, to receive the benefits from the money they put into our social services as income and social security taxes. Any worker who pays into the systems deserves access to the benefits and/or tax refunds if they file taxes.

• Denounce all forms of race-based discrimination, hate, harassment, and violence.

• Ensure the education in schools about the history of the local peoples and territories and their significance in the current cultural and socio-economic climate.

Gender Equity, LGBTQ+ and Reproductive Rights 

Equity is a milestone along the route to justice; it is embedded in everything we do as a party and justice is the destination. Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Support the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment into the U.S. Constitution. 

• Support the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). 

• Expand federal anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression as protected classes.

• Codify into law the pillars of reproductive justice. 

• Ensure the right to bodily autonomy, including the right to make choices surrounding your health and wellbeing, body modification, plastic surgery, hormone therapy, abortion/pregnancy, life and death. 

• Affirm the right of two-spirit people to express their identity and indigenous cultural heritage. 

• Ensure confidential access to reproductive education and healthcare, including access to affordable, safe, and legal abortion.

• Address the incompatibility of Colorado being a sanctuary state for reproductive healthcare if we also use AI surveillance cameras. 

• Provide all abuse survivors assistance, support, and resources for recovery.

• Allow and encourage the use of all-gender facilities, including restrooms, locker rooms, and individual dressing rooms.

• Actively commit to increased diversity at all levels of societal involvement and employment opportunities for women of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and class status, especially in historically male-dominated arenas.

Disabilities and ADA

Disabilities often include any individual or combination of physical, mental, and intellectual impairments and a level of abilities. Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Ensure all schools, including private and charter schools, should support the Disabilities Act and follow Title IX to support children with disabilities.

• Protect the right to autonomy, self-determination, enrichment, and quality of life.

• Oppose legislation that would weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act. Implement and enact the Americans with Disabilities Act fully into the Colorado Constitution.

• Urge Colorado senators to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

• Provide complete legal protection from all forms of discrimination and economic pressure to make decisions that do not reflect the desires of people with disabilities, especially with regards to bodily autonomy.

• Immediately implement laws to improve access to housing, transportation, medical assistance, education, and employment for those with disabilities. Implement laws requiring fair, equitable pay for those with disabilities.

• Ask the Joint Budget Committee to prioritize the elimination of Colorado’s long-term care wait list for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).

• Improve maximal community integration while limiting environmental restrictions to improve quality of life. The state should not define individual quality of life, and instead should increase skilled care providers within communities.

• Enforce laws that ensure safety through confidentiality and informed consent for releasing information about developmental, physical, and mental health issues.

• Protect the right to be heard, to engage in decisions related to an individual's well-being, and to be valued contributors in communities.

• Include all people, especially those with disabilities, in emergency risk management. 

International Human Rights and Foreign Affairs

Our foreign policy should showcase a dedication to global peace and justice. United, we stand firm, nurturing a future that is both secure and prosperous for all. For more information, please see THE DEPARTMENTS OF JUSTICE, STATE, DEFENSE, AND HOMELAND SECURITY and IMMIGRATION planks.

Health care is a fundamental human right, essential for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We envision a Colorado where every resident receives high-quality, comprehensive health care regardless of employment, income, or age. This is not a privilege to be earned or purchased; it is a public good to be guaranteed. 

We support a publicly-funded, privately-delivered health care system that focuses on patients over profits, is universally available without financial barriers, controls costs, and eliminates unnecessary middlemen. 

This plank is our pledge to work to build a Colorado that puts health and wellbeing first–where no one faces bankruptcy because of getting sick, where no family must choose between medicine and rent, and where every Coloradan can live a healthy, dignified life. Health care is not a commodity. It is a human right. 

The Colorado Health Care System

We call for the creation of a statewide health care financing system, publicly administered, that replaces Colorado’s fractured, inefficient, and costly private insurance market with a single accountable entity that pays doctors, hospitals, and clinics directly on behalf of all Colorado residents. This is not government-run medicine; it is government-guaranteed payment that simplifies billing for providers and guarantees care for every Coloradan.

How it works: Think of it like public schools or fire departments — funded by all of us, available to all of us, delivered by professionals we choose. 

• Publicly funded: Resident contributions flow into a dedicated, transparent Health Care Fund, supplemented by federal pass-through dollars and existing state health appropriations.

• Privately delivered: Doctors, nurses, hospitals, and clinics remain independent. Patients choose their providers freely.

• No financial barriers: No premiums to private insurers, no deductibles, no copays, no surprise bills, no medical debt.

• Accountable: All spending is public. The system negotiates prices directly with drug manufacturers and seeks fair, sustainable budgets for health care providers.

• Better for providers: Simplified billing through a single payment system reduces administrative overhead, letting doctors and nurses focus on care instead of paperwork.

This model eliminates the administrative waste, coverage denials, and profit extraction that define our current system, replacing them with simplicity, transparency, and care.

Comprehensive Coverage

Under this publicly funded system, all Colorado residents will have access to comprehensive, medically necessary care as determined by their providers, including but not limited to:

• Primary and preventive care, including annual wellness visits, screenings, immunizations, and chronic disease management.

• Hospital and emergency services — inpatient, outpatient, surgical, and urgent care

• Prescription medications at negotiated prices, without pharmacy benefit manager markups.

• Mental and behavioral health that is fully integrated into primary care, including counseling, psychiatric care, addiction treatment, and crisis intervention.

• Dental, vision, and hearing care will no longer be treated as separate from “real” health care.

• Reproductive and gender-affirming health care — the full spectrum, including therapies and supportive services.

• Long-term and end-of-life care, including home health, rehabilitation, hospice, and community-based alternatives to institutionalization.

• Cancer and tumor care including early detection, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgical treatment, guided nutrition and supportive care throughout recovery to survivorship.

• Coverage follows the person, not the job. It cannot be lost, denied, or diminished based on employment status, pre-existing conditions, or ability to pay.

Patients First, Profits Last

Medical decisions belong to patients and their providers, not insurance adjusters, corporate algorithms, or financial officers. We oppose any system that places profit above care.

We will work to end:

• Prior authorization schemes that delay or deny necessary treatment.

• Narrow networks that restrict patient choice.

• Surprise billing and balance billing practices.

• Medical debt collection and credit reporting of health expenses.

• Exploitation by private equity firms buying health care providers and taking profits at the expense of patients and workers.

We will work to protect:

• The patient-provider relationship, free from insurer or employer interference.

• Patient autonomy in all health decisions, including reproductive choices and end-of-life care.

• Full patient ownership and control of personal health data.

• Equitable access regardless of race, gender identity, disability, or geography.

• The 340B Drug Pricing Program, working to close the loopholes that allow larger hospital systems to exploit it, while safeguarding the program for community health centers, treatment centers, and rural providers who depend on it.

Investing in Public Health

Health extends beyond the clinic. We support robust investment in the systems that prevent illness, respond to crises, and build healthier communities:

• Disease prevention and emergency preparedness, including strategic stockpiles and coordinated response across agencies.

• Addressing addiction through compassionate, evidence-based treatment rather than criminalization, with dedicated funding for opioid and substance use recovery.

• Eliminating health care deserts through incentives, loan forgiveness, and enhanced compensation for providers serving rural and underserved communities.

• Workforce development and security by expanding the role of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, community health workers, and other professionals to meet growing demand; improving provider workplace safety.

• Nutrition and food security, because access to healthy food is a determinant of health outcomes.

• Reimbursement and patient treatment parity with Medicare for programs covering active duty military and veterans.

Research and Innovation

Colorado should lead in advancing medical knowledge and improving care delivery:

• Health information technology, for secure, compatible, and connected electronic health records that follow patients across providers while protecting privacy.

• Telemedicine and new care models that expand access while maintaining quality and personal connection.

