It’s not just a race for elected offices. Four ballot issues – two propositions and two state constitutional amendments – had emotions running high.
As of 9:30 p.m., La Plata County voters were saying “yes” to two of the proposals and “no” to the others.
Amendment 67, the Colorado Definition of Person and Child Initiative, is a measure that would include unborn human beings as a person or child in the Colorado criminal code. La Plata County voters were defeating the measure 13,928 to 6,054.
Amendment 68, A Colorado Horse Racetrack Limited Gaming Proceeds for K-12 Education, would use money generated by the expansion of limited gambling – slots, cards, and the like – at horse racetracks first in Arapahoe County, and then in Mesa and Pueblo counties. Money would then finance local educational needs for kindergarten through twelfth grade.
In La Plata County, the measure was voted down with 69.01 percent of voters saying no, 13,739 to 6,170.
The Colorado School Boards Open Meetings Initiative, Proposition 104, would require that school board meetings where collective bargaining – negotiations concerning wages, hours, benefits and workplace rights – be open and transparent to the public.
County voters were in favor, with 13,308 votes, or 68 percent.
Colorado Proposition 105, The Colorado Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods, would require any processed foods and raw agricultural produce that were produced using genetic modification to be labeled as such.
The proposition won solid support in La Plata County, 10,760 to 9286, garnering 53.68 percent of votes in favor of labeling GMOs.
bmathis@durangoherald.com
