MAKING SENSE OF STATE REFERENDA AND AMENDMENTS ON THE BALLOT

Before stepping into the voters' booth, it's important to understand
the number of referenda and amendments on this year's ballot, which
range from defining marriage to term limits for judges.

We are disheartened that our legislators have again sought to make
changes to the state constitution rather than to deal with issues
through statutory change. We believe the Constitution is not the place
for legislating change. You will see that belief influences several of
our positions.

The Summit Daily News endorses:

. Referendum E: This lowers property taxes for qualified veterans who
are 100 percent, permanently disabled. In reality, this is a federal
responsibility, but the feds have not stepped to the plate to support
veterans, so the states must. One concern we do voice about this
referendum is all disabled veterans, not just property owners, need
more protective, supportive legislation, not just the disabled ones.

. Referendum G: This allows the removal of outdated and obsolete
provisions from the constitution, including an 1876 provision
requiring an individual with a moral objection to war to pay a fee to
be exempt from duty.

. Referendum I: This provision creates a new, legal relationship,
called a domestic partnership, which would provide same-sex couples
the opportunity to obtain the legal protections granted to married
couples by Colorado law. This does differentiate between domestic
partnerships and marriage, but committed same-sex couples still
deserve protection, and should be held accountable for their
responsibility to children, debt and property ownership.

. Amendment 44: This legalizes possession of up to one ounce of
marijuana for adults 21 years and older. Marijuana is proven to be
less dangerous than alcohol, which is already tolerated, and we
believe our police have more important jobs to do than jailing folks
for a small-time recreational habit. That said, it's still up to
parents to teach responsibility, and driving under the influence
should never be tolerated.

The Summit Daily News does not endorse:

. Amendment 38: While this amendment would allow petitioners more
time to gather signatures, it gives less time for protesting petition
filings if any wrongdoing had occurred - from 30 days to 10 days at
the state level. This was the deal-killer. More review is needed, not less.

. Amendment 39: Called the "65 percent solution," this amendment
takes some of the control out of local schools to determine how to
spend money. Every district has its own, unique needs, and there is
no magic number that will help our education system.

. Amendment 40: Want to keep talented judges out of court? Then apply
term limits, as suggested in this question on the ballot. There is
regular review of judges already, and we see no need to discourage
good judges from serving unlimited terms.

. Amendment 41: Pick a number any number. Whoever wrote the language
on this question decided that $50 was the maximum amount elected
officials and government employees could accept from anyone (except a
relative or personal friend for a special occasion). Instead, voters
should find out what groups and individuals are giving gifts to
candidates in their district, and understand that they can control
special interests through whom they vote for.

. Amendment 42: While we support raising the minimum wage, we feel
this should come from our representatives in Congress, and most
especially not through amendments to the state Constitution. Push
your representative to bring this bill up during the next session,
and push your employer to pay a realistic wage, which in Summit
County is more than the suggested $6.85 per hour target, anyway.

. Amendment 43: This defines marriage as only a union between one man
and one woman. Our reply? Keep the government, and James Dobson,
focused on real issues that could improve our lives.

. Referendum F: This changes the constitution to remove deadlines for
protesting petitions to recall elected state officials, and allows
elected representatives to control the recall process for the
positions they hold. This is an ethical nightmare, and brings up
enough conflict-of-interest scenarios to rule it out altogether.

. Referendum H: While this would penalize businesses that pay illegal
aliens for work through increased state income taxes, it will have
little to no impact on illegal immigration. Enforcement would be
unlikely if not impossble, and there is little incentive to stop
hiring unauthorized aliens while federal tax breaks exist in this
proposal worth five times as much as the additional taxes. We don't
need more immigration laws. We need current laws enforced.

. Referendum J: See amendment 39, as this measure changes the state
statute to give more control to the state over local education
spending. Education should be a local issue.

. Referendum K: This requires - not asks - the state to sue the
federal government to demand enforcement of immigration laws. This is
a waste of money to tie up federal courts and no state has ever
successfully sued the federal government on such grounds.

The newspaper's endorsements are determined by its editorial board
which consists of publisher Jim Morgan, managing editor Ryan
Slabaugh, advertising director David Mercier and Silverthorne
resident Catherine Gant, who served for years as a district judge in Texas.