• Medical research, including state-funded investigation of emerging therapies currently restricted by federal scheduling, ensures Colorado patients have access to the most promising treatments supported by evidence.

• Health Crisis Research that studies major health crises contributors, including gun violence, early childhood education access, housing instability, and other social drivers.

We are committed to evidence-based policy. Health care decisions, from individual treatment to public health strategy, must be grounded in science, not ideology or profit motive.

How We Pay

This system will be funded through:

• Resident contributions, based on ability to pay, replacing the current patchwork of premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs with a single, predictable obligation.

• Federal funds such as Medicaid, ACA subsidies, and other federal health dollars redirected to the state system through waiver agreements.

• Existing state appropriations by consolidating current health spending to create more efficiency.

• Employer contributions: businesses currently paying for employee health benefits will contribute to the public fund, often at lower cost than current premiums.

All funds flow into a dedicated, protected account. Transparent budgeting ensures every dollar is accountable to the public.

What We Oppose

We reject any policy that prioritizes profit over care:

• Privatization of public health programs. Medicare and Medicaid must be strengthened, not sold off to private insurers.

• Public subsidies to private insurers, because taxpayer dollars should pay for care, not insurance company profits and executive compensation.

• Unchecked pharmaceutical pricing. Manufacturers must negotiate fairly with the state on behalf of patients, not exploit patients’ desperation.

• Consolidation without accountability. Hospital mergers and provider acquisitions must serve patients, not investors.

• Any federal action that weakens Medicaid, undermines the Affordable Care Act, or reduces funding for public health agencies — and we commit to building state-level systems that protect Coloradans regardless of federal policy.

The current system wastes billions on administration, marketing, executive pay, and shareholder returns while millions struggle to afford care. We can do better. We must.

Coloradans are facing an affordability crisis. The costs to live a secure life are rising faster than our earnings. This forces many of us to make tough choices and take second jobs just to make ends meet. Costs for housing, childcare, healthcare, and transportation are major factors to this crisis. 

Other issues squeezing our wallets include rising rates on education, groceries, and increasingly predatory practices by corporations. Everyday staples are now unaffordable luxuries as corporate greed continuously works to squeeze Coloradans. However, the perks of being an American corporation are a privilege granted by the People, and so all corporations should have a beneficial public purpose, and not merely exist to maximize profits. We believe corporate greed should be addressed by fining companies for price gouging, taxing windfall profits, and eliminating deductions for excessive executive pay. 

Democrats will return dignity and comfort to Coloradans' lives by addressing these issues.

Housing

Housing is a Coloradan’s largest expense. Reducing housing costs in Colorado, as in many areas facing affordability challenges, requires several approaches. Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Increase housing supply through zoning updates, streamlined permitting processes, developer incentives and commercial-to-residential conversions.

• Support first-time homebuyers through down payment assistance, homeownership education to promote long term success and subsidized loans.

• Promote affordable housing by allowing more types of homes, including duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, small apartment buildings, condos, ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units), tiny homes, and manufactured housing.

• Increase awareness of the senior citizen property tax exemption and other available senior and programs for people with disabilities.

• Advocate expanding available Colorado resources for aging well, including at home care, food, and home repair services. 

Childcare

No county in Colorado has both widely available and affordable childcare. Colorado Democrats support various options to make childcare more affordable. For more, please see our COLORADO GENERATIONS PLANK. We will work to: 

• Support funding increases for existing Universal Preschool in the state budget.

• Encourage faster licensing for Universal Preschool providers. 

• Increase childcare options in state funding with coverage for friends, family, and neighbor networks.

• Encourage and support the creation of more home based facilities known as Large Family Child Care Homes.

• Support new legislation to set the number of public childcare seats on operating costs, not competitive demand.

Health Care

Skyrocketing healthcare costs impact every Coloradan. Colorado Democrats have multiple strategies to reduce healthcare costs at both the employer and state levels, ranging from individual wellness initiatives to systemic reforms. We support the Colorado Option, including expanded access to health insurance, standardized minimum coverages, and essential health services while protecting Medicaid and supporting a universal healthcare system. For more, please see our COLORADO HEALTH CARE plank.

Transportation

Transportation is a Coloradan’s second biggest expense and is becoming less affordable. Transportation is essential to access basic needs. For more information, see our ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT plank. Colorado Democrats will fight to: 

• Support mass transit and develop frequent, reliable local and state-wide routes that people will want to use.

• Coordinate with large employers to expand transit access.

• Increase transportation options and improve overall services.

• Encourage adoption of usage-based auto-insurance.

• Expand senior and disabled transit options, particularly in rural areas.

• Promote available state tax credits for electric vehicle and e-bike adoptions.

Education

The cost of higher education is out of reach for many Coloradans without taking on unaffordable loans. Colorado Democrats encourage multiple ideas to bring education costs down. We call for reducing administrative costs and for statewide audits of higher education institutions. We will work to support trade schools and community colleges and to expand student loan forgiveness for critical professions and underserved and rural communities. We also call for overturning or de-Bruceing TABOR to allow Colorado to fully fund its public schools and colleges. For more, please read our COLORADO PUBLIC EDUCATION plank. 

Groceries

Coloradans recognize the higher cost of food every time they visit the grocery store. Colorado Democrats encourage the use of available options and new ideas to lower costs. We support: 

• Expanding free school meal programs to any student requiring a healthy and filling breakfast and lunch.

• Supporting state-sponsored grocers to provide nutritious and affordable pantry staples in rural, underserved areas, and food deserts. 

Colorado should work to make sure that everyone benefits fairly from clean energy production, strong environmental protections, responsible use of natural resources, and sustainable agriculture and infrastructure. These efforts help protect clean air, water, and land for the long term and protect all Coloradan communities. By using sound science and reliable data, we can make better decisions that improve the health and well-being of people in our urban, suburban, and rural communities.

We have a responsibility to leave a healthier planet for future generations. We call on our legislators to turn these values into practical policies and build a more sustainable society as quickly as possible by taking the following steps.

Circular Economy Community Designs 

Colorado Democrats will work to build stronger communities by: 

• Using science-based data to understand the ongoing ravages of global warming and the climate crisis to protect and manage natural resources, including water supplies and public lands.

• Planning carefully to balance responsible development of home, business and industry, while supporting agriculture, and also protecting wildlife and outdoor recreation.

• Encouraging sustainable, non-polluting, and energy-efficient materials policies that also promote safety practices and reduce the risk of wildfires and limit damage from other climate-related disasters.

• Encouraging microgrids and urban gardens by supporting projects in metropolitan areas, while conserving water to help farmers and ranchers continue using the land for its intended use, rather than converting land into large-scale electrical facilities. 

• Implementing multi-stream waste diversion and recycling to discourage landfill use, and enforce manufacturer responsibility to create products that can more easily be repurposed and recycled. 

The Transition to Clean, Renewable Energy

Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Divest public funds from polluting industries and redirect subsidies, incentives, and other funds towards encouraging the development of renewable equipment and facilities. 

• Develop an organized labor workforce to support the just transition in the development and maintenance of private and public clean, renewable energy-generating systems located at sites that do not endanger communities of any type or pollute natural resources. 

• Allow all renewable energy suppliers to connect to the grid at the same price as existing suppliers, including consumers selling back to the local utility at the same price they pay for the energy they purchase from it. 

• Require utility companies to be financially responsible for either modernizing their grid for the ongoing climate crisis or providing alternative energy sources for their customers to offset company safety protocols.

Multi-Modal (Multiple Methods of) Local and Regional Transportation Networks 

Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Financially encourage the transition from fossil fuel carbon-producing vehicle systems to electrical systems in private, public, and government use, built with environmentally friendly materials on infrastructure that does not disrupt the migration of wildlife.

