Last updated November 2026 · By Nick Hall, who tracks state gun ballot measures and pulled every count here from the state election offices
Quick take: Arkansas voters approved Issue 2 on November 3, voting to write a broader right to keep and bear arms into the state constitution with 70.81% of the vote in the unofficial count. Colorado’s right-to-hunt amendment fell well short, Idaho voters picked the Winchester Model 1873 for state gun, and Lea County, New Mexico, approved a small tax for a county defense fund.
- What happened: Arkansas Issue 2 passed 613,734 to 253,020 in unofficial returns, while Colorado Amendment 83 drew 45.1% yes against a 55% bar.
- Why it matters: Issue 2 calls the right to keep and bear arms “a natural, fundamental, and individual right that shall not be infringed” and covers ammunition, accessories and components.
- What’s next: Issue 2 takes effect on January 1, 2027, and Idaho’s state gun vote is advisory, so the Legislature makes the final pick.
- Who to watch: Massachusetts, where Question 9 on the 2024 gun law has no official statewide count until the Secretary of the Commonwealth certifies results.
Most election-night gun coverage is either a victory lap or a doom post, and both run on network calls and partial tallies. This one runs on the states’ own numbers. Every count below comes from a state or county election office, read before 6 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, November 5, and every one of them is unofficial until certified.
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Table of Contents
Arkansas Issue 2: What 70.81% Actually Buys
Issue 2 is SJR 11 from the 2025 regular session, proposed by Senator J. Payton and referred to voters by the 95th General Assembly. It rewrites Article 2, Section 5 of the Arkansas Constitution. In the Secretary of State’s unofficial results, it carried 613,734 votes (70.81%) to 253,020 (29.19%), with 2,761 of 2,768 precincts fully reported and the other seven partly in.
Today’s Section 5 protects the right to keep and bear arms for the common defense. Issue 2 keeps that and adds lawful hunting and recreational use, plus “any other lawful purpose.” It also spells out that the right covers ammunition, firearm accessories and firearm components.
And then comes the line that matters most. The amended section calls the right “a natural, fundamental, and individual right that shall not be infringed.” Read the full referred text and you’ll notice what it leaves out: it doesn’t name a standard of review like strict scrutiny, and it does not repeal a single Arkansas statute on its own.
Section 3 sets the date. The amendment is “effective on and after January 1, 2027.” Until then, and until someone tests a law against the new wording in court, the day-to-day rules in our Arkansas gun laws guide stay the same. Federal law doesn’t move at all.
Colorado Amendment 83 Hit the 55% Wall
Colorado’s Amendment 83 was Initiative #302, a citizen measure to create “a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest fish and wildlife by traditional methods.” It would also have made hunting and fishing “the preferred means of managing fish and wildlife populations,” while keeping the state’s power to regulate for conservation and public safety.
Because it adds language to the constitution, it needed 55% approval. The Secretary of State’s unofficial results, last updated at 7:29 p.m. Mountain on November 4, had it at 1,046,772 yes (45.1%) to 1,271,736 no (54.9%).
That isn’t close to 55%. It isn’t even a simple majority. For Colorado hunters who wanted a constitutional backstop for the season, the answer this year is no, and the state’s gun statutes on purchases, magazines and carry were never on this ballot.
Massachusetts Question 9 Waits on the Certified Count
Massachusetts voters also voted on Question 9, a referendum on the 2024 gun law, Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024. The state’s ballot text is plain about the stakes: “A YES VOTE would keep in place the law,” and “A NO VOTE would repeal this law.”
That law requires owners of semiautomatic rifles and shotguns to be 21, puts serial number rules on ghost guns, and folds Glock switches and auto sears into the machine gun definition, among a lot else. Our Massachusetts gun laws guide has the full rundown.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth publishes election results “after they’re certified” and says it doesn’t post them on election night. The state’s results database had no 2026 ballot question data on November 5. So no official statewide count yet.
