Riverside County Measure A Early Results: About 70% Back Keeping Transportation Tax With No End Date
Voters in Riverside County, California, decided Measure A in the November 3 general election. The measure would remove the 2039 sunset date from the county's half-cent transportation sales tax, keeping it in place indefinitely until voters decide otherwise. According to returns from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, early results as of Wednesday morning showed 220,323 votes, or about 70%, in favor, and 94,427 votes, or about 30%, against.
Measure A requires a two-thirds supermajority to pass, and its current share sits only a few points above that line. The 333,369 ballots counted so far represent about 23% of the county's more than 1.4 million registered voters. Counting is still under way, the race has not been called, and the results will not be official until counting wraps up and the election is certified.
The half-cent retail transactions and use tax was first approved by voters in 1988 and renewed in 2002. Under the current arrangement it is set to expire in 2039; even if the indefinite extension fails, the tax will continue until 2039.
Measure A revenue has brought in almost $5 billion since the tax began. The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC), whose board decides allocations, is the steward of the revenue. Supporters have pointed to expansion and upgrade work on Highways 111, 74 and 62, as well as improvements to Interstate 10 and the Riverside (91) Freeway.
The measure does not propose raising the half-cent rate before the original 2039 sunset date; any increase would have to be approved by voters.
Source: Riverside County Registrar of Voters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加州河滨县县治 Riverside 市中心天际线，自 Mount Rubidoux 望去。CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Downtown Riverside, the county seat of Riverside County, California, seen from Mount Rubidoux. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
