Voters have approved a repeal of the recently passed beer, wine and soda taxes, according to preliminary results.

The Bangor Daily News is reporting that 64 percent of voters have approved the repeal, while 36 percent voted to uphold the tax.

“We said back in April that if Maine people had a chance to have a voice on these taxes they would reject them,” said Newell Augur, chairman of the group Fed Up with Taxes which backed the people’s veto. “It appears as though Maine people rejected these taxes by a 2 to 1 margin. It’s a testament that families and businesses are making difficult choices every day. They hope and expect that their government will be doing the same.”

The No on 1 coalition issued the following statement:

“Now we are back to the old law, which means Maine faces the time and expense of a court challenge once again from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. If the Chamber succeeds in its lawsuit we are very concerned about the 18,000 current enrollees in the Dirigo Health program and the 1,500 on the waiting list.  We are also disappointed that the assessment on health claims will return to its higher level.  And the lower and stabilized rates for the 40,000 Mainers who pay for their own insurance will have to wait for another day.

“However, we are so very proud of our efforts the past eight weeks.  There is a lot of momentum in Maine  to continue working on our problems with health coverage and especially keeping our kids healthy. We are excited about looking ahead and we welcome the beverage companies to our conversation – we hope that instead of fighting us using $3.7 million they will now step up to the plate and be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.  We urge them to partner with us.”