If ratified, Article II of the Colorado Constitution would have stated: The State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.The proposed initiative was sponsored by Californian Ward Connerly.

In April, 2008, a Colorado group sued, claiming that over 69,000 signatures on the ballot petition were invalid.

[2] Governor Bill Ritter opposed the amendment,[3] along with the Colorado Council of Churches.

On December 17, 2010 the University of Colorado at Boulder released a report[8] analyzing the factors that led to the defeat of Amendment 46.

According to the study, "...Coloradans overwhelmingly intended to support affirmative action on Election Day; arguably, were Amendment 46 a clearly worded referendum on attitudes toward affirmative action, it would have failed by a much wider margin: 66 to 34 percent."