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Amend. 46 too close to call

Measure that aims to end race- and gender-based affirmative action trails slightly in results

By Kevin Flynn, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 5, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Jessica Corry, leader of the Yes on 46 campaign, speaks at a GOP gathering at The Marriott Denver South. She remained optimistic that polls favoring the initiative would be shown correct.

Photo by Javier Manzano / The Rocky

Jessica Corry, leader of the Yes on 46 campaign, speaks at a GOP gathering at The Marriott Denver South. She remained optimistic that polls favoring the initiative would be shown correct.

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Pre-election polls indicated a cakewalk for Amendment 46, the initiative to end race- and gender-based affirmative action programs.

But a sizable ground game helped in part by a huge effort from other campaigns to turn out voters made the so-called Colorado Civil Rights Initiative much too close to call on election night.

The amendment was losing slightly as returns came in.

"Four years ago today, I ran for state Senate and felt I had all the momentum going into it, but I lost," said Jessica Corry, leader of the pro-46 campaign. "So I don't take anything for granted."

The amendment would prohibit both discrimination and preferential treatment by government on the basis of race or gender, effectively ending public programs aimed at increasing minority or female participation in contracting, education or hiring by governments.

An identical measure passed by comfortable margins in California 10 years ago, and in Washington and in Michigan. It also passed in Nebraska on Tuesday.

If the trend holds up, Colorado would be the first state to reject the initiative that is the baby of California millionaire entrepreneur Ward Connerly.

While its backers called it a civil rights initiative, it actually would eliminate race- and gender-based affirmative action programs, and that's why the traditional civil rights community lined up against it.

"What we learned from those other states that had it was that our biggest issue to push was the deceptive nature of the amendment," said Melissa Hart, a University of Colorado law professor who led the No on 46 campaign.

Amendment 46 galvanized civil rights and equal opportunity advocates into a single purpose - defeating it. And they used grass- roots organizing, as well as attaching their efforts to large get-out-the-vote drives by other groups.

In addition, Hart said with so much advertising this year on voting "No" on many of Colorado's numerous ballot measures, her campaign might have benefitted from the spillover.

"I think we absolutely did everything we could have done," said Hart.

Ellen Buchman of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights in Washington, said educating voters that the civil rights measure was actually aimed at ending affirmative action was a key strategy.

"We had to let people know what it was about before they went in and saw it on the ballot," Buchman said.

But some voters said they weren't confused. Craig Jackson, 46, of Denver, said he believes discrimination should be illegal but voted yes because he also believes minority status shouldn't be used to get special treatment.

"It was tricky and a hard one for me, but I don't think they should get advantages from it," he said.

Pre-election polls, however, showed the measure winning comfortably.

To Corry, who is with the Golden-based Independence Institute, said doing away with race and gender preferences is all about civil rights.

Deciding college admissions, employee hiring or big government contracts on skin color or gender is discriminatory, Corry said.

Comments

  • November 5, 2008

    8:51 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    angka writes:

    Thank you thank you thank you, Colorado. Defeating Amendment 46 is as historic as any other victory we celebrate today.