Overview
- Supporters of Question 5 formally conceded on Wednesday after several days of close counting and the Associated Press projected the measure would fail with about 52% of voters rejecting it.
- Question 5 would have capped annual state revenue at the previous year’s net receipts adjusted for recent wage growth and required the state to refund any collections above that cap to taxpayers the following year.
- The measure’s formula would have included the 4% surtax on incomes over $1 million in the revenue calculation, which opponents said would make refunds larger and risk cuts to education, health care, housing, local aid, and other services.
- Campaigns framed the choice as a trade-off between limiting government growth to ease living costs and preserving funding for essential programs, and some reports showed minor discrepancies in contemporaneous AP tallies while officials completed canvassing.
- Question 5’s loss leaves the existing law in place, supporters say they will continue research and advocacy on affordability, and related ballot fights such as Question 7 remain too close to call as canvassing continues.