Who Is Erin Lee? Colorado’s Three Protect Kids Ballot Measures Explained Simply

COLORADO — Colorado voters will decide three citizen-led ballot measures this November dealing with child sex trafficking, school athletics and certain surgeries involving minors.

Behind the effort is Erin Lee, a Northern Colorado mother and parental-rights advocate who serves as executive director of Protect Kids Colorado.

Lee and fellow designated representative Michele Austin helped bring the measures through Colorado’s citizen initiative process. Protect Kids Colorado says thousands of volunteers participated in the petition effort and more than 500,000 signatures were gathered across the three campaigns.

The proposals began as Initiatives 108, 109 and 110. After qualifying for the November 3, 2026 general election ballot, voters will see them as Propositions 133, 134 and 135.

Because ballot language can sometimes be difficult to understand, Patriots First Media is breaking down the three proposals in simple terms.

Proposition 133 — Human Trafficking of Children

Explained simply:

Imagine there is a very serious rule that says adults cannot buy or sell sexual activity involving children.

Proposition 133 would make Colorado law tougher by explicitly including knowingly trading something of value to buy or sell sexual activity involving a minor within the crime of human trafficking of a child for sexual servitude.

Under the proposition, a person convicted of the covered offense would face life in prison without parole or release, while the governor would retain clemency authority.

What does a YES vote mean?

A YES vote means Colorado would adopt the new definition and punishment contained in Proposition 133.

What does a NO vote mean?

A NO vote means Colorado would keep its existing law rather than adopt the changes contained in Proposition 133.

If approved, the measure would apply to offenses committed on or after January 1, 2027.

Proposition 134 — School Sports

Explained simply:

Imagine your school has three kinds of sports teams:

Boys’ teams. Girls’ teams. And teams where boys and girls can play together.

Proposition 134 would require school and college athletic teams to be classified as male, female or coeducational.

Participation on male and female teams would generally be determined according to biological sex as defined by the proposition.

A female student could participate on a male team when the school does not offer a corresponding female team. Students could also participate on coeducational teams.

What does a YES vote mean?

A YES vote means Colorado would adopt the statewide requirements for school athletics contained in Proposition 134.

What does a NO vote mean?

A NO vote means Colorado would not adopt those proposed statewide requirements.

Supporters, including Lee and Protect Kids Colorado, argue the measure would protect fairness, opportunities and safety in girls’ athletics.

Opponents argue the proposal would exclude transgender girls from girls’ teams and could create privacy concerns for students.

Proposition 135 — Certain Surgeries on Minors

Explained simply:

This proposal says that before someone turns 18, doctors generally could not perform surgery for the purpose of changing that young person’s biological sex characteristics in response to the minor’s perception of sex or gender.

The proposition would also prohibit certain government funding, Medicaid reimbursement and insurance coverage from paying for procedures prohibited under the measure.

There are exceptions contained in the proposal, including treatment involving certain medically verifiable disorders of sex development and other specified medical conditions.

What does a YES vote mean?

A YES vote means Colorado would put the surgical restrictions contained in Proposition 135 into state law.

What does a NO vote mean?

A NO vote means Colorado would not enact the proposed restrictions.

Supporters describe the measure as protecting children from making potentially irreversible medical decisions before adulthood.

Opponents argue the proposal would interfere with decisions made by families and medical professionals and could restrict health care for transgender minors.

Who Is Erin Lee?

Lee’s involvement in Colorado’s parental-rights debate began before these three initiatives.

She has publicly said her advocacy began following an experience involving her own daughter and a school program. She subsequently became active in debates involving parental authority, education and gender-related policies.

Lee now serves as executive director of Protect Kids Colorado, an organization advocating for policies it says protect parental rights and children.

Colorado General Assembly records also show Lee has previously been involved as a designated representative in proposed ballot initiatives dealing with parental rights, public education records and parental notification.

The three measures appearing on the 2026 ballot represent one of the organization’s largest statewide efforts.

Three Propositions in Plain English

For voters who don’t want to sort through pages of legal language, the basic questions can be summarized this way:

Proposition 133: Should Colorado adopt the proposition’s tougher definition and life-without-parole punishment for specified child sex trafficking offenses?

Proposition 134: Should Colorado require school athletic teams to follow the proposition’s biological-sex requirements?

Proposition 135: Should Colorado prohibit the surgeries on minors described in the proposition?

Those summaries are not intended to tell anyone how to vote.

They are intended to help Colorado voters understand what each question is asking before they make their own decision.

Colorado voters will have the final say when ballots are counted in the November 3, 2026 general election.

Patriots First Media will continue covering Colorado’s 2026 ballot measures and will provide additional information about arguments from supporters and opponents as Election Day approaches.