• Invest in the development of accessible, affordable, and 24-hour reliable schedules of electric mass public transit systems that connect all residential communities to commercial and industrial hubs.

• Encourage employers to allow more remote work, provide public transportation passes, and locate facilities near public transit hubs to discourage daily solo commuting on roads and highways. Support incentives to those who carpool, when commuting is necessary. 

• Design or redesign communities of all types to be less intensively focused on daily vehicle use while residents conduct the basics of daily life, including addressing food and education deserts. 

Sustainability Across Industries

Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Encourage businesses to make better recyclable products and to improve their production and packaging processes to use less water and energy and to create zero water waste and pollutants. 

• Discourage the development of large-scale projects that generate minimal tax revenue or income for local communities. Prioritize sustainable data-center development by encouraging projects designed for low energy consumption and minimal water use, aligned with long-term community and environmental resilience. 

• Regulate all product manufacturing to ensure that all products are biodegradable if not recyclable or reusable, and ensure that the resulting materials do not end up as microplastics or other micro-materials that can filter into our air, water, or food. 

• Ensure that new electrical generation facilities pose no environmental risk to nearby communities or natural habitats, and should produce no hazardous waste that cannot be safely and permanently processed and or stored. 

• Work with commercial and industrial developments to find ways to capture carbon, and reuse heat exhaust into nearby public, civil, industrial, or agricultural systems.

• Locate business facilities regionally near supply chain sources to help minimize freight vehicle miles.

Natural Resources, Public Lands, and Agriculture 

Water is the most precious of natural resources, and must be vigilantly protected from pollutants, waste, and misuse, knowing that there will be less and less to conserve as the global warming climate crisis worsens year after year. Colorado Democrats believe:

• Water rights, water storage, and water treatment should never be privatized or influenced by foreign entities. Additionally, businesses should provide full disclosure of what they are releasing back into the public water supply and be subject to stiff penalties when they pollute.

• Wetlands, seasonal streams, and riparian habitats should not only be protected but also restored in additional locations, using science-based decisions to improve water supply systems across the state. 

• Regenerative agriculture, farming, and ranching soil practices should be subsidized to help struggling rural communities, while investing in research and application of better water utilization and recovery processes. 

• Natural habitats that have been affected by wildfire and drought should be rehabilitated, not only to minimize continuing damage to the environment but also to help accelerate recovery of those ecological systems. This includes science-based forest management to improve the overall welfare of Colorado’s wilder regions. 

• Air quality is essential to the continued health potential every Coloradoan deserves. Coloradans should be able to live without fear that their communities are being polluted by nearby private, public, or government facilities through strict regulation, monitoring, and penalties.

• All resource extraction or mining operations must be strictly regulated and monitored, and should be held fully responsible for environmental damage to natural habitats or for polluting nearby communities.

• Outdoor recreation is not only a significant part of the health and welfare of Colorado's 

citizens, but also a major economic contributor to many communities across the state. This must be considered when managing undeveloped wild regions and public lands to help promote the continued success of outdoor recreation while preserving the reasons people want to experience these natural spaces.

• We should restore public funding and reconstitute climate, scientific, and research institutions, like the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), so that vital research may continue.

• That the rail transportation of crude oil through environmentally sensitive ecosystems statewide should be prohibited. 

The Colorado Democratic Party knows that democracy depends on an educated population. An excellent public education is on the front lines of today’s battle to save that democracy. The Colorado Democratic Party endorses the following policies and ideas.

A World-Class Public School Education

Every Coloradan deserves the world-class education we know our state is capable of providing. Colorado Democrats believe we should: 

• Financially stabilize and strengthen public education in Colorado. 

• Keep public money in public schools; no vouchers or private school tuition tax credits.

• Ensure all school buildings are safe and healthy. 

• Encourage the study of mass shootings as a public health crisis, and ensure that all schools are safe from these devastating events.

• Support public school teachers through competitive salaries, academic freedom, the right to organize and bargain collectively, sound educational standards, and adequate resources.

• Uphold the separation of church and state in our public school education.

• Fight attempts by School Districts to ban books that educators have deemed appropriate.

Colorado Community-Focused Schools

Over the last 100 years, Colorado has attracted talented professionals to our workforce and has been able to cut financial corners, but today we need to develop strategies to grow and support well-educated and skilled citizens who view public education as a key resource. Colorado Democrats believe we should:

• Welcome community services like health care and lifelong learning into public school buildings.

• Provide a full range of educational opportunities that allow students to stay, live, thrive in, and contribute to their communities.

The Success of All Colorado Students, Pre-K Through Post-Secondary

To develop a talented workforce of young people choosing to stay in their home state, we need to address the individual needs of students, update our curriculum, and keep track of our school system’s effectiveness. Colorado Democrats believe we should:

• Provide an equitable, inclusive, high quality public education to ALL students, from preschool and Kindergarten through Post Secondary.

• Expand public preschool availability. 

• Create new methods to comprehensively measure student success, and hold schools accountable to them. 

• Provide equitable opportunities for all career paths.

• Focus on what students need to learn for lifelong success in a changing world.

• Provide instruction in civic, financial, technology, AI, and media literacy.

• Make post-secondary education affordable for Colorado students.

• Ensure that all schools provide English as a Second Language (ESL) support to students as needed. 

No human being is illegal. As a nation of immigrants and indigenous peoples, we must recognize the equal humanity of all people by replacing the broken, punitive, and racist immigration system with a safe, compassionate, and legal pathway to citizenship. Colorado Democrats advocate for abolishing ICE, and recreating the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services), upholding the dignity of our immigrant neighbors, and fighting for the rights of all residents. We reject the criminalization of immigrants. Actions may be illegal; people are not. We demand an end to violent enforcement and stand firm in our commitment to welcoming those arriving in search of safety, work, and opportunity.

Immigration Enforcement

We must protect our neighbors. Nothing else will do. ICE replaced a flawed but generally effective INS with an abusive and authoritarian paramilitary force. The current administration has engaged in vicious propaganda campaigns to try to turn us against our neighbors. ICE has never served the American people, only the administration seeking to wield it. It must be stopped. Colorado Democrats call for:

• Abolishing ICE, with all legitimate functions and duties spread to other agencies. 

• Unmasking, arresting, and prosecuting all agents who have attacked, murdered, and kidnapped our neighbors without warrants, along with anyone in DHS or ICE leadership who enabled these actions. 

• Upholding birthright citizenship and sanctuary city laws. We must reinstate DACA and illegalize cooperation between ICE and local authorities so our neighbors can report abuses to the police without fear of deportation. Even further, we must ban corporations from cooperating with DHS through their mass surveillance technologies. 

The Border

Here in Colorado, we recognize that a significant portion of our beautiful state was once part of Mexico, which shares many ties with us through history, language, culture, and family connection. Yet the people of Mexico along with many of our Central and South American neighbors, as well as many more on the international stage, have been unjustly vilified and attacked. Thus, the way our border has been operated for decades has been cruel and unjust. Furthermore, it hurts the most vulnerable and prevents us from welcoming new neighbors, who bring their talents, skills, and culture to our country. For those who come to build a better life for themselves and their family, it is our responsibility to ensure our immigration laws are fair and just. Colorado Democrats call for:

• An end to family separation at the border and the caging of children. Furthermore we must end the practice of treating undocumented immigration and crossing the border as a criminal offense.

• Hiring as many immigration judges as are needed to ensure people can enter our country quickly, along with streamlining the paperwork needed to become a citizen. 

• Decriminalizing humane acts of compassion for undocumented immigrants.

International Law and Refugees

Our neighbors and allies expect better of America, and so should we. US Code Title 18 Section 242 expressly forbids “the deprivation of any rights, privileges or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution… on account of such a person being an alien, or by reason of color, or race”. Colorado Democrats call for:

• Ensuring no one is deprived life, liberty, or property without the due process of law. We must end the deportation to other countries as a means to detain and disappear human beings.

