Utah voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have required 60% approval for citizen-led ballot initiatives that raise taxes.

Amendment B failed by a wide margin on Nov. 3, with about 62% of voters opposing it and 38% in favor, according to KUTV. The Associated Press called the race at 9:36 p.m., with 52% of ballots counted. At that point, 378,808 votes had been cast against the measure and 232,548 in favor.

The result means citizen-led statewide initiatives will continue to pass with a simple majority, the standard Utah's constitution has carried since statehood.

What it would have changed

The amendment, placed on the ballot by the Legislature, targeted statewide citizen-led initiatives that create a new tax, expand an existing tax, raise a tax rate or slow a property tax decrease. Those measures would have needed 60% voter approval instead of a simple majority.

The constitutional text published by The Salt Lake Tribune shows the 60% threshold applied only to statewide initiatives under subsection (2)(a). The separate provision governing county, city and town initiatives, subsection (2)(b), was not changed. That means Draper residents' ability to launch local ballot initiatives on tax questions was never directly at stake.

Still, the amendment's defeat signals how Utah voters feel about raising the bar on any initiative process. Opponents spent more than $3.1 million urging a "no" vote through the political issues committee Utahns Protecting Our Constitution, according to Utah News Dispatch. About $1.6 million of that came from the Washington, D.C.-based Fairness Project.

Both sides weighed in

Elizabeth Rasmussen, executive director of Better Boundaries and spokesperson for Utahns Protecting Our Constitution, said in a statement carried by KUTV that the group was "encouraged by the votes that have been counted thus far."

Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, sponsored the amendment. In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune published Oct. 12, Fillmore said tax increases "should have broad public support, beyond a simple majority of voters."

Utah Republican Party Chair Rob Axson called the outcome "unfortunate" in an interview with Utah News Dispatch. He acknowledged the measure faced long odds against a multimillion-dollar opposition campaign.

Supporters included the Utah Republican Party, GOP legislators, the Utah Taxpayers Association and Americans for Prosperity. They argued the higher threshold would protect taxpayers from initiatives that don't reflect broad consensus.

A backward look at 2018

Had the 60% rule been in place in 2018, two successful ballot initiatives would have failed, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah's Medicaid expansion initiative passed with 53.3% of the vote that year. The medical marijuana legalization initiative passed with 52.7%. Both included new taxes to fund their programs, Utah News Dispatch reported.

Jason Perry, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, told KUER that the amendment's fate hinged on how voters feel about the balance of power between themselves and the Legislature.

Election results are not final until county and state canvasses are completed in about two weeks.