Respondents Brief — Advance Colorado, et al., Petitioners v. Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State
Supreme Court briefJan 3, 2025
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NO. 24-216
In the
Supreme Court of the United States
_______________________
ADVANCE COLORADO, ET AL.,
Petitioners,
v.
JENA GRISWOLD, COLORADO SECRETARY OF STATE,
Respondent.
________________
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
________________
BRIEF IN OPPOSITION
________________
PHILIP J. WEISER
Attorney General
RUSSELL D. JOHNSON
Deputy Solicitor General
SHANNON WELLS STEVENSON
Solicitor General
Counsel of Record
J. GREGORY WHITEHAIR
Senior Assistant Attorney
General
PETER G. BAUMANN
Office of the Colorado
Assistant Solicitor General
Attorney General
LEO T. NGUYEN
1300 Broadway
Assistant Attorney General
10th Floor
Fellow
Denver, Colorado 80203
Shannon.Stevenson@coag.gov
(720) 508-6000
Counsel for Respondent
QUESTION PRESENTED
Under Colorado law, citizen-initiated ballot
measures have their “titles”—paragraph-length
descriptions of the measure—set by a three-member
Title Board. The titles are set at a public hearing at
which anyone can lobby the Board to include or delete
language in the title. Once title is set, Colorado law
provides for a mandatory, expedited appeal to the
Colorado Supreme Court, which ensures the title
describes the initiative “succinctly, accurately, and
fairly and in a manner that will not mislead voters.”
In re Title, Ballot Title & Submission Clause for 20192020 #293, 466 P.3d 392, 393 (Colo. 2020). The final
version of the title appears on petitions approved by
the Secretary of State and circulated by signaturegathers under a bolded disclaimer saying that the
“ballot title and submission clause as designated and
fixed by the Initiative Title Setting Review Board is as
follows:”. And if enough signatures are collected, the
title ultimately appears on Coloradans’ ballots.
The question presented is whether the title set by
the Title Board, subject to review by the Colorado
Supreme Court, and distributed to voters on stateapproved petitions and ultimately on state-certified,
county-printed ballots, is an individual’s or
organization’s protected speech, or whether, as the
court of appeals held, it is government speech.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUESTION PRESENTED .......................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................ ii
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ...................................... iv
INTRODUCTION ....................................................... 1
STATEMENT OF THE CASE ................................... 2
I.
Colorado’s ballot measure framework. ............... 2
II. Factual background. ............................................ 5
III. Procedural background. ...................................... 7
REASONS FOR DENYING THE PETITION ........... 8
I.
Petitioners have waived any argument about
government-compelled speech. ........................... 8
A. Petitioners chose not to advance a theory
of government-compelled speech in the
courts below. ................................................. 8
B. Petitioners are not compelled to express
the Government’s message. ....................... 10
C. Petitioners chose not to pursue a readily
available state law remedy for allegedly
false ballot titles. ........................................ 11
II. With respect to the preserved issue of
whether the ballot title is government speech,
certiorari is not appropriate. ............................. 13
A. The Tenth Circuit faithfully applied this
Court’s
precedents
in
assessing
Petitioners’ challenge. ................................ 13
B. Cook is easily distinguishable. ................... 16
iii
C. There is no meaningful circuit split on
the question presented. .............................. 17
III. This case is a poor vehicle for addressing the
question presented. ........................................... 18
A. There are alternative grounds for
affirming the denial of the preliminary
injunction. ................................................... 18
1. Petitioners’ claim is moot. ..................... 18
2. Pullman abstention applies to
Petitioners’ case. ................................... 21
B. Petitioners’ position is unworkable. .......... 22
C. The language to which Petitioners object
is not false. .................................................. 26
CONCLUSION ......................................................... 29
iv
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES
303 Creative LLC v. Elenis,
600 U.S. 570 (2023) ................................................ 10
Anderson v. Martin,
375 U.S. 399 (1964) ................................................ 17
Bierman v. Dayton,
817 F.3d 1070 (8th Cir. 2016) ................................ 20
Buckley v. Am. Constitutional Law Found., Inc.,
525 U.S. 182 (1999) ........................................... 22-23
Caruso v. Yamhill Cnty. ex rel. Cnty. Comm’r,
422 F.3d 848 (9th Cir. 2005) ............................. 17-18
Colo. Dep’t of State v. Unite for Colo.,
551 P.3d 687 (Colo. App. 2024) .......................... 4, 25
Cook v. Gralike,
531 U.S. 510 (2001) ........................................... 16-17
Davis v. Fed. Election Comm’n,
554 U.S. 724 (2008) ................................................ 19
Fleming v. Gutierrez,
785 F.3d 442 (10th Cir. 2015) ................................ 20
Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg,
492 U.S. 33 (1989) .................................................... 9
Haaland v. Brackeen,
599 U.S. 255 (2023) ................................................ 21
Hurley v. Irish-Am. Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Grp.
of Boston,
515 U.S. 557 (1995) ................................................ 10
v
In re Title, Ballot Title, Submission Clause, &
Summary for 1999-2000 #29,
972 P.2d 257 (Colo. 1999) ................................. 11-12
In re Title, Ballot Title & Submission Clause for
2019-2020 #293,
466 P.3d 392 (Colo. 2020) ........................................ 3
Johanns v. Livestock Mktg. Ass’n,
544 U.S. 550 (2005) ................................................ 23
Kim v. Hanlon,
99 F.4th 140 (3d Cir. 2024) .................................... 18
Libertarian Party of Va. v. Alcorn,
826 F.3d 708 (4th Cir. 2016) .................................. 18
Matal v. Tam,
582 U.S. 218 (2017) ................................................ 15
Murthy v. Missouri,
603 U.S. 43 (2024) .................................................. 20
Overton v. Bazzetta,
539 U.S. 126 (2003) ................................................ 21
Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summum,
555 U.S. 460 (2009) ................................................ 16
R.R. Comm’n of Tex. v. Pullman Co.,
312 U.S. 496 (1941) ........................................... 21-22
Shurtleff v. City of Boston,
596 U.S. 243 (2022) ....................................7-8, 13-15
Singleton v. Wulff,
428 U.S. 106 (1976) .................................................. 9
TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez,
594 U.S. 413 (2021) ................................................ 20
vi
United States v. Sineneng-Smith,
590 U.S. 371 (2020) .................................................. 9
Walker v. Tex. Div., Sons of Confederate Veterans,
Inc.,
576 U.S. 200 (2015) ................................................ 15
Zaner v. City of Brighton,
917 P.2d 280 (Colo. 1996) ...................................... 12
STATUTES
1941 Colo. Sess. Laws 480........................................... 2
ARK. CODE ANN. § 7-9-107 ......................................... 15
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-102 ....................................... 5
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-104 ................................. 3, 24
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-105 ................................. 3, 14
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-106 ............................ 2-3, 6-7
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-107 ...................... 3, 11, 25-26
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-108 ..................................... 26
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-110 .................................... 4-5
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-116 ....................................... 5
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-117 ....................................... 5
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-118 ....................................... 5
H.B. 1321, 73rd Gen. Assemb., 1st Reg. Sess. (Colo.