• Recognizing the legal rights of refugees and asylum seekers, and our responsibilities under international law to protect them from human rights violations, domestic and from abroad. 

• Honoring International Refugee Law and the Declaration of Human Rights, stating clearly that “All Human Beings are free and equal in dignity and rights.” International law further prohibits the mass expulsion and forcible removal of a population with the intent to cause harm, and no state (country) may deprive a person or group of people equal and impartial justice under the law.

• Designating the term “illegal” as a derogatory slur meant to divide us from our fellow Americans, and as such shall never be used by us as an organization.

Our Vision for the Future

It should be up to the state to prove someone shouldn’t be allowed to come and be a part of our country, not the other way around. We celebrate their path to naturalization, and must further clear that path of arbitrary barriers and delays. Our country must embrace immigration regardless of purpose; work, education, refuge, business, tourism, or family, all are great and just reasons to come to America. We must incentivize immigration by making life even better on our side of the border for those who come to live the American Dream. Colorado Democrats call for:

• Extending the right to form and join labor unions to all people, immigrant and otherwise. Everyone, regardless of documentation status, deserves fair wages and safe workplaces. 

• Expanding ports of entry to our nation, encouraging commerce and newcomers.

• Granting citizenship to undocumented veterans who’ve served their country.

• Banning for-profit prisons and warehouse size detention centers. No detention center or facilities meant to protect the public from danger should be used to corruptly enrich the elite and powerful. We vehemently oppose allowing DHS to purchase or lease empty warehouses for the purpose of holding human beings.

The struggle of everyday working people to live with dignity and respect and to support our families through hard work has been long and difficult. Workers have been let down by our leaders for generations. Those we elect must reject corporate interests and billionaire donors and instead promote investment in a highly skilled and diverse workforce. In honor of the workers who have fought, spilt blood, and died for our rights, we must fight for all workers to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

Whether or not our work is paid for, whether we do it for our families, for our businesses, for ourselves, or for our communities, and no matter what the struggles of our work bring, our work is essential. Colorado Democrats will work hardest for the hardest working people.

Economic Development and Jobs Creation

Strong economies help build strong families. The people of Colorado deserve economic opportunities that come with a strong, stable, sustainable economy and allows us to support ourselves and raise families. Economic development and the creation of good-paying jobs should be a priority for local, state and federal government policy. The Democratic Party of Colorado supports the following:

• Policies that support bringing new businesses, industries and entrepreneurs to Colorado.

• Encouraging green energy jobs throughout the state.

• Policies and programs to strengthen and sustain our rural and agricultural industries and protect our family farms and ranches.

• Development of policies and programs to expand economic development in rural Colorado.

Organized Labor 

Democracy in the workplace must work as it does everywhere else; we will fight for all workers, public and private, to have the right to build unions freely and publicly with one election by a simple majority. Employers must negotiate in good faith and our institutions must enforce these laws without compromise. Colorado Democrats call for:

• Defending worker’s rights to organize labor unions and collectively bargain for wages and workplace safety, free from threats or intimidation. First and foremost, we must pass the Colorado Worker’s Protection Act to end the unnecessary and anti-democratic 2nd Election law.

• Standing by workers at the ballot box, at the bargaining table, and on the picket line. We support the strict enforcement of organizing agreements, card checks, arbitration, and neutrality.

• Working to end so-called “Right to Work” laws that attack union and non-union workers alike. 

Apprenticeships, Public Sector, and Gig Workers

We firmly believe that everyone should be able to work one job and make enough so they and their families can live with dignity, not just barely get by. This includes gig workers and public sector workers, who should have the same basic rights as all other workers. Colorado Democrats call for:

• Raising the minimum wage and extending collective bargaining rights to ALL workers, including historically excluded groups such as teachers, government sector, and gig workers. 

• Developing an apprenticeship pipeline with trade schools to train a highly skilled and diverse workforce.

• Investing in a federal union jobs program to build up green energy and tackle climate change. 

Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses

We recognize that small businesses and entrepreneurs create job opportunities, improve our lives, and are critical to the economy and culture of our communities. Without local restaurants, barbershops, artists, musicians, builders, makers and so on, our state would lose its vitality. As such, Colorado Democrats call for:

• Making it easier to start, grow, and sustain small businesses and worker co-operatives. 

• Empowering worker-driven entrepreneurship in a diverse variety of communities and industries. 

Unpaid, Underpaid, and Community Labor 

The kinds of work it takes to build strong and healthy communities is valuable, regardless of whether it is being paid for. Colorado Democrats call for:

• Allowing parents the time they need to care for themselves and their children with guaranteed parental leave and universal childcare.

• Recognizing the valuable role of family caregivers and exploring ways to compensate families for their caregiving efforts.

• Valuing those who do unrecognized labor in our community by creating a universal basic income program.

• Correcting the racist Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that excluded our neighbors working in agriculture from basic protections due to age, race, and gender. We must treat all workers equitably and fairly by demanding a 40-hour overtime threshold and standardized wage rates. 

Labor and Economic Justice

Income inequality is destroying the fabric of the American Dream. Everyday working people are sick and tired of working until we’re sick and tired, just to make the rich even richer. The billionaire bosses and corporations use race, gender, nationality, and religion/culture to divide us. Urgent action is required to ensure all workers have their voices heard, and can not only survive, but thrive. Colorado Democrats call for:

• Taxing billionaires to ensure economic and social justice for all.

• Fighting to get big money out of our politics. 

• Establishing a Colorado Department of Economic Justice to ensure a fair distribution of wealth, equal access to resources, and our basic human needs.

Colorado Democrats believe public safety is strongest when it is community-centered, constitutional, data-driven, and compassionate. Safety is not achieved through fear or force alone, but through trust, accountability, prevention, and partnership. By strengthening cooperation with law enforcement, protecting civil liberties, promoting firearm safety, and investing in diversion and prevention, we can build safer communities for everyone—without sacrificing our values.

Law Enforcement and Community Trust

Effective public safety depends on collaboration between communities and law enforcement, grounded in mutual respect and accountability. Public safety is not law enforcement versus the community—it is law enforcement with the community. To achieve this, Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Hire, train, and support law enforcement professionals who reflect the communities they serve. They must be appropriately and constitutionally held accountable for their actions.

• Support modern, evidence-based training, including de-escalation, crisis intervention, trauma-informed policing, implicit bias awareness, and constitutional policing.

• Expand co-responder and alternative response models which partner law enforcement with mental health professionals, social workers, and EMTs for appropriate calls.

• Strengthen community oversight, transparency, and data-driven accountability to build public trust and legitimacy.

• Promote interagency cooperation across local, state, tribal, and federal partners to address complex public safety challenges efficiently and responsibly.

• Prohibit known members of “hate groups” such as white supremacists and neo-Nazis from serving as law enforcement officers.

• Develop state programs to help retain well-trained law enforcement professionals in less populated areas.

• Ensure all communities, regardless of race, ethnicity, or immigration status, receive fair and equitable policing and incarceration practices. 

• Limit qualified immunity for misconduct by law enforcement officers and their supervisors. 

Privacy, Civil Liberties, and the Responsible Use of Technology

Colorado Democrats are committed to protecting constitutional rights, personal privacy, and civil liberties while ensuring law enforcement has lawful, effective tools to keep communities safe. Safety and freedom rise or fall together. We will work to: 

• Uphold Fourth Amendment protections and require warrants, oversight, and/or clear legal standards for searches, surveillance, and data collection.

• Establish guardrails for emerging technologies (including facial recognition, license plate readers, and data-sharing systems) to prevent misuse, bias, or overreach. Guardrails should be determined by the collaboration between law enforcement, political, and community stakeholders of the community in which they are implemented.

