With over half of votes counted, Sacramento County Yes on Measure A appears headed toward defeat

With 211,369 votes counted and 192,079 votes to process, the Sacramento County $8.5 billion Measure A tax increase appears headed toward defeat.

The latest vote tallies have 54 percent No with 108,740, while Yes has only 46 percent with 92,785 votes. Since the first vote tallies were released on Tuesday, the percentage of No votes has slightly increased.

If Measure A, dubbed the Transportation Maintenance Safety And Congestion Relief Act 2022 by real estate developers who gathered signatures and had it placed on the ballot, loses, it would be a significant rebuke to many elected officials who supported its passage. The Yes on Measure A proponents, led by real estate developers, funded a multi-media campaign for its passage with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Though there was no central organized committee against its passage, a disparate group of opponents spread word about their concerns about the 40-year sales tax increase. Opposition came from groups as diverse as liberal environmentalists to conservative anti-tax organizations.

One of the most objectionable portions of the Measure was funding for the Capitol Southeast Connector Road. That project, which Measure A would fund, would open large swaths of Southeast Sacramento County to vehicle-centered development and prevent Sacramento from meeting state-mandate clean air requirements.

The next vote tally will be released on Tuesday, November 15.