2021) ........................................ 5-8, 10, 12, 19, 21, 26
CONSTITUTIONS
COLO. CONST. art. V, § 1 ........................... 2, 4-5, 11, 26
COLO. CONST. art. X § 20 .......................... 12, 19, 26-28
vii
U.S. CONST. amend. I ........1, 7-8, 11, 13, 16-18, 21-24,
26, 29
OTHER AUTHORITIES
13C Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Fed.
Prac. & Proc. Juris. § 3533.3.1 (3d ed.) ................. 20
Andrew McKean, Anti-Hunting Groups Are Running
a Paid Signature Campaign to Ban Cougar Hunting in Colorado. Conservation Orgs Launch “Decline to Sign” Effort, Outdoor Life, June 14, 2024,
https://www.outdoorlife.com/conserva-tion/signature-campaign-ban-lion-hunting-colorado/ ........... 24
Colorado Judicial Branch, 2023/2024 Ballot Initiatives, https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/taxonomy/term/580?topic=78&wrapped=true ................. 4
Colorado Secretary of State, 2023-2024 Initiative Filings, Agendas & Results, https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/
elections/Initiatives/titleBoard/ ............................... 4
Colorado Secretary of State, Results for Proposed Initiative #46, https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/elections/Initiatives/titleBoard/results/20212022/46Results.html .............................................. 12
Legislative Council Staff, Economic and Revenue
Forecast, December 2024, https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/dec2024forecastwithcover_0.pdf ...................................................... 28
Legislative Council Staff, Economic and Revenue
Forecast, June 2023, https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/june2023forecast_1.pdf................................................................ 28
viii
Legislative Council Staff, Economic and Revenue
Forecast, June 2024, https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/june2024forecastforposting.pdf ................................................... 28
INTRODUCTION
Since the 1940s, Colorado has exercised plenary
control over the ballot titles for citizen-initiated
measures. Those titles are crafted by the state Title
Board and appear only on signature petitions
approved by the government, ballots drawn and
printed by the government, and voter information
booklets drafted by the government. And on the
signature petitions—the place where the title
allegedly is most likely to be confused for private
speech—Colorado places a disclaimer at the top of
every page informing readers that the title is crafted
by the state Title Board.
Nonetheless, Petitioners brought this challenge
under the First Amendment, alleging that the ballot
title is Petitioners’ private speech, not the
government’s. And although Petitioners now try to
reframe their challenge to instead invoke this Court’s
precedents for government-compelled speech, that is
not how Petitioners pled or argued this case in either
of the courts below.
As to the preserved question, whether the titles
are government speech or private speech, the court of
appeals carefully and faithfully applied this Court’s
modern government speech precedents to Colorado’s
unique factual circumstances. And given both the factdependent nature of that inquiry, and the broad
diversity among states as to how ballot titles are
drafted and approved, it is unlikely the Court would
be able to articulate any helpful rule beyond the
guidance provided by its prior precedents.
Finally, this case is a poor vehicle to address
whatever concerns Petitioners raise about the
2
government speech doctrine, or even the governmentcompelled speech doctrine, in the ballot title context.
Petitioners’ challenge is moot. And even if the case, as
a whole, is capable of repetition yet evading review,
that exception to mootness cannot save this
interlocutory appeal, which arose from the denial of a
preliminary injunction tied to the 2024 election. And
Petitioners’ attempts to frame this as a
straightforward case belie the unworkability of their
ultimate position. The Petition should be denied.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
I.
Colorado’s ballot measure framework.
Colorado citizens enjoy a robust right to initiate
legislation. See, e.g., COLO. CONST. art. V, § 1(1), (2).
Subject to few limitations, citizens can draft and
circulate for signatures almost any proposed statutory
provision or constitutional amendment. Id. § 1(2). The
rights to make law through initiative and referendum
are, respectively, the “first” and “second” “power[s] . . .
reserved by the people” in the Colorado constitution.
Id. § 1(2), (3).
But although citizens may draft and propose their
own initiatives, they do not enjoy the right to
determine how those initiatives are described on
state-issued petitions and ballots. Instead, since 1941,
the paragraph-long description of the measure that is
ultimately submitted to voters—which Colorado calls
the ballot “title”—has been set by a three-person Title
Board. See 1941 Colo. Sess. Laws 480. In its current
form, the Board consists of the secretary of state, the
attorney general, and the director of the state office of
legislative legal services, or their designees. COLO.
REV. STAT. § 1-40-106(1) (2024). Representatives of the
3
proponents of an initiative, known as “designated
representatives,” id. § 1-40-104, must present their
measure to the Title Board, which “by majority vote,
shall proceed to designate and fix a proper fair title for
each proposed law or constitutional amendment,” id.
§ 1-40-106(1). The designated representatives must
attend any meeting of the Title Board at which their
measure is discussed, id. § 1-40-106(4)(a), but it is the
Board, not the designated representatives, that sets
the title. In fact, supporters of an initiative are
prohibited by statute from even recommending a
proposed title when they submit their initiative to the
Title Board. Id. § 1-40-105(4).
The Title Board drafts the title at a public
meeting, during which anyone, including the
designated representatives, can comment on the
Board’s proposal. Id. § 1-40-106(1). Once title is set,
any voter who “is not satisfied with the titles . . . and
who claims that they are unfair or that they do not
fairly express the true meaning and intent” of the
proposed measure, may seek rehearing before the
Title Board. Id. § 1-40-107(1)(a)(I).