• Rethink the "War on Drugs," which has nothing to do with sobriety and everything to do with control, harassment of people of color, and suppression of dissent.

• Require transparency, public input, and regular audits when new law enforcement technologies are adopted.

• Protect personal data from unauthorized access, misuse, or commercial exploitation.

For more information, please see our GUIDING COLORADO’S NEW TECHNOLOGY AND AI FUTURE plank. 

Firearm Safety and Responsible Ownership

Colorado Democrats respect the rights of responsible gun owners while recognizing that gun violence is a preventable public health crisis. Responsible gun policy is about safety, responsibility, and prevention, not to punish law-abiding gun owners. Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Support universal background checks, waiting periods, and Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) to keep firearms out of the hands of those who pose a danger to themselves or others.

• Promote safe storage education and access, especially to protect children, families, and vulnerable individuals.

• Invest in gun violence prevention programs, community-based intervention, and survivor support services.

• Encourage cooperation among law enforcement, health care providers, educators and community organizations to reduce firearm related injuries and deaths.

• Enact provisions to restrict possession or demand relinquishment of firearms in cases in which violence or threats of violence are determined.

• Defend lawful ownership while rejecting policies that prioritize weapons over lives.

• Enact tougher regulations around the manufacture and possession of ghost guns. 

• Encourage the study of gun violence as a public health crisis.

• Support civil liability for gun manufacturers and for individuals who improperly store firearms, allowing minors or others unauthorized to access them.

Diversion, Prevention, and Smart Justice

Colorado Democrats believe not every public safety challenge requires a jail cell. Prevention, diversion, and treatment often produce safer, more economical and humane outcomes. Equitable justice makes communities safer, saves taxpayer dollars, and keeps families and communities intact. We will work to: 

• Support restorative justice practices that center on victims, repair harm, and reduce recidivism.

• Expand pre-arrest and post-arrest diversion programs for substance use, mental health crises, and low-level offenses.

• Increase access to treatment, housing, education, and employment supports that address the root causes of crime.

• Reduce unnecessary incarceration while holding individuals accountable in ways that promote rehabilitation and public safety.

• Ensure law enforcement officers have options beyond arrest when responding to complex social challenges.

Juvenile Justice Reform

Juvenile justice reform is the future of the public safety system. Responsible stewardship of those in the system ensures a safer community in years ahead. Colorado Democrats will work to: 

• Establish state-sponsored youth assessment centers to determine the needs of students when evaluating appropriate interventions before incarceration.

• Implement, fund, and enforce restorative justice and alternative sentencing for juveniles.

• Eliminate the ability of district attorneys to directly file a juvenile case into adult court without judicial review and an opportunity for defense or appeal.

• Implement effective violence and bullying prevention programs.

Colorado draws strength from its cultural and geographical diversity. Rural communities are vital to Colorado, providing invaluable resources including water, timber, agriculture, ranching, fiber crops, and outdoor recreation, which are central to the state's overall social, economic, and environmental health. 

Over 75 percent of Colorado counties are rural or frontier. However, many of our rural communities (mountains, plains, and high desert) face unique issues that must be addressed: high levels of poverty, limited access to healthcare, high percentages of older adults, and slower-growing or declining populations. 

We call for investments in rural communities that create good-paying jobs, strengthen physical and digital infrastructure, and improve quality of life. This includes better access to education, affordable housing, job training, and health care. We support strong partnerships that help rural communities thrive now and into the future. 

Broadband and Cellular Coverage

Affordable, reliable, high-speed internet and cellular services are essential to daily life in rural Colorado. Broadband access supports education, health care, small businesses, agriculture, public safety, utilities, and community activities.

• Farmers and ranchers depend on broadband for soil testing, water management, commodity pricing, and operational tools like virtual fencing. We call for laws, policies, and funding that expand and strengthen broadband and cellular infrastructure in rural areas, while keeping access affordable and reliable.

• We also support expanding emergency communication systems and disaster preparedness, such as current weather radar gaps, so warnings and alerts are always available.

Health Care

Rural Coloradans struggle to access health care, facing provider shortages, health care deserts, long travel distances, few telehealth options, and few good health insurance choices. Many communities rely on volunteers for emergency response, including first responders and EMTs.

• We advocate for expanded access to essential health care in rural Colorado, including preventive care, emergency care, chronic disease treatment, mental and behavioral health care, and dental, hearing, and vision services. Air and ground ambulance services must be affordable and accessible.

• We must recruit and retain a strong, diverse rural health care workforce. Incentives should include student loan forgiveness, affordable housing for workers, and fair and reliable payments to rural hospitals and clinics from public and private insurers.

• We call for increased funding for free or low-cost mental health, behavioral health, and substance use treatment, including telehealth services. These programs must be designed to meet the needs of all rural residents, including veterans, laborers, and agricultural workers.

Please see the COLORADO HEALTH CARE plank for more information.

Small Town Centers

Small town centers are the heart of rural communities. They support local economies, social connections, and overall well-being. For them, we will support:

• Grants, reduced-cost permits, and public-private or nonprofit partnerships to help small towns grow and succeed especially for first-time business owners, towns without strong tourism, and mountain communities that depend heavily on seasonal visitors.

• Investments that energize local economies through arts and cultural districts.

• Investing in energy and communication infrastructure, restoring or repurposing vacant buildings for homes and businesses, and in expanding, repairing, and upgrading rural rail lines, roads and bridges.

• Public financing for rural libraries, recreation and senior centers, which are often the primary hubs for connection, education, and public health or well-being.

• Investments in small town centers should protect waterways, wildlife, and riparian habitats, and create shared public spaces. We support grants to help municipalities develop emergency housing for people experiencing homelessness rather than enforcing camping bans.

• Community events and gatherings that bring people together, including town celebrations, local festivals, diversity-focused events, and other traditions that reflect the heritage and character of each community.

Education

We call for laws, policies, and investments that help rural schools, colleges, and job-training programs succeed. We encourage youth after-school programs in arts, science, technology, and sports.

• Targeted funding is needed to recruit and retain teachers and essential school staff, including counselors, nurses, school resource officers, bus drivers, custodians, office staff, special education aides, and bilingual educators. Strategies should include sign-on bonuses, student loan forgiveness, and help with affordable housing.

• We support investment in rural colleges and trade, technical, and vocational schools so they can meet changing workforce needs. This includes youth programs such as 4-H, FFA, and Rural Health Scholars. Public funding should prioritize public schools and not be used for religious charter schools.

• We demand actions that address school related gun violence, aging infrastructure, vacant schools, environmental hazards, and restrictions on educational materials. We believe in protecting all Colorado students, educators, and staff as everyone deserves a safe, healthy learning environment.

Please see the COLORADO PUBLIC EDUCATION plank for more information. 

Agriculture and Ranching

Family farms and ranches are a vital part of Colorado’s history, economy, and rural towns. We must support opportunities for younger generations to stay in agriculture, return to family operations, or start new farms and ranches. This includes access to financing for new farmers and for those who lost family land and want to re-enter agriculture.

• Colorado's agricultural sector generates $50 billion in economic activity and supports 170,000 jobs, providing thousands of Colorado families with good livelihoods in our rural communities. Democrats support helping producers adopt sustainable practices, and support Colorado assets, including the National Western Center and the National Western Stock Show, which connect producers with research, international markets, and the next generation of agricultural leaders.

• We support investments in safe, affordable housing for multigenerational farm families and farm workers. We also call for subsidies and tax credits that support regenerative agriculture, sustainable forestry, organic farming, and locally produced goods. Investments should strengthen transportation and infrastructure so products can reach markets.

