Voces Unidas Action Fund Releases 2026 Legislative Scorecard

Voces Unidas Action Fund (Voces Unidas) released its 2026 Legislative Scorecard today, recognizing lawmakers who stood with rural Latino communities and exposing those who failed to meet the moment during a legislative session defined by weakened bills, missed opportunities, and too many excuses.

Since 2021, Voces Unidas has published a scorecard tracking the votes and recording the positions of all state lawmakers, with an emphasis on the eight state house representatives and five state senators representing Colorado’s Western Slope.

We scored a total of 58 bills this year during the legislative session, which concluded on May 13. Our advocacy focused on worker protections, immigrant protections and law enforcement accountability, housing affordability and mobile home park protections, and climate resilience and environmental protections.

While the 2026 session produced important wins, it also exposed a deeper failure of political courage. Too many protections were weakened, killed, vetoed, or allowed to die despite clear demands from Latino communities across Colorado.

Twenty-one lawmakers out of 100 earned a grade of A+ for voting with Voces Unidas priorities 100% of the time, and another 13 earned A’s for voting with us 95% of the time or higher. On the opposite end of the grading scale, 34 state lawmakers earned the lowest possible grade of F by scoring below 50%, including seven lawmakers on the Western Slope.

“We are grateful to the lawmakers who did more than say the right things. They voted the right way,” said Alex Sánchez, president and CEO of Voces Unidas Action Fund. “The legislators who earned A+ grades showed up for rural Latino communities with consistency, discipline, and courage. They deserve recognition because their voting records matched their public commitments.”

The scorecard also shows that party labels alone do not tell the full story. While Republican opposition to Latino priorities remained predictable, several Democrats also voted with Republicans or helped weaken, kill, or block key protections for workers, immigrants, renters, and Latino families. 

“Party label is not enough,” Sánchez said. “Latino communities are watching who votes with us, who votes against us, and who says the right thing in public but folds when workers, immigrants, renters, and families need real protection. As we say in Spanish: si estos son nuestros amigos, para que queremos enemigos. Or 'with friends like these, who needs enemies.' This scorecard tells the true story of how some of our so-called allies voted on Latino issues and makes that record public."

Recognizing Our Champions

Every year, Voces Unidas recognizes three lawmakers whose votes, sponsorship, and leadership demonstrate a clear commitment to rural Latino communities: a Legislator of the Year and two Legislative Champions, one from each chamber of the Colorado General Assembly. 

The Legislator of the Year award in 2026 goes to Rep. Elizabeth Velasco (HD-57), who not only earned an A+ grade for her votes, but partnered with Voces Unidas to propose community-informed legislation during the 2026 session. Rep. Velasco led the fight for HB26-1272, the extreme temperatures worker protections bill, and pushed for a set of immigration-related bills, including HB26-1276, which is now law and adds more oversight to ICE detention centers and the private companies that operate them. She was also one of the main legislators who led the fight against SB26-121, the agricultural overtime rollback bill that unfortunately makes farmworker exploitation legal again in Colorado.

The Legislative Champion award in the House in 2026 goes to Rep. Yara Zokaie (HD-52), who earned an A+ grade for her votes and used her position to advance real accountability when public officials violate people’s rights during immigration enforcement. Rep. Zokaie helped lead the fight for SB26-005, which would have created a state remedy when ICE agents violate constitutional rights during immigration enforcement, but was vetoed by Gov. Polis. 

The Legislative Champion award in the Senate in 2026 goes to Sen. Iman Jodeh (SD-29), who earned an A+ grade for her votes and helped lead one of the strongest immigrant protection fights of the session. Sen. Jodeh pushed for HB26-1276, which is now law and adds more oversight to ICE detention centers and the private companies that operate them. 

Thanks in large part to their efforts, we achieved important wins this session, including the passage of HB26-1272, which establishes a phased, data-driven approach to protect indoor and outdoor workers from extreme heat and cold. We also strengthened water quality protections for mobile home park residents through HB26-1145, and passed HB26-1276 to add oversight to ICE detention centers located in Colorado.

