While Colorado shifted to solidly blue in all but a few statewide offices, voters took a dim view of the property tax measure the Democrats asked them to pass on Tuesday night.

Proposition HH, which Gov. Jared Polis championed, failed to garner support, the unofficial results showed. 

The measure trailed throughout the night, securing only 39% of some 1.1 million votes counted so far, according to the unofficial results. Those results indicate the measure succeeded in only six out of the state’s 64 counties.

Proposition HH asked voters whether to use Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights surplus revenue – which is usually refunded to taxpayers – to reduce property tax increases, fund school districts and backfill counties, water districts, fire districts, ambulance or hospital districts and other local governments.

A companion measure from the legislature, which would only be implemented had HH passed, would have provided a one-time only equalized TABOR refund to all taxpayers, paid next April when tax filings are due.

The measure’s backers conceded around 8 p.m., while critics cheered its defeat.

Michael Fields of Advance Colorado, who led the campaign against the ballot measure, told Colorado Politics Tuesday’s election confirmed that people like the TABOR.

“People don’t like the legislature putting multiple things into a bill. They want simple property tax relief,” he said, urging Polis to call a special session right away to deal with soaring property tax valuations.

People saw right through the proposal, added state Rep. Rose Pugliese, a Republican from Colorado Springs and co-chair of the No on HH campaign. People want solutions, Pugliese said, adding, “We have them. He has no choice but to call a special session.”

“All of Coloradans are winners, and they stood up for TABOR once again,” said Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican who also co-chaired the “no” campaign.

Americans for Prosperity, which operated a committee opposing the ballot proposal, said in a statement that Coloradans “spoke loud and clear tonight – don’t take our TABOR refunds.”

“Yet again, attempts by Gov. Polis and the legislature to eliminate TABOR refunds have failed,” said Jesse Mallory of Americans for Prosperity. “The more people learn about the ballot measure, the more they were opposed to it. Nobody benefits from politicians being able to tax and spend at will – and tonight’s defeat of Prop HH is a victory for all Coloradans.”

Democrats acknowledged the measure’s demise.

“Prop HH was always about providing long term tax relief for Colorado seniors and families in a way that doesn’t hurt our teachers, firefighters, and local communities,” said Senate President Steve Fenberg of Boulder. “Prop HH was a nuanced, balanced policy that appears to have fallen prey to a misinformation slogan campaign by the far right, who would prefer to cut property taxes on the backs of our schools and fire districts.”

Fenberg added: “It’s unclear tonight what the pathway forward is, but it’s clear the answer is not Initiative 50, which would amend the constitution to permanently reduce funding for schools, fire districts, and libraries.”

Scott Wasserman of the Bell Policy Center said, “Good policy doesn’t always make for a good ballot measure. It wasn’t just that Prop HH was complex, it’s that it was a political Goldilocks. Conservatives attacked it for backfilling local communities with TABOR surplus and local governments attacked it for not backfilling them enough.”

Wasserman urged Colorado’s policymakers to adopt a property tax relief package that “prioritizes relief for low- and middle-income homeowners, renters, and small business owners.”

“And they’ll need to find a way to pay for it that protects our schools and other critical local services. I don’t see how they do that without using the TABOR surplus, even if just for one year,” Wasserman said.

Polis, via a spokesperson, said he is considering next steps.

“The governor thanks everyone who voted in this year’s election,” gubernatorial spokesman Conor Cahill said. “While he is disappointed voters didn’t pass a long-term property tax cut, he is currently considering next steps.”

Under Proposition HH, TABOR refunds would have been reduced over the next decade and potentially beyond that.

Under current law, TABOR refunds are first paid to cover senior and veteran property tax homestead exemptions; next through a temporary reduction in the state income tax; and, if any money is left, through a six-tiered sales tax refund with annual tax filings.

The battle for HH drew more than $5 million in contributions to a half dozen committees advocating for or against the measure.

Property Tax Relief Now, backed by Democrats and their allies, raised more than $2.5 million, most of it from “dark money” groups, which don’t disclose their funders.

Dark money groups also funded the opposition, led by No on HH, which raised $1.9 million.

Advance Colorado Action, which put in most of funding for the No on HH campaign, also spent more than $550,000 on TV, newspaper and social media ads. That money was tracked separately from the state’s campaign finance reporting system.

Three other anti-HH committees raised more than $400,000.

Republican lawmakers twice called on Polis to come up with a “Plan B” – a special session on property taxes – in case Proposition HH failed, a request he rejected. Polis was not available for comment on Tuesday. He’s in Wyoming for the fall meeting of the Western Governors Association.

Property taxes have skyrocketed in the past year, with some counties reporting increases in residential valuations of up to 60%, although that isn’t necessarily how much the property taxes will go up.

Property taxes have been on the upswing since voters approved the repeal of the Gallagher amendment in 2020. However, Democratic lawmakers at the state Capitol didn’t take action until the 2023 session, when they rammed through both the ballot measure and the accompanying one-time TABOR refund legislation in the session’s final three days.