PHOENIX β A measure that would boost education funding by tapping the state's land trust is surging closer to a victory with new vote tallies.
The votes were enough for Gov. Doug Ducey to declare that Proposition 123 had been approved by voters. The Republican governor said Thursday evening that "the result is clear" and called the results a huge victory for public education in Arizona.
The addition of more than 92,000 votes brought the lead from about 7,600 votes on Wednesday to more than 16,700 out of more than 1 million counted. Several counties still have ballots to count, but the chances of a major turnaround appear highly unlikely.
The measure taps the state land trust to fund more than half of $3.5 billion in new school spending over 10 years.
