In Colorado, signatures were submitted to the secretary of state's office on July 16, 2026, for a ballot initiative related to voter identification requirements for mail-in voting.
The initiative — known as Initiative 362 — would add a new section to Article VII of the Colorado Constitution to require voters to provide both their signature and an identification number, such as:
- the last four digits of their Social Security number;
- a Colorado REAL ID number;
- a Colorado REAL ID driver's license number; or
- the last four digits of another Colorado identification number meeting federal REAL ID requirements.
Additionally, Initiative 362 would require election officials to compare the information submitted by voters to the statewide voter registration database, and if there is any discrepancy in the information:
- the voter must be notified;
- the voter may correct the discrepancy by providing a copy of their identification; and
- the ballot cannot be counted until the discrepancy is corrected.
As of 2026, Colorado requires voters to sign their mail ballot envelope, but does not require additional identification.
Initiative 362 was filed on April 3, 2026, as an initiated constitutional amendment. The secretary of state's office has until Sept. 2, 2026, to review the signatures to determine if the petition contains at least 124,238 valid signatures, thereby meeting the minimum requirement to be placed on the ballot for Nov. 3, 2026.
Currently, 21 states require voters to provide a driver's license number, Social Security number, or other identification number to vote by absentee/mail-in ballot.
If Initiative 362 is certified for the ballot, it would be the seventh voter ID ballot measure decided by voters in 2026 — the most to appear on statewide ballots in a single year. Other voter ID measures are set to appear on the ballot in Arizona, California, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
Initiative 362 would also be the eighth measure that Colorado voters will decide on in Nov. 2026, appearing alongside six citizen initiatives and one legislative referral. There are also three additional citizen initiatives currently in the certification process, having submitted signatures to the secretary of state's office.
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