Idaho’s State Gun Vote Is Advice, Not Law
Idaho’s question came from HB 932, which passed the House 68-0 and the Senate 32-0 before the governor signed it on April 2, 2026. The bill tied the vote to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and asked voters to pick one of six guns.
With all 44 counties reporting in the Secretary of State’s unofficial results, the Winchester Model 1873 “Gun that Won the West” in .44-40 led with 164,394 of 528,675 votes. The Winchester Model 1894 in .30-30 took 133,859, the 1873 Colt Single Action Army “Peacemaker” 80,699, the Remington Model 700 65,818, the Colt M1911 46,405 and the M1 Garand 37,500.
It’s a plurality, not a mandate, since less than a third of voters picked the 1873. And nothing is designated yet. HB 932 says the results “will guide the Legislature as to which gun shall be designated the state gun of Idaho.”
If the vote has you eyeing a toggle-link lever gun, the .44-40 cartridge the 1873 made famous is still in production.
Lea County’s Defense Fund Is a Tax, Not a Gun Law
Lea County voters were asked whether the county should “impose a county gross receipts tax in the amount of one-hundredth of one percent (0.01%), the revenues of which shall be used to create a defense fund to protect and defend against unconstitutional state government overreach, including actions that infringe upon the right to keep and bear arms protected by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of New Mexico.”
In the New Mexico Secretary of State’s unofficial results, with all 55 precincts in, it passed 6,665 to 5,501.
The tax doesn’t change a single state gun law. It pays for a fund to fight the ones the county considers unconstitutional, which is a different job, and a slower one.
Idaho got a plurality. Colorado got a no. Arkansas got a mandate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Arkansas Issue 2 change?
Issue 2 rewrites Article 2, Section 5 of the Arkansas Constitution. The right to keep and bear arms will cover the common defense, lawful hunting and recreational use, and any other lawful purpose, will include ammunition, firearm accessories and firearm components, and is called a natural, fundamental and individual right that shall not be infringed. The change takes effect on January 1, 2027.
When does Arkansas Issue 2 take effect?
Section 3 of the amendment makes it effective on and after January 1, 2027. It doesn't repeal any Arkansas statute by its own terms, and federal law is unaffected.
Did Colorado pass a constitutional right to hunt and fish?
Amendment 83 needed 55% because it adds language to the state constitution. In the Secretary of State's unofficial results, last updated November 4, it had 45.1% yes to 54.9% no, short of both the 55% bar and a simple majority.
Did Massachusetts repeal its 2024 gun law?
Question 9 asked voters whether to keep Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024. A YES vote keeps the law and a NO vote repeals it. The Secretary of the Commonwealth publishes results only once they are certified, so there was no official statewide count on November 5.
What is the official state gun of Idaho?
None yet. HB 932 put an advisory question on the 2026 ballot, and the results guide the Legislature, which makes the designation. In the unofficial count the Winchester Model 1873 led with 164,394 of 528,675 votes.
What is the Lea County defense fund tax?
It's a county gross receipts tax of one-hundredth of one percent (0.01%) in Lea County, New Mexico. The money goes to a defense fund against unconstitutional state government overreach, including actions that infringe on the right to keep and bear arms. It passed 6,665 to 5,501 in the unofficial count.
Are these ballot results final?
No. Every count here is unofficial as posted by the state election offices early on November 5, 2026. Results become final only when each state certifies them, and totals can still move.
Related Reading
- US Gun Laws by State: 2026 Legal Directory
- Colorado Gun Laws: Magazine Cap, SB25-003 and Red Flag
- Idaho Gun Laws: Constitutional Carry and Stand Your Ground
- New Mexico Gun Laws: CHL, Background Checks and Article 2 Section 6
- Massachusetts Gun Registration Deadline Arrives October 28
- Uberti 1873 Rifle Review: 800 Rounds, Seven Models
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