• Farmers and ranchers should be fairly compensated for losses caused by predators or extreme weather. We support partnerships with nonprofits that increase farm profitability while preserving rural ways of life. We demand laws that protect locally owned agricultural land from corporate consolidation and monopolies, foreign investors, private investment groups, and establishing fair pricing to keep family operations competitive.

• We support the continued growth and long-term vitality of county and state fairs as cornerstone institutions of rural life, showcasing agriculture, local talent, youth involvement, small businesses, and cultural heritage. We encourage policies that allow them to expand, evolve, and remain accessible to future generations of Coloradans.

Water and Soil

Protecting and managing Colorado’s soil and water is essential for wildlife, people, agriculture, and future generations. We support: 

• Laws and policies that protect rural watersheds, wetlands, and critical infrastructure such as retention ponds that recharge surface water and aquifers.

• Commonsense regulation and oversight of oil and gas industries to protect water quality, soil, and public health, while transitioning to cleaner energy. 

• Updated irrigation water laws that support natural, sustainable, organic, and regenerative agriculture, including the ability to store irrigation water for longer periods.

• Laws that keep Colorado waters in the basins where they originate.

• Investments in systems that protect groundwater from contamination caused by fertilizer, manure, fracking, and other pollutants. 

• Transitioning to lower-water crops.

• Continued funding for Colorado State University Extension Services is essential to support youth, farmers, and ranchers through research, education, and best practices in land and natural resource management.

The Democratic Party believes that securing our nation and protecting our citizens requires principled diplomacy, durable alliances, and preventing illegal and unconstitutional wars and interventions. This should be complemented by strengthening and defending critical domestic infrastructure. We also believe that our standing abroad is only as good as our dedication to peace, justice, and democracy at home, and the current Department of Justice is damaging that reputation. 

The United States has a responsibility to advance international peace, ensuring that its actions adhere to international humanitarian law, protect civilian lives, and reflect core democratic principles. We should limit or stop arms transfers to any government credibly implicated in serious human rights violations, including acts that constitute genocide, consistent with existing U.S. law.

Recent events in early 2026 have included unauthorized U.S. military actions in Iran and Venezuela that resulted in military casualties, and the deployment of militarized DHS forces at home, leading to civilian deaths. The guiding principles below are critical to uphold peace, protect civilians, safeguard service members, and ensure the United States acts responsibly both domestically and internationally.

THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

No democratic institution has been damaged by the current administration as much as the Department of Justice (DoJ), along with its associated agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. After the modern recognition of the necessity of the separation between the independence of the DoJ and the desires of the White House, that separation has been upended, leading to the most corrupt administration in the history of our country. Colorado Democrats demand, and will work toward, a return to an independent DoJ. We are a nation of laws, and nothing else works when that belief fails. We will work to:

• Insist on and reinstate the independence of the office of Attorney General of the United States. 

• Demand that Congress fulfill its oversight role over the DoJ, up to and including the impeachment of the US Attorney General.

• Recruit and rehire tenured civilian employees with training and experience in their government service positions, and career law enforcement and federal prosecutors who have been driven out of the DoJ in favor of unqualified, right-wing, extremist, cronyism hires.

• Protect civil liberties and constitutional rights, including due process, privacy, and freedom from unlawful DoJ surveillance, data collection, or policing, while supporting policing that complies with the US Constitution.

• Ensure all DoJ activities comply with the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and human rights standards.

• Limit domestic surveillance by the DoJ to lawful, accountable, and narrowly defined purposes under a federal judicial warrant.

• Recognize all racist, hate, and violent extremist groups as domestic security threats, and adopt measures, including security clearance standards, to prevent individuals associated with these groups from accessing sensitive or classified information or serving in any law enforcement or defense capacity in the State of Colorado.

• Monitor and counter domestic extremist activity, including foreign-linked radicalization efforts.

THE DEPARTMENTS OF STATE AND DEFENSE 

Domestic Security 

Democrats will work to protect civil liberties and constitutional rights. We will ensure that all national security actions comply with the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and human rights standards. For more on this, please see our CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS plank. Colorado Democrats call on their national legislators to: 

• Protect the well-being of service members, veterans, their families, and dependents, including mental health, transition support, preferential job opportunities, and family stability.

• Assess the impact of national security policies on military personnel, government installations, and surrounding communities.

• Protect freedom of speech and political expression regarding foreign policy and international conflicts.

• Protect press freedom and the rights of journalists and whistleblowers who expose government abuses or unconstitutional actions, and ensure appropriate access to unclassified government proceedings and conflict zones consistent with operational security. 

• Reject the use of military forces and military-only technology (such as Long-Range Acoustic Devices) in domestic operations and ensure the armed forces refuse unlawful orders.

• Strengthen oversight for contractors and procurement programs to reduce waste, fraud, abuse, and cost overruns. 

• Require qualified leadership, transparency, and robust legislative and judicial oversight across national security agencies.

• Ensure defense spending aligns with genuine security needs by requiring the United States Department of Defense to pass a full, independent financial audit.

Diplomacy, International Law, Multilateral Security, War Powers, and the Media

Colorado Democrats call on their national legislators to: 

• Regain our standing in world diplomacy and partner with allies and all nations and institutions committed to democratic principles and human rights to advance peaceful conflict resolution, fair trade, and human rights. Affirm that Congress must authorize any use of military force, including interventions, and must do so only as a last resort. 

• Uphold international law and protect civilians in armed conflict.

• Support the role of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice in pursuing justice for all war crimes and crimes against humanity.

• Oppose war against non-imminent threats, coercive regime change, and unilateral military occupation.

• Oppose genocide, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, the use of child soldiers, abduction, rape, and the suppression of peaceful protest in all regions. This includes, but is not limited to, the extremist Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza, as well as genocide in Myanmar, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), China, and Ukraine. 

• Oppose using essential resources like food, water, electricity, and medical care as weapons against civilians.

• Integrate climate-related security risks into foreign policy and military planning. 

• Support a negotiated two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, ensuring security, self-determination, and equal rights, including recognition of Palestinian statehood. 

• Support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and other states whose independence is threatened. 

• Modernize and strengthen international institutions, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations (UN), to address global challenges, improve enforcement, and uphold international law.

• Counter authoritarian influence, disinformation campaigns, and foreign interference in democratic processes. 

• Support and strengthen credible, fact-based international journalism that counters disinformation and promotes democratic values globally, including fully funding a restored US Agency for Global Media and its networks (such as Voice of America). 

• Strengthen robust legal and security protections for journalists and their sources internationally, especially in areas of conflict such as Ukraine and Gaza.

Military Force, Arms Policy, and Emerging Technologies

Colorado Democrats call on their national legislators to: 

• Oppose the transfer or sale of military arms to regimes or groups that violate human rights or oppose democracy.

• Adhere to international arms control and disarmament agreements, working toward a world free of weapons that disproportionately harm civilians, including nuclear, chemical, biological, land mines, and other arms.

• End the transfer of excess military equipment inappropriate for civilian use to domestic law enforcement agencies.

• Develop policies and international agreements governing emerging military technologies, including drones, autonomous weapons, artificial intelligence in warfare, hypersonic systems, directed-energy weapons, acoustic weapons, and the militarization of space.

• Strengthen nuclear deterrence and missile defense strategies in response to emerging technological threats.

The State Department and Foreign Influence in American Politics

Colorado Democrats call on their national legislators to: 

• Fully fund the U.S. Department of State to ensure visa programs are efficient, backlogs are eliminated, and all foreign service officer positions and ambassador appointments are filled promptly by qualified career foreign service personnel. 

• Implement oversight and ethics safeguards to prevent foreign influence on policymakers and government operations.

• Expand and strengthen the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to ensure consistent enforcement, requiring all organizations, including, but not limited to, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), to register when advocating for foreign government interests.

• Prevent hostile foreign intelligence, military-linked, or surveillance entities from operating in the U.S. or targeting U.S. residents.

