Another misleading advertisement about Amendment 80 arrived via text message to voters across Colorado — this time just days before the election.

A statewide text campaign from proponents of Amendment 80 over the weekend falsely suggests that Sen. John Hickenlooper and Gov. Jared Polis support the ballot initiative, which would add the right to school choice to the Colorado Constitution.

The text, paid for by 501(c)4 nonprofit Colorado Dawn, contained an image with two quotes from Polis and Hickenlooper. Polis’ quote stated support for school choice but made no mention of Amendment 80, while Hickenlooper’s spoke generally about education opportunities like apprenticeships.

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Under the image was a text that stated, “Democratic leaders support school choice!” While the advertisement does not explicitly claim that Polis and Hickenlooper support it, the text attempted to equate their support for school choice with Amendment 80 through the inclusion of their pictures and quotes.

Hickenlooper responded by posting to his Facebook and X accounts that he does not support Amendment 80, and condemned the text for misusing quotes about his past support for a different education topic.

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“Let me be clear — I do not support Amendment 80,” Hickenlooper wrote on his personal X account. “The quote is about my support of apprenticeships and is being misused to suggest that I support something I do not. This amendment would harm our public school system.”

Let me be clear- I do not support Amendment 80. The quote is about my support of apprenticeships and is being misused to suggest that I support something I do not. This amendment would harm our public school system. pic.twitter.com/1Wxenaynqe

— John Hickenlooper (@Hickenlooper) November 3, 2024

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. In October, the same sender shared a text message suggesting that Colorado Education Association President Kevin Vick supported the ballot initiative.

Colorado Education Association, the largest teachers union in the state, has publicly opposed Amendment 80, arguing that its vague language could be interpreted to take funding away from public schools and open the door to future voucher programs.

Although the text didn’t directly state that Vick supports the measure, it took an audio clip of him speaking positively about school choice as it currently exists in Colorado and shared it alongside an advertisement for Amendment 80, which made it appear as if Vick were advocating for the amendment in his statement.

Vick called the text message a misleading tactic, claiming the proponents are “misrepresenting the position of myself and thousands of teachers across the state.”

“Unfortunately, resorting to these types of tactics seems to be business as usual for Amendment 80 supporters, but it also indicates that they know voters are starting to see through this backdoor attempt at a voucher system,” Vick wrote in a post on Colorado Education Association’s website.

The message featuring Vick did not disclose who paid for it, which in October became the subject of a campaign finance complaint filed by former state Rep. Bri Buentello, D-Pueblo, who wrote she suspects Colorado Dawn IEC of being behind the text messages. The independent expenditure committee has the same name as the 501(c)4 nonprofit Colorado Dawn, which was behind the text quoting Polis and Hickenlooper.

Erin McCann Ciani, a contact for “No on Amendment 80” group Protect Our Public Schools, confirmed the text message quoting Polis and Hickenlooper came from the same sender as the one quoting Vick, confirming the original was not paid for by the independent expenditure committee named in Buentello’s complaint.

Colorado Dawn, which is not required to disclose its donors, reported spending $873,000 on mailers and text messages in support of Amendment 80 on Oct. 12. 

Advance Colorado President Michael Fields, whose organization authored Amendment 80, is also listed as a treasurer for Colorado Dawn. 

Advance Colorado did not return the Vail Daily’s request for comment.