If, after rehearing, that voter or any other
interested party is still dissatisfied with the title, they
enjoy a right of mandatory appeal directly to the
Colorado Supreme Court. On appeal from the Title
Board, the court will reject the title if it does not
summarize the measure “succinctly, accurately, and
fairly and in a manner that will not mislead voters.”
In re Title, Ballot Title & Submission Clause for 20192020 #293, 466 P.3d 392, 393 (Colo. 2020). The process
is heavily utilized. During the 2023-2024 ballot-issue
cycle, 314 unique measures were presented to the Title
4
Board,1 and the Colorado Supreme Court considered
41 separate title board appeals.2
Once a title has been set, proponents of the
measure may begin collecting signatures to qualify the
measure for the general election ballot.
Although designated representatives and original
proponents of a measure may be part of the signature
gathering effort, they are not the only persons that can
circulate a petition for signatures. In fact, a
predecessor of one Petitioner here, Advance Colorado,
spent over $1.5 million in 2020 collecting signatures
for two measures it did not draft or present to the Title
Board. Colo. Dep’t of State v. Unite for Colo., 551 P.3d
687, 694 (Colo. App. 2024), certiorari granted Unite for
Colo. v. Colo. Dep’t of State, No. 24SC281, 2024 WL
4906452 (Colo. Nov. 25, 2024).
Regardless of who is collecting signatures, the
signatures must be captured on petitions printed “in
such form as may be prescribed pursuant to law,”
COLO. CONST. art. V, § 1(2), and must include (1) the
full text of the measure, id., and (2) the title set by the
Title Board, COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-110(2). Most
importantly, at the top of every page of the petition is
a statement, in bold: “The ballot title and
submission clause as designated and fixed by
1
Available
at
https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/
elections/Initiatives/titleBoard/.
2
Available
at
https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/taxonomy/term/580?topic=78&wrapped=true. This includes challenges
both to the title itself and to whether the proposed measure violates Colorado’s single-subject requirement. See COLO. CONST.
art. V, § 1(5.5).
5
the Initiative Title Setting Review Board is as
follows:”. App. at 3a n.1.
Once proponents have collected signatures on the
petition, the petition is submitted to the Secretary of
State to verify whether proponents have collected
enough valid signatures. COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-116.
The Secretary then issues a statement of sufficiency
or insufficiency, id. § 1-40-117, which may be cured,
id. § 1-40-117(4), or challenged in state court, id. § 140-118.
Ultimately, the ballot title is required to appear
in only three places: (1) the ballot itself,3 id. § 1-40102(2), (2) the official voter information booklet (called
the “Blue Book”) prepared and published by the
general assembly’s nonpartisan research staff and
mailed to voters before an election, COLO. CONST. art.
V, § 1(7.5), and (3) on the signature petition, COLO.
REV. STAT. § 1-40-110(2). Proponents and opponents of
the measure are not required to use or refer to the title
in any of their own printed materials, radio or
television advertisements, or in any interactive
communication with voters.
II. Factual background.
In 2021, the Colorado General Assembly passed
House Bill 21-1321 (“HB 21-1321”). H.B. 1321, 73rd
Gen. Assemb., 1st Reg. Sess. (Colo. 2021). The purpose
of the legislation was to ensure voters were exposed to
complete information about the “fiscal impact of
statewide ballot measures that would result in a
3 The text of the measure is not printed on the actual ballot.
Instead, the ballot includes only the title that has been set by the
Title Board.
6
change in district revenue.” Id. Under HB 21-1321,
when an initiative implicates reductions in tax
revenue, the title must begin:
Shall there be a reduction to the (description
of tax) by (the percentage by which the tax is
reduced in the first full fiscal year that the
measure reduces revenue) thereby reducing
state revenue, which will reduce funding for
state expenditures that include but are not
limited to (the three largest areas of program
expenditure) by an estimated (projected
dollar figure of revenue reduction to the state
in the first full fiscal year that the measure
reduces revenue) in tax revenue . . . ?
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-106(3)(e). Measures that
would reduce local revenues must follow similar
requirements. Id. § 1-40-106(3)(f).
Relevant here, two measures drafted specifically
to challenge this legislation were submitted to the
Title Board in 2023.
First, proponents submitted proposed initiative
2023-2024 #21, which would create a 3% annual limit
on property tax increases, subject to certain
exceptions. App. at 6a. After the Title Board concluded
that the measure would reduce local district property
tax revenue, it included in the title the mandatory
language from COLO. REV. STAT. section 1-40-106(3)(f).
App. at 7a. The designated representatives sought
rehearing before the Title Board on the grounds that
the measure was not a “tax change,” so the language
need not be required. After the Board denied the
motion, no party sought review before the Colorado
Supreme Court as to whether the title was inaccurate.
7
Second,
proponents
submitted
proposed
initiative 2023-2024 #22, which would lower the
state’s sales and use tax rate by .01% for one year from
2024-2025 and create a one-day sales tax holiday. App.
at 6a-7a. After the Title Board concluded that the
measure would reduce state revenue through a tax
change, it included in the title the mandatory
language from COLO. REV. STAT. section 1-40106(3)(e). App. at 7a. The designated representatives
sought rehearing before the Title Board on the
grounds that the title was inaccurate. The Board
denied the motion, and no party sought review by the
Colorado Supreme Court.
III. Procedural background.
Although the Title Board’s titles for #21 and #22
were final on May 19, 2023, and April 19, 2023,
respectively, proponents did not ask the Secretary to
approve a proof of those petitions until August 4, 2023.
The next business day, Petitioners filed this lawsuit,
alleging that HB 21-1321 violated their rights under
the First Amendment both facially and as-applied to
#21 and #22. Petitioners also included a claim under
the Colorado Constitution. Petitioners sought a
preliminary injunction, which the district court
denied, concluding that the ballot titles were
government speech under this Court’s decision in
Shurtleff v. City of Boston, 596 U.S. 243 (2022).