Humanitarian Assistance and Peace Operations

Colorado Democrats call on their national legislators to: 

• Support and strengthen humanitarian assistance programs, and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) that provide food, health care, and disaster relief worldwide, including restoring the full capacity of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

• Invest in pandemic preparedness and rapid global health responses to epidemics, bioterrorism, and emerging health threats.

• Promote conflict prevention and mediation efforts through international partnerships, including UN peacekeeping and regional organizations.

• Encourage international cooperation to prevent climate-related conflicts and manage migration pressures responsibly.

• Support refugees and displaced persons fleeing conflict, persecution, or climate-related crises.

THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Emergency Preparedness

DHS oversees FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and the Coast Guard, and we must protect funds set aside for those uses from being appropriated for other uses within the Department. Colorado Democrats call on our national legislators to separate essential funding for FEMA and the Coast Guard from the broader DHS budget, to prevent money to help Americans from being funneled to immigration enforcement.

Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Critical Infrastructure

DHS oversees all aspects of cyber-, energy, and critical infrastructure security, so we must also work to protect funding for TSA (the Transportation Security Administration). Additionally, Democrats will work to integrate cybersecurity measures and resilience planning into critical infrastructure protection. This means protecting energy, water, transportation, and other public systems. It also means ensuring that DHS works with the Departments of Energy and Transportation to promote resilience in these systems (including ensuring the right to repair and reducing dependency on foreign energy sources while accelerating the transition to renewable sources. Colorado Democrats call on our national legislators to:

• Protect national security by regulating foreign ownership of property near military installations and critical infrastructure.

• Strengthen ethical domestic and international supply chains for critical materials, including rare earths, semiconductors, and essential technologies. Divest from mining operations linked to human rights abuses.

• Strengthen and protect critical networks, government systems, and election infrastructure from cyber attacks and digital espionage.

• Ensure that the FPS (Federal Protective Service) maintains its charge to only protect federal infrastructure and isn’t pulled into immigration enforcement. 

Border Security and Immigration Enforcement

Democrats call for a complete overhaul of CBP (Customs and Border Protection), and for abolishing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the re-establishment of a better INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services).

While we must ensure strong border security to prevent terrorism, illicit weapons, drug, and human trafficking, CBP has been pulled far away from borders, into the interior of the country, and ICE has become the symbol of authoritarian terror. Please see the IMMIGRATION plank for further information. Colorado Democrats call on our national legislators to: 

• Modernize ports of entry to stop the flow of narcotics and weapons while facilitating lawful trade and travel.

• Increase staffing and training for border, processing, and immigration court personnel to ensure timely, efficient, and constitutional handling of immigration and asylum cases.

• Uphold due process, asylum protections, and humane treatment standards consistent with domestic and international law.

• Strengthen oversight and accountability for border and immigration agencies, including independent investigations and criminal penalties for misconduct, abuse, corruption, or any actions that violate human rights or constitutional protections, whether in detention facilities (like “Alligator Alcatraz”) or in the field.

• Prohibit lengthy or arbitrary civil immigration detention and detainee transfers that separate people from their families or legal representation, and require timely custody determinations with meaningful access to counsel.

• End large-scale immigration detention in Colorado by prohibiting long-term detention facilities and terminating state contracts with private, for-profit detention operators, such as GEO Group, while expanding cost-effective, community-based alternatives consistent with human rights standards.

• Address the root causes of forced migration – including violence, corruption, economic instability, climate-related displacement, and deliberate destabilization by state or non-state actors – through coordinated regional diplomacy, development partnerships, and mechanisms that hold responsible actors accountable.

New and emerging technologies, medicine, engineering, and science hold the promise of economic growth and improved quality of life, but they also pose the risk of real harm. Colorado Democrats propose a coordinated effort to efficiently and responsibly grow and regulate new technologies, ensuring the pros outweigh the cons.

Emerging Science, Technology, and Engineering

Colorado Democrats support the responsible growth and development of emerging science, technology, and engineering in Colorado and we will work to:

• Support STEM fields in K-12 and higher education.

• Encourage partnerships between education and industry. 

• Ensure that tech and media ethics, literacy, safety, and privacy are taught at all levels of education. 

• Form an independent Colorado Technology Assessment Office to evaluate emerging technologies for risks to residents, workers, and communities, and to recommend regulation to minimize harm.

Technology Equity and Accessibility for all Coloradans

Colorado Democrats recognize that all Coloradans must have equal access to new technologies to thrive and succeed. Therefore, we will work to: 

• Require impact assessments before deploying new technologies that may affect jobs, communities, or public services, and provide transition support for affected workers and residents.

• Continue the strong defense of election systems

• Ensure new technology is available to all Coloradans.

• Prioritize open platforms and help avoid any one technology or platform gaining a monopoly in its area of service.

• Roll out high-speed broadband service to every corner of the state and ensure no new monopolies are created.

• Make every effort to push back on “enshittification” – the gradual worsening of online services and technology products we rely on, purely in pursuit of profit.

Protect Human and Civil Rights in Emerging Technologies

Emerging and existing technologies, science, medicine, and engineering must be safe, fair, and protect both human and civil rights. Because a technology system can never be held accountable for its actions, technology alone should never have the final say on life-or-death decisions. We will work to:

• Ensure each Coloradan owns the data about them on any platform or technology. 

• Strictly limit the use of digital surveillance.

• Require any technology provider to fully and simply explain their product’s capabilities

• Enable users to opt in, instead of opt out, of data collection or data sharing with third parties.

• Adopt a state and federal constitutional amendment protecting the right to data privacy. Ensuring government searches, surveillance, or collection of personal information occur only with due process, a lawful warrant, or in narrowly defined national security matters.

• Strengthen Colorado's cybersecurity posture by requiring state agencies and critical infrastructure operators to adopt modern security standards, promptly notify residents of data breaches, and invest in cybersecurity workforce development.

Limit Abusive or Harmful Practices by AI Companies

Generative AI has the potential to cause societal harm to both Colorado residents and good government practices. As such, the Colorado Democratic Party will work to:

• Protect Colorado jobs: AI should support, not replace, skilled professionals; employers should not devalue human workers. 

• Keep humans in charge: People, not algorithms, must be the final deciders when life-safety, health, or labor and wage decisions must be made.

• Respect creators: Companies must get permission before using someone’s work to train AI systems, and they must fairly compensate people for their contributions.

• Defend scarce resources: Technology companies should invest in renewable resources and water conservation practices. Data center demands for clean water, power, and space must be secondary to the need for Colorado residents to access those scarce resources.

• Protect personal identity and privacy: Coloradans have the ultimate right to control information or imagery portraying them; the AI industry must respond to reports of harm in a timely and effective manner. 

• Require transparency and human oversight when state and local government agencies use AI or automated systems in decisions affecting Coloradans' benefits, services, rights, or freedom

Guarantee a Competitive Marketplace

Democrats support open, competitive marketplaces. Where technology exists in the supply chain, it should support fair pricing, transparency, and be free from “dark patterns.” We will work to: 

• Prohibit algorithms that cheat a fair marketplace.

• Provide special protections against price gouging or fraud for Colorado seniors or residents with cognitive or other cognitive impairments.

• Regulate algorithmic price-setting technologies that enable anti-competitive rent manipulation or exploit consumers in captive markets.

• Hold social media companies accountable for the addictive nature of their platforms. Likewise, hold the people who use social media to inflict harm on others accountable for those actions. 

• Protect each person’s unique, verifiable identity: It may not be replicated or abused.

• Support the right to repair by requiring manufacturers to make parts, tools, access codes, and documentation available so Coloradans can repair their own devices and equipment.

