<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <style> label {color: red} input[checked]:default:checked ~ label {color: green} </style> </head> <body onload='var e1 = document.getElementById("one"); e1.setAttribute("checked", "false"); document.getElementById("two").removeAttribute("checked");'> <form> <input type="checkbox" name="group1" id="one" value="1"/> <label for="one">Should be no red</label><br> <input type="checkbox" name="group1" id="two" value="2" checked/> <label for="two">Should be no red</label> </form> </body> </html>