Initiatives 75 and 78 required 98,942 valid signatures from Colorado voters in order to make the ballot. Initiative 75, a measure that would have given local governments the authority to regulate (read: ban) energy development, fell nearly 20,000 projected signatures short of qualification, while Initiative 78, which would have required a 2,500-foot setback around oil and gas operations, fell over 20,000 projected signatures short.
Kelly Maher, Executive Director of Compass Colorado, celebrated the downfall of both measures while reiterating the central role that Colorado’s energy industry plays in the health of the state economy:
“Both Initiatives 75 and 78 would have grievously harmed one of the most important economic drivers in our state. Their failure to so much as make the ballot suggests both incompetence on the part of the campaign, as well as a lack of appetite for economic destruction on the part of Colorado voters.
“Coloradans support responsible energy development, full-stop. The health of our state’s energy industry corresponds directly to the financial well-being of all of us. Voters would have almost certainly sent both measures to the curb, so if nothing else, the Secretary of State’s announcement this morning saved Colorado taxpayers some additional printing costs on their ballots this fall.”
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