Plaintiffs appealed the denial of the preliminary
injunction to the Tenth Circuit, which also applied
Shurtleff. The court noted the “robust history of titles
being government expression, and the near total
control the government asserts over the titling,” as
well as the disclaimer included on the petitions
8
informing the reader that they were drafted by the
government. For these reasons, the court concluded
that the titles were government speech under the
Shurtleff factors, and thus Plaintiffs had no First
Amendment interests in the speech and were unlikely
to succeed on the merits of their claims. App. at 14a.
REASONS FOR DENYING THE PETITION
I.
Petitioners have waived any argument
about government-compelled speech.
A. Petitioners chose not to advance a
theory of government-compelled speech
in the courts below.
In their Petition, Petitioners paint this case as
arising under the doctrine of government-compelled
speech. See, e.g., Pet. at 1 (requesting that this Court
“merely [] reverse the holding that [Petitioners’]
claims challenge pure government speech, and not
government-compelled speech”); see also e.g., id. at 13,
17, 19, 21, 24. But that is not how Petitioners argued
this case in the district court or originally on appeal.
Instead, as the court of appeals noted, “Advance
Colorado has consistently asserted that the ballot
titles are its own private speech and has not argued,
in the alternative that they are improperly
compulsory government speech.” App. at 16a n.6.4 As
4 See also App. at 181a
THE [DISTRICT] COURT: . . . Would you agree that in
order for me to be in a position of declaring 1321
unconstitutional as applied to these two initiatives,
that I would have to conclude that the title was the
9
a result, neither lower court applied this Court’s
government-compelled speech precedents.
“It is the general rule . . . that a federal appellate
court does not consider an issue not passed upon
below.” Singleton v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 120 (1976).
And for good reason. As a Court of last resort, it makes
little sense for this Court to answer a question on
which it “lack[s] guidance from the District Court or
the Court of Appeals,” Granfinanciera, S.A. v.
Nordberg, 492 U.S. 33, 39 (1989), particularly where
Petitioners were represented by skilled counsel in the
courts below, and knowingly chose not to advance a
government-compelled speech claim. See, e.g., App. at
181a; see also United States v. Sineneng-Smith, 590
U.S. 371, 375-76 (2020) (“[A]s a general rule, our
system is designed around the premise that parties
represented by competent counsel know what is best
for them, and are responsible for advancing the facts
and argument entitling them to relief.” (quotations
and alterations omitted)).
Here, Petitioners consistently argued that the
ballot titles were private speech, not governmentcompelled speech. As a result, the parties developed
no record from which this Court can meaningfully
evaluate a compelled speech claim.
speech of plaintiffs’ and not the speech of the
government?
MR. EID: Yes, sir. . . .[O]ur position is it’s not
governmental speech.
10
B. Petitioners are not compelled to express
the Government’s message.
Even if Petitioners had preserved the argument
that HB 21-1321 unlawfully compels them to transmit
the government’s message, that argument would fail.
The government-compelled speech doctrine
prohibits the government from compelling “affirmance
of a belief with which the speaker disagrees.” Hurley
v. Irish-Am. Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Grp. of
Boston, 515 U.S. 557, 573 (1995). It applies only in
circumstances where the government requires a
person to “speak as the State demands or face
sanctions for expressing [their] own beliefs.” 303
Creative LLC v. Elenis, 600 U.S. 570, 589 (2023).
Nothing in Colorado law prohibits Petitioners
from expressing disagreement with a ballot title.
Ballot titles only appear in three places: (1) on
signature petitions, (2) on the ballot, and (3) on a
government-produced-and-printed ballot information
book. On the petition—the only place where that title
might allegedly be associated with a private party—
the state includes a bold disclaimer that says: “The
ballot title and submission clause as designated
and fixed by the Initiative Title Setting Review
Board is as follows:”. App. at 3a n.1.
Alongside this bold disclaimer, signaturegatherers remain free to articulate their own message
about the operation or effect of a proposed measure,
including any disagreement with the Title Board’s
chosen language. In fact, Petitioners’ own witness
testified before the district court that signaturegatherers can, and do, argue that the title is
inaccurate or unclear. App. at 84a, 97a-98a. And they
11
can, and do, direct signatories to read the full measure
to learn more about the initiative and evaluate the
title for themselves. See App. at 91a.
Even if Petitioners had developed a record
sufficient to enable this Court to meaningfully review
a government-compelled speech claim, Petitioners’
speech was not compelled under this Court’s
precedents.
C. Petitioners chose not to pursue a readily
available state law remedy for allegedly
false ballot titles.
Although the titles set by the Title Board and
placed on state-approved petitions and ballots are not
subject to First Amendment scrutiny because they
reflect the government’s speech rather than a private
party’s, Colorado law provides robust protections to
ensure the accuracy of ballot initiative titles. These
protections stem from both statute and the Colorado
Constitution and protect Colorado voters from being
“tricked and manipulated with respect to the citizen
initiative process.” See Pet. at 13.
The Colorado Constitution includes a “clear title”
requirement, COLO. CONST. art. V, § 1(5.5), which
requires the Title Board to draft titles that “fairly,
clearly, and accurately” reflect the proposed initiative,
In re Title, Ballot Title, Submission Clause, &
Summary for 1999-2000 #29, 972 P.2d 257, 266 (Colo.
1999). To ensure the Title Board timely complies with
this obligation, Colorado law provides for a
mandatory, expedited, direct appeal from the Board to
the Colorado Supreme Court. COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40107(2). The Supreme Court will invalidate the Board’s
title if it includes “a material and significant omission,
12
misstatement, or misrepresentation.” In re 1999-2000
#29, 972 P.2d at 266; see also id. (“Perfection is not the
goal; however, the Title Board’s chosen language must
not mislead voters.”).
Because the accuracy obligation flows from the
constitutional “clear title” requirement, it supersedes
any statutory enactment, including HB 21-1321. See,
e.g., Zaner v. City of Brighton, 917 P.2d 280, 286 (Colo.
1996) (“[L]egislation which directly or indirectly
impairs, limits, or destroys rights granted by selfexecuting
constitutional
provisions
is
not
permissible.”). Thus, if HB 21-1321 were to require
misleading or inaccurate language in a ballot title, the
Colorado Supreme Court could—and would—reject
that title on state law grounds.
