Voters in Colorado and Oregon rejected ballot measures to label products that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), while voters in Maui County, Hawaii approved a moratorium on GMO crop cultivation.
 
Proposition 105 in Colorado failed by a margin of 66% against vs. 34% in favor. Measure 92 in Oregon was narrowly defeated; fewer than 51% voted against, and 49.3% voted in favor.
 
According to The Oregonian, Measure 92 was the state’s costliest ballot measure on record. The political action committee (PAC) Vote No on 92 Coalition spent more than $20.6 million, according to BallotPedia (an interactive almanac of U.S. politics), compared to a total of about $8.9 million among five committees and PACs in support of the labeling law.
 
In Colorado, the No on 105 Coalition spent approximately $7.2 million compared to about $415,000 from Right to Know Colorado GMO.
 
Voters in California and Washington state rejected similar ballot questions in 2012 and 2013, respectively. This summer Vermont’s governor signed a GMO labeling bill into law that is set to take effect in 2016. However, a coalition of biotech firms have filed a lawsuit claiming the law is unconstitutional and would lead to a 50-state patchwork of labeling mandates. Previously, Maine and Connecticut both passed GMO labeling bills that would go into effect when surrounding states approve similar measures.
 
Hawaii
Meanwhile, voters in Maui County, Hawaii narrowly approved a moratorium on GMO crop cultivation. The initiative temporarily bans the farming of GMO crops until the county conducts an analysis of the health effects of genetically modified farming and foods. 
 
Monsanto and Dow Chemical, which conduct field trials of genetically modified crops and also grow engineered seed for commercial purposes in Maui, told Bloomburg News they plan to challenge the ban.