Lawmakers Who Voted With Voces Unidas 100% of the Time

These are the 21 statewide lawmakers who demonstrated a commitment to our

community by earning an A+ rating for voting with our priorities 100% of the time:

• Sen. Iman Jodeh (SD-29)

• Sen. Michael Weissman (SD-28)

• Sen. Katie Wallace (SD-17)

• Sen. Lisa Cutter (SD-20)

• Sen. Chris Kolker (SD-16)

• Sen. Julie Gonzales (SD-34)

• Sen. Janice Marchman (SD-15)

• Sen. Tony Exum (SD-11)

• Sen. James Coleman (SD-33)

• Rep. Yara Zokaie (HD-52)

• Rep. Lorena García (HD-35)

• Rep. Javier Mabrey (HD-1)

• Rep. Elizabeth Velasco (HD-57)

• Rep. Jennifer Bacon (HD-7)

• Rep. Meg Froelich (HD-3)

• Rep. Mandy Lindsay (HD-42)

• Rep. Kenny Nguyen (HD-33)

• Rep. Kyle Brown (HD-12)

• Rep. Emily Sirota (HD-9)

• Rep. Tammy Story (HD-25)

• Rep. Lindsay Gilchrist (HD-8)

Western Slope Focus 

In our home region of the Western Slope, Rep. Velasco stood apart. She was the only Western Slope lawmaker to earn an A+ and was named Legislator of the Year for matching her public commitments with her voting record and legislative leadership. The rest of the regional delegation showed how far too many Western Slope lawmakers remain from the priorities of rural Latino communities in Colorado.

All seven Republican lawmakers on the Western Slope (Reps. Rick Taggart, Matt Soper and Larry Suckla, and Sens. Cleave Simpson, Janice Rich, Marc Catlin and Mark Baisley) received an F grade for the session, and Democratic Senator Dylan Roberts (SD-08) received a D- with a vote index of 62%. Outgoing House Speaker Julie McCluskie (HD-13) and Rep. Matt Martinez (HD-62) both earned a C, followed by Reps. Meghan Lukens (HD-26), who earned a C-, and Katie Stewart (HD-59) with a D+.

The Western Slope grades show that Latino communities cannot assume support based on party label. Republican lawmakers in the region overwhelmingly failed in our scorecard. But most Democratic lawmakers also fell short, with some earning low marks because their votes did not consistently align with the priorities of Latino communities in their own districts.

“Rep. Velasco earned our recognition,” Sánchez said. “She did not just vote the right way. She partnered with us, listened to rural Latino communities, and helped move community-informed legislation at the Capitol. But her record also shows how isolated rural Latino priorities remain within the broader Western Slope delegation. Too many lawmakers from our region are neglecting Latino constituents in their own districts. And too often, ‘rural issues’ becomes a political excuse for siding with the loudest employer groups, landlord interests, conservative sheriffs, and industry lobbyists while ignoring the Latino workers and families who keep rural Colorado running.”

First-Ever Grade for Governor

For the first time in its history, Voces Unidas Action Fund is also issuing a grade for Colorado’s governor for his role in the legislative process. Gov. Jared Polis earned a D- for the 2026 session marked by weak partnership, poor transparency during negotiations, and decisions that left Latino communities with watered-down policy, vetoed protections, signed rollbacks, and an administration willing to sidestep the immigrant privacy protections he signed into law. 

The governor signed SB26-121, the agricultural overtime rollback that made farmworker exploitation legal again in Colorado, and vetoed SB26-005, which would have created a state-level remedy when constitutional rights are violated during civil immigration enforcement. He allowedHB26-1276 to become law only after it was weakened and failed to help deliver the stronger protections Latino communities demanded. 

Gov. Polis also attempted to share sensitive state-held information with ICE despite Colorado laws restricting state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. 

For these and many other reasons, Gov. Polis’ leadership in 2026 fell far short of what Latino communities needed.

Voces Unidas will continue tracking votes, naming who stands with Latino communities, and holding lawmakers accountable when their actions do not match their public promises.

Voces Unidas Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. Learn more about our policy work at www.vocesunidas.org/policy.