But critically, no one—not even Petitioners—
availed themselves of Colorado’s mandatory review
procedures to allege that the titles for #21 or #22 were
false.5 Instead, they chose to bring this lawsuit.
In Colorado, like in other states that have
extended the right to initiate legislation, proponents
and opponents alike enjoy robust rights to challenge
In the court of appeals, Plaintiffs argued that they had
“functionally exhausted [their] state court remedies” by
appealing a similar measure to the Colorado Supreme Court in
2021, which denied the appeal without an order. App. at 8a n.2.
But the Title set for that measure, 2021-2022 #46, included
additional language addressing potential surpluses and tax
refunds that was not included in the Title for #22. Results for
Proposed
Initiative
#46,
available
at
https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/elections/Initiatives/titleBoar
d/results/2021-2022/46Results.html (adding “or will reduce the
amount of the taxpayer refund if a refund is required under
TABOR” to the language mandated by HB 21-1321).
5
13
titles set by the state. Those protections are more than
sufficient to address Petitioners’ parade of horribles
without invoking First Amendment scrutiny.
II. With respect to the preserved issue of
whether the ballot title is government
speech, certiorari is not appropriate.
A. The Tenth Circuit faithfully applied this
Court’s
precedents
in
assessing
Petitioners’ challenge.
Just two terms ago, this Court surveyed its
government speech precedents to enunciate a common
set of factors relevant to the analysis. Shurtleff, 596
U.S. at 251-52. The Court observed that resolving the
question requires a “holistic inquiry designed to
determine whether the government intends to speak
for itself or to regulate private expression,” and that
the ensuing analysis is “not mechanical,” but rather
“driven by a case’s context rather than the rote
application of rigid factors.” Id. at 252; see also id. at
262 (Alito, J., concurring) (identifying “the real
question in government-speech cases: whether the
government is speaking instead of regulating private
expression”). Nonetheless, the Court reiterated three
factors that often bear on the ultimate question: (1)
“the history of the expression at issue; [2)] the public’s
likely perception as to who (the government or a
private person) is speaking; and [3)] the extent to
which the government has actively shaped or
controlled the expression.” Id.
In assessing Petitioners’ likelihood of success on
the merits, the court of appeals faithfully applied
Shurtleff. As to the first and third factors, it found that
the Title Board is “solely responsible for setting a
14
measure’s title without the influence of proposal
advocates,” and that this “substantial control the
government asserts of initiative titles” had been the
norm since the Title’s Board’s inception in 1941. App.
at 13a. As the court observed, although citizens can
draft initiatives, the titles themselves “are fully and
exclusively crafted by the government[.]” Id. In fact,
the initiative’s proponents are prohibited by law from
even proposing a title. COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-105(4).
And as for the second factor, the court found that
Petitioners “fail[ed] to address the disclaimer shown
immediately above the ballot title indicating the
language is ‘designated and fixed’ by the Title Board”
and its significance in alerting the public to the title’s
governmental source. App. at 14a; see also id. at 3a n.1
(“When placed on a petition for signatures, each title
is preceded by the following disclaimer: “The Ballot
title and submission clause as designated and
fixed by the Initiative Title Setting Review
Board is as follows:”).
Given this disclaimer’s clarity in signaling the
title’s governmental source to the public, along with
the government’s longstanding and complete control
over the title’s language, the court of appeals
determined that a “holistic review clearly
demonstrates Colorado’s titling process qualifies as
government speech.” Id. at 14a.
In Shurtleff, this Court undertook the task of
organizing its government speech precedents and
enunciating a clear standard to apply in the lower
courts. Both the district court and the court of appeals
took advantage of that effort here and determined that
Colorado’s longstanding and robust control over the
15
ballot titling process clearly indicated Colorado’s
intention to “speak for itself” rather than to “regulate
private expression.” See Shurtleff, 596 U.S. at 252.
Even more important, Colorado made clear—with
efforts that included a disclaimer above the actual
Ballot Title itself—that the title reflected the
government’s speech, not that of any private party.
In fact, this case demonstrates the benefits of this
Court’s holistic approach for determining whether and
when speech is the government’s. Perhaps, in states
where citizens exercise greater control over the
content of a ballot title, the government speech
doctrine would apply differently to those different
facts. For example, in Arkansas, initiative proponents
draft their own titles and submit those titles to the
attorney general for review and approval. ARK. CODE
ANN. § 7-9-107(d)(1). In this way, Arkansas’s process
more closely resembles the process in Matal v. Tam,
582 U.S. 218, 235-36 (2017), in which the
government’s approval or rejection of marks
submitted for trademark registration was held not to
convert those marks into government speech.
On the other hand, where Colorado “maintains
direct control” over the ballot titles, “actively
exercise[s]” its authority to do so, and makes clear to
the public their governmental source, ballot titles
constitute government speech. See Walker v. Tex. Div.,
Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc., 576 U.S. 200, 213
(2015) (holding that Texas license plates are
government speech because of the state’s history of
controlling the content of the plates and because of the
plates’ prominent display of the state’s name).
16
Finally, Petitioners’ parade of horribles allegedly
flowing from the decision below is unavailing and
irrelevant. Pet. at 25-26. In each hypothetical
proposed by Petitioners, application of the
government speech doctrine reveals that the
government is not speaking for itself but has instead
created a limited public forum for nongovernmental
speakers. In such fora, the government’s regulation
must be “reasonable and viewpoint neutral,” Pleasant
Grove City, Utah v. Summum, 555 U.S. 460, 470
(2009)—and the proposed facts in each hypothetical
would fail viewpoint neutrality.
But here, the government has not created a public
forum. It is speaking for itself. Rather than
highlighting the unworkability of the government
speech decision issued by the court of appeals,
Petitioners’ hypotheticals present a red herring by
discussing the separate First Amendment public
forum doctrine that is irrelevant to this case.
B. Cook is easily distinguishable.
To avoid application of this Court’s governmentspeech precedents, Petitioners reach for Cook v.
