Colorado's path to success reads like a case study in why the State Voices model of diverse collaboration is so important. In 2008, an initiative passed in Denver that targeted undocumented immigrants: if an individual was pulled over while driving and was not carrying a valid driver's license, police could impound the driver's vehicle forcing them to pay a fine to retrieve it. But the initiative was clumsily worded, and supporters who felt it wasn't being adequately enforced put it back on the ballot in 2009 as Initiative 300. The new initiative threatened to significantly restrict police discretion, forcing officers to impound more vehicles and requiring drivers to pay up to $2,700 to recover their cars.
Educating citizens on the harmful effects of the initiative was a true coalition effort that encompassed much of the Colorado network. Rights for All People, a grassroots immigration group with a regional base and Colorado network member, was a key coalition partner. The organization had worked on the 2008 campaign to oppose the initiative; facing the same battle, Rights for All People turned to the Colorado network to create a successful 2009 campaign. They utilized the expertise of network staff to build a list of likely 2009 voters from the voter file and compared that list to their base of supporters. That exercise showed their base equaled less than 20 percent of likely voters, emphasizing the need to work with additional groups and communities. Rights for All People reached out through the network to help build a winning coalition. By the end of the campaign, the coalition included more than 27 organizations with nine active network members on the coalition steering committee and others participating in its work. The coalition's campaign to defeat the initiative was a sophisticated, data-driven effort that used voter file data, turnout models, and the VAN software to negotiate turf.
On Election Day, Denver rejected the additional enforcement measures to the current law, and Initiative 300 was defeated 70 percent to 30, a success made possible not only by the tools provided by the network but by the trust and structure already established by the organizations involved. Because that structure and trust was already in place, the coalition was able to build the diverse and cutting edge campaign necessary to defeat the initiative in a short amount of time.
