DENVER — Colorado voters made it clear Tuesday that they want their refunds, defeating a Democrat-backed measure that would have allowed the state to keep the taxpayer rebates.
With all counties reporting, Proposition CC lost by 55% to 45%, handing a loss to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and the Democratic legislative leaders seeking to plow the funding into schools, higher education and transportation.
The defeat came as more evidence that voters in the blue-trending state continue to oppose tax increases even as they replace Republican state officials with Democrats. Two state tax hikes on the November 2018 ballot also lost.
The Yes on CC campaign called the loss a “tough blow to Colorado’s students, teachers, and communities,” while Colorado Republican Party chairman Ken Buck said taxpayers were “the clear winner in tonight’s defeat of Proposition CC.”
Polls show that Coloradans continue to support the 1992 Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which requires the state to refund revenue in excess of a spending cap factoring inflation plus population growth.
“With the recent voter rejection of several different ways to fund our roads and reduce congestion … it’s clear that voters want elected officials to do more with their existing tools and legal authority,” Mr. Polis, who was in India on Election Day, said in a statement.
Today’s vote is a tough blow to CO communities. The issues of underfunded roads & schools remain, and we hope that those who voted ’no’ will work together with CC supporters to help find real solutions to these challenges. Full statement: https://t.co/gVw4jzTDKv pic.twitter.com/HRcirY2NPV
— Yes on Prop CC (@YesOnPropCC) November 6, 2019
The No on CC coalition, which included Colorado Rising Action, Americans for Prosperity and the Independence Institute, prevailed despite being outspent by about 4 to 1.
“Voters clearly pushed back against the overreach coming from the legislature and governor last session,” Colorado Rising executive director Michael Fields said in a statement on Complete Colorado. “Coloradans want TABOR, and we want the legislature to prioritize the massive budget they already have.”
The final map that took down Prop CC. The message is loud and clear, and #coleg should listen…Coloradans like #TABOR and want the legislature to prioritize fixing our roads and paying teachers more within the massive budget they already have. #copolitics @NoOnPropCC pic.twitter.com/hFwnFq6HZJ
— Colorado Rising Action (@CORisingAction) November 6, 2019
Democrats control both houses of the legislature after erasing the GOP’s one-vote majority in the state Senate a year ago.
“Governor Polis and the liberal State Legislature overreached once again but were unsuccessful in deceiving the voters of Colorado to fund their reckless spending spree,” Mr. Buck, a congressman, said in his statement.
Indivisible Denver was undeterred, tweeting that supporters “need to bring #PropCC back on the ballot in 2020.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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