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Civil Liberties & Rights Contact Civil Liberties/Civil Rights Team

Civil Liberties Team Reactivation

Click here for a PowerPoint presentation describing the reactivation and areas of focus for the Civil Liberties Team!

Our Positions

The League of Women Voters of the United States believes in the individual liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. The League is convinced that individual rights now protected by the Constitution should not be weakened or abridged.

Know Your Civil Liberties & Rights

Civil liberties are your personal freedoms that are protected against government interference by the Constitution. These freedoms are enumerated in the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, and their counterparts in Article II of the Colorado Constitution. Civil rights are your personal rights and privileges that are not specifically protected by the Constitution but are protected by law.

Fort Collins City Council cancels Flock surveillance camera contract after citizen and LWVLC advocacy

On June 16, 2026, Fort Collins City Council voted to “stop collection of Flock data immediately and initiate contract cancellation, as well as remove the cameras as expeditiously as possible." The Council further decided that there would be no requests for proposals for similar technology until after the city had a policy in place for governing such surveillance systems.

Starting in January 2026, citizens began speaking to Council about their concerns about surveillance by Flock cameras (installed April 2025). The League of Women Voters of Larimer County joined this advocacy in early April, 2026, with a letter to City Council and League President Pat Burger making a statement during public comment. Members of the Civil Liberties sub-team on Surveillance Issues, acting in their capacity as residents of Fort Collins, collected data from Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests and studied public resources. They spoke regularly at council meetings and attended council work sessions. The LWVLC applauds the Fort Collins City Council for their careful listening and consideration of the information provided by the Fort Collins Police Department and concerns raised by citizens about Flock camera surveillance. Their thoughtful decision-making is a demonstration of the best of democracy at work.

The reason for citizen concern is that automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras (Flock Systems is one vendor) are unique in that they record every vehicle that passes by them and stores that footage for look-ups of vehicles by their license plate and appearance. No state or local legislation specifically governs their use, so implementation and operation are largely controlled by the contract with Flock. There are reported instances of searches that resulted in mistaken identity, illegal searches, and lax security of the system and data — in fact, Fort Collins Flock data was discovered on the open internet by a citizen advocate using a popular search engine.

READ LWVLC's Letter to FC City Council on Surveillance Technology

LWVLC Resolution on Surveillance Technology Adopted by 2026 LWV National Convention

Aiming to raise awareness and to inspire other Leagues to take action, LWVLC proposed a resolution on local, state, and federal government use of surveillance technology to the LWV National Convention on June 27, 2026, where it won the resounding approval of 884 delegates from Leagues across the country.

READ the Resolution on Surveillance Technology

Colorado Bill of Rights

Here's the path to the Colorado Bill of Rights. Please follow these steps:
1. Click on this link: Colorado Bill of Rights: Article II
Colorado Bill of Rights: Article II
2. Click on the box to the + sign next to Article II Bill of Rights

US Bill of Rights

This webpage offers not only the text of each of the First Ten Amendments to the US Constitution, but also gives additional background information.

US Bill of Rights