Worried that it would hurt schools, social services, police and fire departments, Maine voters in unofficial returns said no to Question 1, which would have limited the growth of government spending at all levels.

With 53 percent of the results in at midnight, the Bangor Daily News showed that 54.6 percent of voters said no and 45.3 percent said yes to the Maine Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR.

The referendum passed in Auburn by a vote of 4,773 to 3,982. TABOR also passed in Poland, Minot, Paris and Turner. It was narrowly rejected in Rumford.

Lewiston voters rejected Question 1, but the vote was close: 6,010 to 5,721.

“Maine people do their homework. They heard both sides of this issue,” said Dennis Bailey, spokesman for Citizens United to Protect Our Public Safety, Schools and Communities. The referendum sounded simple, Bailey said, “but people looked at it and decided as much as they hate taxes and want tax reform, this is not what they wanted for Maine.”

Citizens United had more money, but money doesn’t win campaigns, Bailey said. “If it did, we’d have a casino in Sanford,” he said, referring to the 2004 referendum in which voters rejected a casino.

TABOR proponents said late Tuesday night, conceding the loss, that the question had the right answers to harness taxes by limiting spending and giving taxpayers more control.

Roy Lenardson of the Maine Heritage Policy Center attributed the loss to the other side creating “blatant fear, uncertainty and deception … it was an endless parade of misinformation.” Plus, they were outspent “by a couple of million dollars,” he said.

Though TABOR was defeated, “we won the debate,” Lenardson said. Everyone now agrees that spending is too high and taxes are too high, he said.

Now the other side will get the chance to show what its plan is, Lenardson said. “Gov. (John) Baldacci and the Legislature will have a tall order.”

Early polls showed TABOR enjoying wide support from taxpayers looking for tax relief. As the campaign matured and the opposition warned that passage would mean cuts to schools, health care, police and fire protection, support withered.

Some voters said they were worried about cuts.

“I believe TABOR will only hurt Maine” and result in inadequate funding for education, health care and social services, said Jodie Clark after voting at the Lewiston Armory.

“My husband is a Lewiston firefighter, and I want him to keep his job,” said Doreen Traynor. “The services that the city provides are very important.”

In Mexico, Trena Magoon said she strongly opposed TABOR. “All the stuff I’ve heard about it in Colorado, I feel it will blow up in our faces.”

Retired school teacher John Wallace of Rumford said he voted no because it would put a crimp in education. “I think the elected politicians are doing the best they can.”

Other voters said they voted yes for tax relief.

Kathy Daniels, 60, of Lewiston said people need help. “I’ve got the dream of America: I own my own home.” But she’s mortgaging her home to renovate it and pay the taxes, more than $2,000 a year for a single-family house on a small lot, she said.