The Prairie Populists here in Colorado in 1893 won universal women’s suffrage statewide. After creating the referendum process, the Populist-controlled legislature, and Governor Davis H. Waite put to the voters the referendum that won the right to vote for women of any color. This was a controversial win at the time for that short-lived fraction of socialism as it was only the second Western state to grant women the right. Regardless, it is today arguably the most enduring and progressive achievement of the Prairie Populists as it significantly expanded the electorate and set a precedent for future social reforms in the state.

• the 8-hour workday (1912)

• the "Sunshine Laws" (1972)

• child welfare and juvenile justice measures

• Drug Policy Reform:

  • Medical cannabis (2000)

  • Recreational cannabis (2012)

  • Psilocybin Mushrooms (2022)

• Codifying Abortion Access (2024)

• Marriage Equality: Removing constitutional language defining marriage as only between one man and one woman