Affirmative action up in air in Colorado

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- A Colorado referendum to end affirmative action in the state remained an election cliff-hanger Wednesday evening.

Opponents of Amendment 46, a measure to end preference programs for women and minorities in Colorado held a narrow edge in the vote-counting, with 14,000 votes separating those on either side of the issue with nearly 2 million votes counte, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

If the measure fails, Colorado would become the first buck what has become a national trend, the newspaper said. Similar measures have passed in California, Michigan, Washington, Florida and Nebraska.

Nebraska voters opted to end the practice shortly before Barack Obama made history by becoming the first African-American man elected president of the United States. The measure passed 58 percent to 42 percent, results posted by the secretary of state's office showed.

Washington voters approved a measure to make doctor-assisted suicide legal. The measure passed by a margin of 58.75 percent to 41.25 percent, results from the secretary of state's office showed.

Arizona voters opted against the Stop Illegal Hiring Act, which opponents argued would have enabled hiring of illegal immigrants, The Arizona Republic reported. The secretary of state's office showed that with nearly all votes counted the measure was being defeated 59.1 percent to 40.9 percent.