Research Archive

Colorado enacted six regulations governing the initiative-petition process, including requirements that circulators be registered voters, wear identification badges, and that sponsors file monthly reports disclosing the names, addresses, and amounts paid to each paid circulator. The American Constitutional Law Foundation (ACLF) challenged these provisions as unconstitutional restrictions on political speech under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Ginsburg, struck down three of the challenged provisions—the registered voter requirement, the badge requirement, and the monthly disclosure reports—while upholding the circulator affidavit requirement.