Denver Ballot Question 2Q, 2R Sales Tax Election Results

In Denver, 52% of voters rejected a sales tax increase to support affordable housing projects and programs in the city, and 57% of voters approved a separate sales tax increase to shore up Denver Health Hospital’s finances, according to reports unofficial results from Tuesday night.

Taken together, the two measures offer the opportunity to pay more for many items—aside from exempt essentials like gasoline and groceries—and in turn provide more resources to support public health and housing options for low- and middle-income people in the city.

ELECTION RESULTS: Live Colorado election results for the 2024 election

If voters support “Ballot Issue 2Q,” a 0.34% sales tax increase, everyone who shops in Denver will pay an additional 34 cents for every $100 they spend on many retail purchases. The $70 million a year in revenue would support the budget of the city’s social security hospital, Denver Health, and provide money to continue providing services from emergency to pediatric care.

If voters support “Ballot Issue 2R,” a 0.5% sales tax increase, shoppers would pay even more — 50 cents on every $100 they spend on most retail purchases — to improve the ability of the To strengthen the city and finance the development of affordable housing. The tax would also support programs for struggling renters and potential low- and middle-income homebuyers. It is expected to raise $100 million per year.

Anthony Bodily was among a steady stream of voters who filed into Calvary Baptist Church, 6500 E. Girard Ave., on Tuesday afternoon. visited to drop off ballots or vote in person.

The 24-year-old first-grader said he voted for 2Q and 2R because he wanted to improve access to health care and housing in the city.

“I’ve been in five different living situations in the last year – just trying to find something that my full-time job can actually afford,” Bodily said. “The monthly budget is tight, especially in the education sector.”

Nadya Nieves, 31, also voted at the church. She opposed 2Q and 2R because she does not believe governments are good stewards of taxpayers’ money and corruption leads to abuse.

“I’m for anything that makes everyone’s life better overall,” Nieves said. “My question would be: Why isn’t the tax enough to meet the needs of the people here?”

Together, Denver Health and Affordable Denver’s sales taxes would increase the city’s effective sales tax rate by an additional 0.84 percentage points. That would increase it to 9.65% from today’s 8.81%, the highest rate in Colorado outside of some mountain communities.

Advocates have argued that these taxes address needs that the city can no longer ignore or under-address.

According to a study by Clever Real Estate subsidiary Real Estate Witch, Denver rents outpaced income growth by 71% between 2009 and 2021. Average home sales prices in the Denver metro area have also risen tremendously over the past decade, reaching $660,000 in July. According to Metrolist research at the time, the average price of a home in the metro area was $302,251 in January 2014.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who has pushed for an affordable housing tax, has described that whether 2R passes or not, the chances are no less than Denver losing its working-class population entirely and it would become, like San Francisco, a place for the wealthy.

He envisioned using revenue from the tax – estimated to start at $100 million a year but likely to increase over time – to finance things like loans and capital investments in affordable housing projects or building purchases, that can be preserved or converted into income -limited affordable housing, direct rental subsidies and down payment assistance for qualified homebuyers.