More than 20,000 ballots were cast, but ultimately the moratorium failed by about 900 votes, said city spokesman Tom Hacker. Results came in just after 10 p.m., making the Loveland election one of the last Colorado races to be decided Tuesday .
“Fortunately that means the Loveland citizens have spoken and that common sense prevailed,” said BJ Nikkel, director of the Loveland Energy Action Project, a group that campaigned against the moratorium.
Loveland is the sixth city to put a halt on fracking to a vote, but the only city thus far to vote against fracking restrictions. In November, four Colorado cities including Fort Collins joined Longmont in restricting the process, which injects chemicals deep into shale formations to extract oil and natural gas.