The Democratic Party wants all Coloradans to achieve a livable wage, job, and financial security, and paid parental, sick, and vacation leave without fear of punishment. We support the right to rest and recreation, and to live, work, and retire in dignity. We also support the right for Coloradans to care for and spend time with their families however they choose. 

The greed of giant corporations and the ultra-wealthy impacts generations in different ways, making it seem like there’s a “generational divide,” when the root causes are really the same. Unfairly low tax rates for the ultra-wealthy and corporate welfare make economic suffering worse in generations across Colorado.

STRONG COLORADO FAMILIES

Strong families are the bedrock of Colorado, and they are stronger when our employers, schools, and childcare services work together to support their needs. And families are the building blocks of a stronger Colorado. We support: 

• Universal paid family leave and job security policies for longer leaves of absences for both parents after the birth or adoption of a child.

• Policies that incentivize equal division of childcare and household duties between parents, such as use it or lose it paternity leave.

• A school week that matches the work week to minimize the need to pay for additional childcare.

• Expanding programs to pay family or community members for childcare or medical support for children. 

CHILDCARE FOR ALL

Colorado is experiencing a childcare crisis. 50% of Coloradans live in a “childcare desert,” and our childcare costs are among the highest in the nation. Parents (primarily mothers) who temporarily leave the workforce lose income growth and retirement benefits, and not simply their salary. Colorado Democrats support and call for: 

• Universal free, easily accessible, public, high quality childcare. Experts agree this would be a major step in addressing declining birth rates. 

• Publicly owned and funded childcare centers, because the private sector has consistently failed to address the childcare shortage.

• Public funding for paid childcare provided by family or community members. 

• The right of all teachers and childcare workers in Colorado to unionize in order to best advocate for children and for themselves. 

• Fully funding the Healthy School Meals for All program and the Summer Food Service program. No child should go hungry. 

COMMUNITY AND LONELINESS

Lack of easily accessible “third places” is contributing to social isolation and a lack of community, and the loneliness epidemic especially among youth and seniors. Most public gathering places are either centered around shopping and consumption, or require a fee, membership, or purchase to enter. This excludes community members on tight budgets. Because of this, Colorado Democrats support:

• Investing in fee-free third spaces like libraries, and community and recreation centers to address loneliness and promote community.

• Allocating additional financial resources to improve public infrastructure, such as public lands and buildings.

• Expanding job programs at community centers and third places.

• Using our existing public buildings to provide access to free food/meals for all.

SENIOR CARE

Safe and quality senior care is a primary concern as seniors enter retirement. The largest growing age demographic in Colorado is the over 65 group. We are facing an urgent need to expand the accessibility of senior care. We support: 

• Prohibiting private equity ownership of hospitals, medical groups, and retirement and nursing homes.

• Providing support, education, and training for caregivers and families of seniors. 

• Supporting family members’ ability to be an individual's paid home health worker if they wish.

• Establishing minimum standards and licensing and monitoring of “independent living facilities” in Colorado. 

• Establishing minimum staff to resident ratio in all retirement and nursing homes, including “independent living facilities.”

• Allowing basements and attics to be converted to apartments for seniors or caretakers with a minimum or no cost for building permits, and allowing low-cost renovation loans for seniors who need increased accommodations and care.

SOCIAL SECURITY 

Colorado families are deeply impacted by federal attempts to weaken or privatize social security, including the failure to make yearly, accurate Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA). Colorado Democrats call for eliminating the ridiculously low cap for social security taxes so that the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share into the program. We also call for legislation that would: 

• Increase benefits to match the Elder Index by county.

• Eliminate the presumption of fault when a low wage worker has solely social security as income at retirement by adjusting their benefits based on actual expenses.

• Ensure the ultrawealthy pay their fair share by net worth based taxation and taxation of capital gains to ensure solvency and livability of social security.

• Eliminate income requirements for Social Security Disability Insurance and allow disabled people to work.

• Support social security credits for people who leave the workforce to be a caregiver.

• Eliminate tax on social security benefits for qualified disabled veterans.

BANKING, LENDING, AND RETIREMENT REFORM

Coloradans are facing financial instability. High interest debt and retirement challenges impact all generations. Coloradans should be able to retire, with access to employer retirement contributions upon entering the workforce. Dignity and financial security in retirement is a right. We support:

• Public banking in Colorado to offer low-interest lending and reduced fee accounts. 

• Reducing property taxes on the primary residence of low and middle income seniors. Reducing property taxes for qualified disabled veterans and Gold Star spouses. 

• Setting a maximum interest rate for loans and credit cards issued by Colorado-based financial institutions.

• Decoupling retirement accounts from employers. 

• All workers, including part-time and gig workers, receiving employer contributions without matching requirements in a portable retirement account of the employee’s choosing.

• All retirement investment account advisors and administrators acting only in the interest of the account holder.

PREDATORY BUSINESS PRACTICES

Predatory business practices contribute to the time poverty felt by Coloradan families, and they particularly impact seniors and young people. Colorado Democrats will work to:

• Protect community members from abuse, scams and exploitation.

• Require companies to provide clear and concise terms and conditions and terms of service. 

• Require one click, same day cancellation of all subscriptions. 

• Prohibit the use of artificial intelligence and algorithms to engage in price-gouging or price-fixing. 

• Reject business practices that use convoluted processes, denial or delay tactics to avoid issuing refunds or shirk their responsibilities to customers.

• Require companies to provide non-AI based, accessible support for their services; it must be easy to reach a human by pressing zero during business hours. 

• Support policies ensuring Coloradans can access local broadcasts of Colorado-based sports without requiring expensive bundled subscriptions (as is the case with all Broncos games). 

• Disincentivize the corporate rental industry that has driven up housing prices for young people and made student housing unaffordable. 

WEALTH INEQUALITY, THE PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT TRAP, AND TIME POVERTY

Too many Colorado families live on multiple part-time jobs, which limits access to retirement savings, PTO (Paid Time Off), and healthcare , and results in what is called “time poverty” or the “time tax”. When parents, especially, have to move between multiple jobs and get children to schools and childcare, the result is no time to spend raising and enjoying their families. Broadly, the answer is better wages in part-time employment and encouraging companies to hire workers at full time. For more, please read our LABOR AND JOBS plank. Colorado Democrats will work to:

• Support a tax on extreme wealth over $1B, as in the Sanders-Khanna "Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act".

• Curb extreme wealth inequality by raising corporate taxes on large corporations with massive CEO-to-worker pay disparities, as in the Sanders-Tlaib "Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act".

• Explore universal basic income pilot programs in Colorado, studying their impact on poverty, workforce participation, and family stability.

• Eliminate the food service exception to minimum wage laws.

• Increase the frequency of minimum wage adjustments for inflation and cost of living. 

• Promote business models that provide Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) or are worker cooperatives. 

DIGITAL PRIVACY AND SAFETY

Colorado Democrats recognize that technological privacy and safety is of utmost importance. Seniors and kids are often targeted by online scams and affected by data privacy leaks. For more information, please visit our GUIDING COLORADO’S NEW TECHNOLOGY AND AI FUTURE plank.

POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION AND STUDENT DEBT

Colorado families are too often unable to afford post-secondary education. The Colorado Democrats support significantly more funding of public trade schools, colleges, and universities than the state is currently able to provide under TABOR. Our long-term goal is free community college and trade school opportunities for all Coloradans. We also support low interest public refinancing options for student loans and loan forgiveness in certain sectors, until full forgiveness is possible. For more, please see our COLORADO PUBLIC EDUCATION plank. 

GUN SAFETY FOR OUR FAMILIES

Colorado Democrats recognize that gun violence is a public health crisis. We support gun license and conceal carry permit renewals and required periodic training. We also support only trained security personnel or law enforcement being able to carry weapons on K-12 and university campuses. Please see our PUBLIC SAFETY AND COMMUNITY TRUST plank for more information.