Gralike, 531 U.S. 510 (2001). Pet. at 14. But the
controlling opinion in that case applied the Elections
Clause, not the First Amendment. Cook, 531 U.S. at
526. Rather than supporting Petitioners’ argument,
Cook instead reflects this Court’s admonition that the
appropriate constraints on government speech are
often found outside the First Amendment. See, e.g.,
Summum, 555 U.S. at 468. Recognizing this,
Petitioners instead invoke a concurrence in Cook
joined by only two members of the Court. Pet. at 14.
17
So too with the other case cited by Petitioners,
Anderson v. Martin, 375 U.S. 399 (1964). There, this
Court applied the Equal Protection Clause to strike
down a law requiring racial labels next to a
candidate’s name on printed ballots. Id. at 402. Like
Cook, Anderson stands for the principle that
government speech is sufficiently restrained by forces
outside the First Amendment.
C. There is no meaningful circuit split on
the question presented.
Highlighting Caruso v. Yamhill Cnty. ex rel. Cnty.
Comm’r, 422 F.3d 848 (9th Cir. 2005), Petitioners
argue that the decision of the court of appeals here
creates a circuit split with the Ninth Circuit. Pet. at
21. However, Petitioners are unable to identify a
circuit split on the claim actually decided by the court
of appeals, much less on the claim Petitioners waived
but now want this Court to decide.
A split on the question Petitioners preserved
would involve a court holding that ballot titles are
purely private expression. But that is not what Caruso
held. Instead, Caruso holds—or at least assumes—
that ballot titles are government speech. 422 F.3d at
855. Therefore, on whether ballot titles are
government speech, Caruso and the decision of the
court of appeals here are not in conflict.
Caruso went on to consider whether any of the
constitutional limitations on government speech,
including the government-compelled speech doctrine,
applied to the ballot titles challenged there. Id. Here,
Petitioners advanced no such theory in either the
district court or the court of appeals, and the court of
appeals issued no decision relevant to that question.
18
Instead, Petitioners argued exclusively that the titles
are “not government speech.” App. at 181a. On this
point there is no conflict with Caruso, because the
court of appeals neither reached, nor needed to reach,
the arguments advanced before the Ninth Circuit, as
they were not pursued here.
Petitioners’ invocations of Kim v. Hanlon, 99
F.4th 140 (3d Cir. 2024), and Libertarian Party of Va.
v. Alcorn, 826 F.3d 708 (4th Cir. 2016), are similarly
unavailing. In neither case was the government
speech doctrine raised, briefed, or decided; let alone as
applied to the distinct question of ballot initiative
titles. Both of those cases addressed the location of
candidate names on candidate-election ballots, with
one concluding that ballot designs which force
candidates to “associat[e] with candidates with whom
they may not wish to associate or face ‘Ballot Siberia,’”
infringed on the candidates’ First Amendment
associational rights. Kim, 99 F.4th at 157; see also
Libertarian Party, 826 F.3d at 712 (addressing law
which relegated independent candidates to the “third
tier of the ballot”). Petitioners’ effort to connect
candidate-location to titles for ballot initiatives—
where Colorado’s initiative titles are specifically set by
the government—is inapt.
III. This case is a poor vehicle for addressing the
question presented.
A. There are alternative grounds for
affirming the denial of the preliminary
injunction.
1.
Petitioners’ claim is moot.
There is no dispute that Petitioners’ request for a
preliminary injunction—sought to allow the proposed
19
measures to appear on the 2024 election ballot—is
moot. See App. at 181a. And although election-related
cases are often “capable of repetition, yet evading
review,” Davis v. Fed. Election Comm’n, 554 U.S. 724,
735 (2008), this particular action is not.
First, the “capable of repetition, yet evading
review” exception requires a “reasonable expectation
that the same complaining party will be subject to the
same action again.” Id. (quotations omitted). But even
if Petitioners are likely to propose future tax cut
measures in Colorado, the Petition itself emphasizes
specific facts relevant to #21 and #22 that may—or
may not—exist in the future. Unlike most tax cuts,
#22 was a “de minimis . . . tax cut that would be in
effect for a single year” which will have concluded by
the time any decision issues from this Court. Pet. at 7.
Moreover, Petitioners’ central argument is that this
single year “was projected to have tax revenue high
enough to trigger a substantial refund under the
Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.” Id.
To satisfy the “capable of repetition, yet evading
review” exception, Petitioners must show not only the
likelihood that they will pursue “de minimis,” “single
year” tax cuts in the future, but also that the specific
years they choose are likely to have the same economic
conditions present in FY 2024-2025. And that the
titles set by the Title Board will be substantially
similar to those they challenge here. But see supra n.5
(noting that the Title Board included different
language alongside the language mandated by HB 211321 in the title for another, similar, measure).
Theories that depend on “guesswork as to how
independent decisionmakers will exercise their
20
judgment” are insufficient to satisfy Article III’s case
or controversy requirement. Murthy v. Missouri, 603
U.S. 43, 57 (2024). The speculative chain of guesswork
required to conclude that Petitioners will face the
same injury in the future is insufficient to satisfy the
exception to mootness.
Second, this case arises as an interlocutory appeal
to the denial of a preliminary injunction. There is no
question the specific relief Petitioners seek—an
injunction prohibiting the Secretary from including
the language drafted by the Title Board on petitions
circulated by Petitioners to qualify #21 and #22 to the
ballot—is moot. In such cases, it is possible for the
interlocutory appeal to be moot even though “the case
as a whole remains live because it is capable of
repetition.” Fleming v. Gutierrez, 785 F.3d 442, 446
(10th Cir. 2015); see also Bierman v. Dayton, 817 F.3d
1070, 1072 (8th Cir. 2016) (“[T]he appeal of an order
denying a preliminary injunction becomes moot if the
act sought to be enjoined has occurred.”) (quotations
omitted); 13C Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R.
Miller, Fed. Prac. & Proc. Juris. § 3533.3.1 (3d ed.)
(“[I]t may be clear that a particular request for relief
has become moot, even though other forms of relief
may remain available. Once the opportunity for a
preliminary injunction has passed, for example, the
preliminary injunction issue may be moot even though
the case remains alive on the merits.”).
“Federal courts do not possess a roving
commission to publicly opine on every legal question.”
TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, 594 U.S. 413, 423 (2021).
The most Petitioners can hope for is that this
challenge will result in a favorable opinion that can be
21
used to address hypothetical, abstract, future injuries.
