Tuesday’s election brought wins for kids in several communities across the country, as voters established, expanded, and reauthorized voter-approved children’s funds that together will generate up to $300 million per year! Under a cloud of economic uncertainty and insecurity, voters in Larimer County, CO; a region of rural counties in Colorado; Seattle, WA; and Cincinnati, OH, made their priorities clear: We support kids! (Click on our results tracker graphic on the right for more details about vote margins.) 

In the days leading up to the election, Children’s Funding Project staff joined partners on the ground in Colorado as they canvassed and phone banked in support of Measure 7A (to establish the Confluence Early Childhood Development Service District) and 1B (in Larimer County). As our team on the ground drove between door-knocking turfs and passed long lines at the local food bank, team members elsewhere in the country coordinated volunteer shifts at their local food banks and tracked and documented federal cuts to child care and child nutrition programs. Choosing to raise taxes to publicly fund early childhood programs during these current economic conditions is an especially powerful statement by voters about their desire to live in communities where all children have the opportunity to get a strong start in life. Saying “yes” to new taxes to publicly fund early care and education is a clear referendum on the current system and a mandate from voters—one that is all the more striking because it came at a time when many households are struggling. 

Here’s what voters said yes to in each of the places where local, dedicated funding was on the ballot.

Garfield, Pitkin, and SW Eagle Counties, CO

More than 60% of voters said yes to creating the new Confluence Early Childhood Development Service District and levying a 0.25% regional sales tax. This is the nation’s first early childhood specific special taxing district, and the first use of Colorado’s expanded authority to create regional districts that provide sustainable funding and improved coordination across city and county lines. This measure will generate $12 million per year to provide sliding scale, income-based early care and education tuition credits for children ages 0-5. It also will supply grants to early care and education providers to grow more child care capacity and increase wages for providers. Maggie Tiscornia, a member of our national ballot measure cohort and director of the Confluence Early Childhood Education Coalition, said of the win, “This is a great night for kids from Parachute to Aspen. Voters across the region clearly understand the importance of ensuring our children have a strong start and a bright future. They are voting to create a more affordable, more accessible, more welcoming community for families with young children and that will create a stronger, more vibrant region for us all. We are grateful for the strong community support we’ve had throughout the campaign—and feeling good that it translated into strong support among voters.” On the same ballot, voters elected five board members that will govern the new service district.

“Voters across the region clearly understand the importance of ensuring our children have a strong start and a bright future.” —Maggie Tiscornia, director, Confluence Early Childhood Education Coalition

Larimer County, CO

By a narrow margin (3,293 votes as of 8 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on November 5), Larimer County approved a 0.25% countywide sales tax to establish a $22 million-per-year fund to reduce the cost of care for children ages 0-5. The fund also will support early childhood teachers with wage increases and professional development, and increase the availability of child care options across the county. While a more compact area than the new Confluence Early Childhood Development Service District, the campaign in Larimer County still includes a variety of communities (agricultural, mountain, urban college town, and smaller towns) that presented unique campaign challenges.

Cincinnati, OH

In a decisive victory, 73% of voters reauthorized the Cincinnati Public Schools property tax levy that directs $15 million per year to Cincinnati Preschool Promise. This second reauthorization demonstrates growing support for the fund, which was authorized in 2016 with 62% approval and renewed in 2020 with nearly 70% approval. This win will allow Cincinnati Preschool Promise to continue funding early education for 3- and 4-year-olds at over 100 preschools for at least the next four years. “The ripple effects when families lose access to reliable early education doesn’t just affect parents—it impacts children, employers, and entire communities,” said Chara Fisher Jackson, executive director and CEO of Cincinnati Preschool Promise. “This renewal lessens the worry of how to fund their child’s preschool education. We are grateful for the long-term commitment to our youngest learners, their families, and more than 200 Preschool Providers. Voters said YES to continued support and the partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools. Cincinnati Preschool Promise is fortunate to be part of a community that understands the importance of making our children’s first educational experiences so rewarding.”

Seattle, WA

Nearly 78% of Seattle voters approved the Every Child Ready Levy, agreeing to raise their taxes by $0.245 per $1,000 of assessed property value to reauthorize, and greatly expand the (previously named) Families, Education, and Preschool Promise Levy. This renewal and increase, which achieved record high support for voter-approved children’s funds in Seattle (dating back to 1990), will double the number of affordable and accessible child care slots provided by the previous levy. It also will create new and expand existing programs supporting Seattle youth from cradle-to-career with a $1.3 billion investment over the next six years.

You can read more about each of these efforts in our pre-election update.

The results of these measures further reinforce what we know about the public’s demand for a government that ensures all children have access to high-quality early childhood opportunities, but the unique pathways each campaign took to its win also reinforces the complexity of achieving that outcome. Children’s Funding Project works with local advocates pursuing dedicated revenue for kids, helping them turn big ideas into even bigger wins at the ballot box. Learn more about how Children’s Funding Project’s ballot measure cohort provides direct support to help local advocates navigate their own unique challenges and timelines to secure new sources of sustainable revenue that has the power to transform local systems supporting children and youth.

Olivia Allen is co-founder and vice president of strategy and advocacy, and Daniel Whitaker is manager, voter-approved children’s funds at Children’s Funding Project.