Colorado voters are deciding on more than 100 local ballot questions today, which are tied to taxes, growth, and affordability.

Communities from the Front Range to the Western Slope are asking whether residents are willing to pay more for services as costs rise and a federal government shutdown continues, with thousands of workers furloughed and SNAP benefits hanging in the balance.

Some of the proposed taxes are new, while others are continuations of existing taxes for everything from public recreation to public safety. These local votes will serve as a bellwether for how Coloradans feel about taxes and public investment heading into 2026.

Key measures to watch

  • Statewide: Propositions LL and MM are two measures every voter will see on their ballots related to the Healthy School Meals For All program created in 2022 through Proposition FF, which provides free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of their family’s income.
    • Proposition LL would permit the state to use $12.4 million in excess tax revenue collected under Proposition FF for the Healthy School Meals for All Program, instead of refunding it to households earning more than $300,000 a year. This measure is on ballots because of Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, known as TABOR, which allows voters to decide if the state can keep tax revenues that exceed a projected Blue Book estimate.Proposition MM would increase state income taxes for households that earn  more than $300,000 a year to fund the Healthy School Meals for All Program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP costs are set to increase in FY 2026–2027 due to cuts that shift administrative and other costs from the federal government to the state. If passed, the additional $95 million tax revenue would be used to offset the difference.
    • The bottom line: If both ballot measures pass, or if LL fails and MM passes, all students will continue to receive free school lunches. If LL passes and MM fails, free meals will only be offered at the 1,421 schools that participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision program and to qualifying students in the 382 other Colorado schools. The same is true if both Propositions LL and MM fail.
  • Denver: Mayor Mike Johnston’s $950 million Vibrant Denver bond plan aims to revitalize neighborhoods and create a major new park. The bond issue has been proposed at a time when the capital city is facing a $200 million budget deficit for 2026. In August and September, Denver laid off 169 employees and eliminated nearly 1,000 vacant positions, primarily in the Human Rights Office, Office of Children’s Services, and Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. Cuts in the proposed 2026 budget include spending reductions for almost every general fund agency, eliminating two homeless shelters, and closing some Division of Motor Vehicles locations and recreation center services.
  • Flavored tobacco vote: Denver’s Referendum 310 asks voters to decide the fate of the city’s December 2024 ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including vapes and menthol cigarettes. This is the city’s most expensive ballot issue ever, funded almost entirely by $5 million from Michael Bloomberg, who supports the ban. Proponents of the ban cite the health consequences of tobacco use. Opponents say the ban will cost jobs and harm businesses and claim adults should have the right to choose if they want to use tobacco products.
  • Childcare funding: Ballot questions in eight counties — Chaffee, Custer, Eagle, Gilpin, Hinsdale, Garfield, Pitkin, and Ouray — seek new lodging or sales taxes to provide early childhood care in their communities. In 2022, voters in the Visit Estes Park special marketing district passed an increase in lodging tax to fund childcare and workforce housing development.
  • Vail: Vail voters will decide on a proposed 6 percent tax on short-term rentals to help tackle housing — opposed by Airbnb, which has spent $30,000 to advocate against the tax.
  • Littleton: Ballot Question 3A is a referendum that would freeze the city’s zoning rules. One advocacy group, Rooted in Littleton, supports the measure to preserve the town’s character. Vibrant Littleton, another advocacy group, claims the measure would limit the city’s ability to meet current and future housing needs. Rooted in Littleton favors single-family homes, which has drawn pushback from housing advocates.
  • Larimer County:
    • If passed, Ballot Issue 1A would increase sales and use tax by 0.15 percent to provide increased funding dedicated to county roads, bridges, and intersections. The additional 15 cents on a $100 purchase would not apply to groceries, gas, diapers, or prescription drugs, and it would generate approximately $15 million annually for the next 15 years until the tax sunsets.
    • Ballot Issue 1B would increase sales and use tax by 0.25 percent to provide funding to increase the availability and affordability of childcare and preschool programs. The additional 25 cents on a $100 purchase would not apply to groceries, gas, diapers, or prescription drug purchases, and it would generate $28.7 million annually over the next 20 years until the tax sunsets.
  • Estes Park:
    • Ballot Question 300 would require written approval for rezoning requests and planned unit developments from the property owner(s) applying and two-thirds of the owners within 500 feet of the site. Without this approval, no rezoning or PUD could pass.
    • Ballot Question 301 asks voters whether to repeal Section 11.4 of the Estes Park Development Code, which grants density bonuses in RM Multi-Family zones for attainable and workforce housing and sets related building height limits in residential zoning. A yes vote repeals these provisions. A no vote keeps the current incentives and limits.

Results: Polls close tonight at 7 p.m. According to Estes Park Town Clerk Jackie Williamson, information on all local, county, and state issues will be posted on the Larimer County Elections website.

“Generally, there will be a posting around 8 or 9 p.m. with the first unofficial results and then updated from there either later that night or the following day,” said Williamson in an email to the Estes Valley Voice.

According to the Larimer County Elections website, as of this morning, there are 275,691 active voters in the county, and 79,001 voters, or 29 percent, have cast ballots already.

How to vote today: Voters in Estes Park can drop their ballots at the 24-hour ballot drop boxes. One is located in the Town Hall parking lot at 170 MacGregor Ave., and the other is at the Estes Park Vehicle Licensing Office,1601 Brodie Ave. Voters can also visit the Voter Service and Polling Center located in the Community Center at 660 Community Drive to vote in person, obtain a replacement ballot, update their voter registration address, register to vote, or use an ADA-accessible voting machine.