DENVER — Two Cherry Creek High School seniors are spearheading a proposed 2026 ballot measure that would automatically admit the top 10% of high school graduates to state colleges and universities.

Starting senior year of high school can sometimes feel like a whirlwind.

“You have to write your own college applications, prep for that, get all your homework done, keep your grades up,” said Cherry Creek High School senior Kiran Herz.

But Herz and his classmate Jaiden Hwang are now adding another big project to their endless list of extracurriculars and admissions essays – they’re also trying to introduce a ballot initiative in November 2026 to make college applications slightly less stressful for students in the future.

Initiative 81 aims to automatically admit the top 10% of graduates f

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