A ballot measure seeking to remove citizenship requirements for Denver police officers and firefighters is poised to pass.
The latest tally from the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office shows the measure with a roughly 2.7-point lead in favor of passing: 51.4% to 48.6%.
Roughly 255,000 votes have been counted as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.
If voters approved the measure, the Denver Police Department and Denver Fire Department would be allowed to hire “qualified” non-citizens to serve. This means they must have some degree of work authorization and be a permanent resident of Denver.
The measure cleared the City Council in July after a unanimous decision by Denver’s legislative body.
“These are members of our community who have graduated from our high schools, maybe even our colleges, who are making lives for themselves here in Denver,” Councilmember Jamie Torres said at the time. “(Immigrants) may want to consider (police and fire) as their future job, but haven’t been able to, because our charter restricts it. They should be able to apply and they should be able to compete because they can work.”