WASHINGTON (AP) — Colorado’s modern free school meals program faces a crucial test as voters approve two statewide ballot measures that would put the program on firmer financial footing, primarily through tax increases on high-income earners.
The outcome of the measures on the Nov. 4 ballot will determine whether the Healthy School Meals for All program continues to provide free breakfast and lunch to all Colorado public school students or is significantly scaled back.
According to a December 2024 report from the Colorado Department of Education, the program, which was approved by voters in 2022, was originally expected to cost about $115 million in the first year but ended up costing about $162 million due to higher-than-expected participation.
Proposition MM would escalate funding for free school meals by setting a lower cap on tax deductions for individuals earning $300,000 or more per year. According to an analysis by the Colorado General Assembly’s nonpartisan Legislative Research Office, the move would affect about 194,000 Colorado taxpayers in 2026, with an average tax escalate of about $385 for single filers and about $570 for those filing jointly.
The second measure, Proposition LL, would authorize Healthy School Meals for All to utilize about $12 million in taxpayer money already collected for the program but to be refunded to taxpayers. Under the state’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act (TABOR), any excess taxes collected must be returned to taxpayers, and the state must ask voters for permission to keep and spend excess tax dollars.
If both measures are successful, the nutrition program is expected to have access to an additional $65 million for the remainder of the 2025-26 academic year and approximately $119 million for the following year.
The 2022 proposal to authorize “Healthy School Meals for All” passed with approximately 57% in favor and 43% against. A majority of voters in 34 of the state’s 64 counties supported the measure. A narrow majority of voters approved the measure in El Paso County, the state’s most populous, while the next four largest counties, Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson and Adams, supported the measure with much larger majorities.
In November 2023, Colorado voters considered two unrelated measures that would also have affected how the state handles excess tax revenue. About 59% of voters rejected Proposition HH, which would have gradually reduced the amount of TABOR tax refunds taxpayers would receive in exchange for lower property tax rates. At the same time, nearly 68% of voters approved Proposition II, which allowed the state to withhold $23.7 million in excess tobacco and nicotine taxes and funnel the money into the state’s universal preschool program.
The strongest opposition to tax-related proposals over the years has come from traditionally Republican voting areas, while the strongest support has come from more Democratic voting areas.
In the 2022 school lunch proposal, voters in districts that President Donald Trump represented in 2024 collectively rejected the measure, with about 52% voting against it. Voters in counties supporting Harris supported the school lunch measure with 62% of the vote.
Colorado is one of nine states that offers free meals to all public school students regardless of income.
The Associated Press does not make predictions and will announce a winner only if it determines there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If no race has been called, the AP will continue to report any newsworthy developments, such as: B. Concessions by the candidates or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make it clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
In Colorado, an automatic recount is triggered when the gap between the two leading candidates is 0.5% or less of the leading candidate’s total vote count. The AP may declare a winner in a race eligible for a recount if it can determine that the margin is too enormous for a recount or legal challenge to change the result.
Here’s a look at what to expect in the November 4 election:
election day
Colorado’s vote on proposals LL and MM will take place on Tuesday. Polls close nationwide at 7:00 p.m. local time, which is 9:00 p.m. ET.
What’s on the ballot?
The AP will report the voting results and announce the winners of both statewide ballots.
Who can vote?
Any registered voter in Colorado can vote in the general election.
What do voter turnout and primary elections look like?
As of October 3, there were approximately 4.5 million registered voters in Colorado. Of those, about 25% were Democrats, 22% were Republicans, and just over 50% were unaffiliated. The rest were registered with other parties.
In November 2023, Colorado’s last general election, when two proposals were the only contests on the statewide ballot, nearly 1.7 million voters voted for the measures, about 39% of registered voters. Colorado holds its elections primarily by postal vote.
As of Thursday, nearly 355,000 ballots had already been cast before Election Day, about 30% by Republicans, about 28% by Democrats and about 40% by unaffiliated voters. For the latest update, see the AP Early Vote Tracker.
How long does it usually take to count votes?
In the 2024 presidential election, the AP first reported results in Colorado at 9:05 p.m. ET, five minutes after polls closed. Vote counting ended at 5:35 a.m. ET for the evening, with approximately 79% of the total votes counted.
Vote counting was reported at a similar pace for the two statewide ballot measures in November 2023. The first votes were reported at 9:03 p.m. ET, while the last update of the evening was at 6:21 a.m. ET with about 85% of votes counted.
Are we there yet?
From the Nov. 4 election, there are 364 days until the 2026 midterm elections and 1,099 days until the 2028 general election.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the 2025 election at https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2025/.