But “[i]t is a federal court’s judgment, not its opinion,
that remedies an injury; thus it is the judgment, not
the opinion, that demonstrates redressability.”
Haaland v. Brackeen, 599 U.S. 255, 294 (2023).
Where, as here, a favorable decision would offer
Petitioners none of the relief they requested in moving
for an injunction, the request is moot. Id. (holding that
where “petitioners can hope for nothing more than an
opinion,” they “cannot satisfy Article III”).
2.
Pullman abstention
Petitioners’ case.
applies
to
Although the district court and court of appeals
both rejected Petitioners’ request for an injunction on
the grounds that the ballot titles were government
speech exempt from First Amendment scrutiny, the
Secretary also argued below that abstention was
warranted under Railroad Commission of Texas v.
Pullman Company, 312 U.S. 496 (1941). Under
Pullman, “when the resolution of a federal
constitutional issue may be rendered irrelevant by the
determination of a predicate state-law question,
federal courts should ordinarily abstain from passing
on the federal issue.” Overton v. Bazzetta, 539 U.S.
126, 140-41 (2003) (Thomas, J., concurring).
Here, the question of how the Title Board should
address the HB 21-1321 language in situations where
Colorado is expected to enjoy a budget surplus is a
significant question of state law. And Colorado
furnishes “easy and ample means for determining”
that question through the Title Board appeal process.
Pullman, 312 U.S. at 501. Petitioners chose not to
avail themselves of that process, depriving the state
22
courts of the opportunity to answer that question.
Under Pullman, this Court should give Colorado’s
courts that chance and abstain from answering the
question presented here.
As the Tenth Circuit concluded, Colorado’s long
history and complete control over the ballot title
language—along
with
the
transparently
governmental source of that language—render this an
easy case of government speech. And facts unique to
this case and to Colorado make it a poor vehicle for
addressing the general question of whether, and for
whom, First Amendment protections attach to state
ballot initiative titles.
B. Petitioners’ position is unworkable.
The Petition presents this case as a
straightforward question of whether the government
speech doctrine applies to ballot titles crafted by the
government and printed on government-controlled
ballots and signature petitions. But answering that
question will require the Court to wade into more
complicated waters. Most importantly, the Petition
raises the specter that individual proponents of a
ballot measure can craft their own titles without
government involvement.
As this Court has recognized, state regulation of
the initiative process is necessary to prevent confusion
and ensure consistency. See, e.g. Buckley v. Am.
Constitutional Law Found., Inc., 525 U.S. 182, 191-92
(1999). As a result, “States allowing ballot initiatives
have considerable leeway to protect the integrity and
reliability of the initiative process[.]” Id. But
Petitioners’ position in this lawsuit would wreak
havoc on the initiative process.
23
If the ballot titles set by the Title Board are not
government speech, then it may follow that every
individual with an interest in those titles enjoys First
Amendment rights as to them; including, perhaps, the
right not to include those titles on signature petitions.
After all, where persons enjoy First Amendment
protections for particular expression, the government
cannot force those persons to broadcast a message
with which they disagree. See, e.g., Johanns v.
Livestock Mktg. Ass’n, 544 U.S. 550, 557 (2005).
Does this mean that if a proponent disagrees with
the title set by the Title Board it may altogether omit
that title from the petition it circulates? Or craft its
own title? And putting aside the petition, what about
the ballot itself? If Advance Colorado enjoys First
Amendment rights as to the language of the title, that
right presumably applies equally as to the ballot as it
does to signature petitions. And if not, then that
finding would invite the possibility that proponents
could qualify a measure for the ballot by collecting
signatures on petitions with one title (set by the
proponents), but a different title entirely (set by the
Title Board) will appear on the ballot. It is hard to
fathom a more chaotic outcome. But see Buckley, 525
U.S. at 187 (“[T]here must be a substantial regulation
of elections if . . . some sort of order, rather than chaos,
is to accompany the democratic process.” (quotations
omitted)).
Moreover, Petitioners’ ultimate claim is that
Colorado is hijacking their protected speech by
making them include language with which they
disagree on the petitions they circulate for signatures.
See, e.g., Pet. at 13. If Petitioners’ theory is correct,
24
then any individual circulating a petition, or paying to
circulate a petition, has an individualized First
Amendment interest in the ballot title. That interest
is not limited to the original proponents of a measure.
This case illustrates the difficulty that would
arise in such a regime. The Petition claims that these
measures were “brought by Advance Colorado.” Pet. at
9. But for state law purposes the measures were
submitted
by
two
individual
“designated
representatives.” See COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-104
(describing role of “designated representatives” “who
shall represent the proponents in all matters affecting
the petition”). Nonetheless, the Petition argues that
Advance Colorado—which for state law purposes is
indistinguishable from any other party interested in
these measures—has First Amendment protected
interests during the signature gathering process. If so,
then so too does any signature gatherer. Or even
persons opposed to the signature gathering effort.6
At minimum, the Petition seems to suggest that
the title of a measure is the private speech of
whomever is circulating a petition for signatures on
that measure, and that those persons cannot be
compelled to circulate petitions with titles they
contend are false. See Pet. at 34 (“Respondent would
put Petitioner to a choice: circulate false ballot
6 Petitions often attract “decline to sign” efforts, which
encourage voters not to sign the petitions. See, e.g., Andrew
McKean, Anti-Hunting Groups Are Running a Paid Signature
Campaign to Ban Cougar Hunting in Colorado. Conservation
Orgs Launch “Decline to Sign” Effort, Outdoor Life, June 14,
2024. Available at https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/signature-campaign-ban-lion-hunting-colorado/.
25
petitions, or refrain from speaking.”). So, if a ballot
title is the protected speech of the signature gatherer,
there could be as many different titles as there are
petition circulators.
Even an attempt to draw a narrow interpretation
that the title is the private speech of whomever
drafted the proposal and submitted it to the Title
Board would raise complications. In 2020, a
predecessor to Advance Colorado “approached the
proponents” of two measures that had already had
titles set and “assumed signature gathering
responsibility for both propositions.” Unite for Colo.,
551 P.3d at 694. In that case, when Advance
Colorado’s predecessor went to collect signatures to
qualify the measure for the ballot, was the ballot title
the protected speech of the measure’s proponents, or
of the person now collecting signatures? What if, as
often happens, multiple groups collaborate on a ballot
measure and submit it to the Board, but then disagree
as to the title?
