Light rail is likely to continue in Phoenix, according to early election results.

Proposition 105, which would have required the city to halt funding for any new light-rail extensions and divert those funds to other transportation projects, was failing 38% to 62% as of 10 p.m. Tuesday.

The 10 p.m. results included mail-in ballots received through Friday and ballots cast in person on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. There were 180,636 ballots counted with about 15,000 additional ballots left to process.

If the results stand, this will be the fourth time Phoenix voters have supported light rail since 2000.

On this measure, a "No" vote allowed for future light-rail expansion while a "Yes" vote stopped all expansion in the city.

The vote comes nine months after a group dubbed "Building a Better Phoenix" submitted 40,000 signatures to send light rail's fate back to the ballot.

Phoenix voters have approved light rail three times in the past 19 years, but transit foes hoped this election would have a different result.

What to know about Proposition 105

Phoenix's portion of the money earmarked for light-rail extensions comes from a $31.5 billion, 35-year transportation plan funded by a sales tax increase voters approved in 2015.

Proposition 105 did not end the tax, it just redistributed the light-rail portion of the money to other transportation-specific projects.

About 35% of the funding is currently dedicated to light-rail expansions, while 51% goes to buses and the remaining 14% to street repairs.

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Other money that Phoenix expects to get for light rail, including federal grants and regional tax dollars, would have been lost if Proposition 105 passes.

The group backing Proposition 105 was born out of opposition to a planned light-rail extension in south Phoenix that would connect the current light-rail line to Baseline Road, via Central Avenue.

The extension will whittle Central Avenue from four vehicle lanes to two. A group of businesses that front onto Central Avenue asked the Phoenix City Council last year to maintain four lanes on Central Avenue, fearing that decreased vehicle traffic would spell their demise.

When the council decided to proceed with its two-lane plan, the group threatened to bring a ballot initiative.

At that point, the group hooked up with a number of conservatives who are ideologically opposed to light rail, and the movement morphed into a campaign to prevent light-rail expansions throughout the city.

Local conservative heavy-hitters such as Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio and the Arizona Free Enterprise Club lent their support to the initiative. They argued that light rail is too expensive for the limited population it serves.

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club has received money from organizations connected with the Koch network, which has tried to end public-transportation programs across the country.

Proposition 105 had a broad coalition of opposition.

Nearly every member of the Phoenix City Council, Congressmen Greg Stanton and Ruben Gallego, business organizations and most of the local union groups opposed the initiative.

Opponents of Proposition 105 argued that light rail has proven a worthy addition to Phoenix and the entire region. They cite higher-than-expected ridership numbers and $11 billion in private and public investment that has sprouted within a half mile of the light-rail line since 2008.

Reach the reporter at jessica.boehm@gannett.com or 480-694-1823. Follow her on Twitter @jboehm_NEWS.

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