Centennial, Colo. – August 3, 2018 – Colorado Farm Bureau today submitted a record number of signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State in support of Initiative 108. The organization and the Committee for Colorado’s Shared Heritage, CFB’s issue committee supporting the initiative, submitted 208,000 petition signatures to secure Initiative 108’s place on the November ballot. This is the largest number of signatures ever submitted in support of a citizen-backed initiative in Colorado.

“This is also first for our organization,” said Chad Vorthmann, Executive Vice President of Colorado Farm Burea during a press conference held at the organization’s office. “We have never proposed a ballot initiative to the voters of Colorado. We’re honored that our first initiative will protect homeowners, farmers, ranchers, small businesses, landowners and in fact, all Coloradans.”

The initiative will level the playing field for all Coloradans by ensuring they have the right to be made whole when the government takes their property or diminishes its value through a  “regulatory taking.”

Carlyle Currier, CFB Vice President and a rancher from Molina said property rights are important to rural residents and ag producers.

“As someone from rural Colorado who makes his living off the land, I have strong feelings about property rights. In the West, and particularly in agriculture, our ability to exercise our property rights as granted by the U.S. and the state Constitution is of utmost importance.”

The organization collected signatures from around the state in compliance with Amendment 71, a successful measure in the 2016 election that requires petition signatures from voters across Colorado in order to make the November ballot. Currier says the success of the process shows Amendment 71 is working as intended.

“While the process was not easy, the results speak for themselves. When given a voice, voters outside the Front Range want and deserve to have a say in the ballot initiative process.  The result speaks to the fundamental issue of fairness at the heart of Initiative 108.”