Today,
signature
gatherers,
supporters,
opponents, and any other interested parties may
freely speak out in favor of, or against, any proposed
measure. But those persons cannot each write and
advance their own title. Deciding this case on the
grounds Petitioners request would force the Court to
address these difficult issues.
Finally, accepting Petitioners’ theory would
unleash a flood of litigation at the federal level. As
noted, Colorado already has an easy state-law process
to determine the clarity and accuracy of ballot titles.
COLO. REV. STAT. § 1-40-107(2). During the 2023-2024
election cycle, 314 separate ballot measures were
26
submitted to the Title Board.7 Of those, 41 separate
measures were appealed to the Colorado Supreme
Court on either clear title or single subject grounds.8
If some private parties enjoy First Amendment
rights with regards to these titles, that litigation will
inevitably shift to federal court. And that litigation
will need to unfold on an expedited timeline. See COLO.
REV. STAT. § 1-40-107(2) (requiring appeals from the
Title Board to be filed within seven days and “disposed
of promptly”). In 2026, measures will be titled by the
Title Board through late-April. See id. § 1-40-107(1)(c).
And signatures must be submitted no later than
August 3, 2026, just three months later. COLO. CONST.
art. V, § 1(2); COLO. REV. STAT. §§ 1-40-108, 1-40107(5). Thus, any review in Federal court would need
to occur quickly enough that signatures could be
collected in this short window.
C. The language to
object is not false.
which
Petitioners
Finally, much of the Petition is devoted to arguing
that HB 21-1321 requires “false” language in the titles
for #21 and #22. Not only is this an important question
of state law that Petitioners could have pursued
through the state appellate process, but did not, it is
also incorrect as a matter of fact.
Unique among the states, Colorado has a
Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). Added to the
Colorado Constitution in 1992, TABOR requires voter
approval for certain types of tax increases. COLO.
CONST. art. X, § 20(4)(a). It also limits the amount of
7 See supra n.1.
8 See supra n.2.
27
money the state or local governments can spend in a
given fiscal year. Id. § 20(7). If revenues from certain
sources exceed a jurisdiction’s “cap,” the excess must
be refunded. Id.
This refund provision lies at the heart of
Petitioners’ challenge related to #22.9 They assume
that Colorado will exceed the TABOR cap in FY 20242025 and issue refunds. If so, they claim, any revenue
reduction traceable to #22 would not “reduce funding
for state expenditures,” but would rather only “reduce
the refund to Colorado taxpayers.” Pet. at 6, 7.
That distinction cuts too finely. First, under
Colorado law, a TABOR refund is a state expenditure.
TABOR defines “fiscal year spending” as “all district
expenditures . . . except” TABOR refunds, thus
defining the broad term, “expenditures” to include
refunds. COLO. CONST. art. X § 20(2)(e). Indeed, if
TABOR refunds were not expenditures, there would
be no need to exempt them from the “fiscal year
spending” definition as TABOR does.
Second, even if refunds are not expenditures,
#22’s title says only that funding for expenditures will
be cut. See Pet. at 6. That is true. A proposal to cut
government funding will reduce funding available for
government expenditures. Even if those expenditures
remain constant.10
9 Petitioners make no effort to explain why the title set for #21
is false.
10 An example is helpful. If a household budget anticipates $100
of expenditures per month, and the household’s income increases
from $100 per month to $200 per month, the funding available
28
Finally, Petitioners’ claims of falsity are based on
outdated and uncertain economic projections. The
Petition cites a June 2023 forecast when Colorado’s FY
2024-2025 revenue was projected to exceed the
TABOR cap by $1.97 billion. Pet. at 7 (citing The
Colorado Council of Legislative Staff, Economic and
Revenue Forecast, June 2023). But that same
publication is updated quarterly. And as of June 2024,
that projected surplus for FY 2024-2025 had fallen by
over $1.6 billion to around $300 million. The Colorado
Council of Legislative Staff, Economic and Revenue
Forecast, June 2024, at 3.11 The most recent update,
from December, projects a modest surplus, but warns
that Colorado could “fall short of the . . . cap even
without an economic downturn.” The Colorado
Council of Legislative Staff, Economic and Revenue
Forecast, December 2024, at 5.12
In other words, it is uncertain whether the state
will issue TABOR refunds in 2025. And if not, then
even under Petitioners’ cramped interpretation of
state “expenditures,” the title for #22 is not false.
These facts demonstrate the core problem with
Petitioners’ focus on falsity. If falsity is relevant to
determining whether the ballot title reflects the
government’s speech or instead that of a private
party—which it is not—when is that falsity measured?
And what happens if, like here, economic projections
for satisfying the $100 worth of expenditures has increased, even
if those expenditures remain constant.
11 Available at https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/june2024forecastforposting.pdf
12 Available at https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/dec2024forecastwithcover_0.pdf
29
change between when the title is set and the proposed
tax cut takes effect?13
Petitioners paint this as an easy case about how
to handle false language in ballot titles. It is anything
but. Even if this Court were inclined to hold that the
First Amendment attaches to the titles set by state
government for state ballot initiatives and draw a
bright-line rule on how to handle alleged falsity in that
context, reliance on shifting economic projections
unique to Colorado means this case does not present
that opportunity.
CONCLUSION
The petition for a writ of certiorari should be
denied.
Respectfully submitted,
PHILIP J. WEISER
Attorney General
RUSSELL D. JOHNSON
Deputy Solicitor General
SHANNON WELLS STEVENSON
Solicitor General
Counsel of Record
J. GREGORY WHITEHAIR
Senior Assistant Attorney
General
PETER G. BAUMANN
Assistant Solicitor General
Office of the Colorado
Attorney General
LEO T. NGUYEN
1300 Broadway
Assistant Attorney General
10th Floor
Fellow
Denver, Colorado 80203
Shannon.Stevenson@coag.gov
(720) 508-6000
Counsel for Respondent
January 3, 2025
13 The district court heard testimony at the preliminary
injunction hearing about how quickly these projections can
change. App. at 155a-57a.
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.