Colorado voters on Tuesday rejected a plan to increase funding for highway improvements for the third time in two elections, defeating a statewide ballot initiative that sought to end future tax refunds in years when the state collects too much revenue and put that money instead to transportation, K-12 and higher education.
The defeat of Proposition CC, which was put onto the ballot largely along Democratic-led partisan lines during the 2019 legislative session but was backed by a number of business and education groups in a campaign this fall, was swift and sure. By the time more than 1 million ballots had been counted around 8:10 p.m., it already was down by a 12-point margin that was growing wider, and Colorado Republican Party Chairman Ken Buck had put out a statement saying that voters rejected what amounted to a grab of their tax money without a rock-solid guarantee of how it would be spent.
“Colorado taxpayers were the clear winner in tonight’s defeat of Proposition CC,” Buck said in a statement. “Governor (Jared) Polis and the liberal State Legislature overreached once again but were unsuccessful in deceiving the voters of Colorado to fund their reckless spending spree.”
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