Riverside County Measure A and San Bernardino County Measure I each drew about 70% yes in latest posted counts
Both measures would continue existing half-cent transportation sales taxes. Riverside County's Measure A had 70.99% yes and San Bernardino County's Measure I had 69.57% yes in results that are not yet final.
Measures to continue the half-cent transportation sales taxes in Riverside and San Bernardino counties each had about 70% yes votes in the latest results posted by the two counties' registrars of voters after the Nov. 3 general election.
Neither county's results are final, and both registrars reported ballots still to be counted.
Riverside County Measure A
Measure A, listed in the results report as the "Riverside County Traffic Relief, Pothole/Road Repair Investment Renewal," had 503,461 yes votes, or 70.99%, and 205,734 no votes, or 29.01%, in the Riverside County Registrar of Voters' Update No. 18.
That report is timestamped Nov. 14 at 4:13:45 p.m. and carries the heading "Semi-Final Official Election Results." Its countywide line reads "Voters Cast: 750,795 of 1,454,190 (51.63%)."
The registrar's election page said "vote counting continues and results are not final," and estimated that about 69,000 mail ballots and 11,000 ballots from conditional voter registration were still to be counted. The page said the next update would be posted by 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16.
In a Nov. 13 release, the Riverside County Transportation Commission described Measure A as Riverside County's half-cent transportation sales tax and said it is projected to bring in about $280 million a year without raising the sales tax rate. Voters first approved Measure A in 1988 and renewed it in 2002, according to the release.
The commission said the renewal creates a Taxpayer Oversight Committee made up of county residents and limits funding for salaries or staff benefits to 1%.
San Bernardino County Measure I
Measure I had 413,663 yes votes, or 69.57%, and 180,938 no votes, or 30.43%, in results the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters posted Nov. 13. The county's results site labels that posting "Unofficial Election Results" and lists a website update time of 3:30:27 p.m.
The posting counted 628,114 ballots, a turnout of 50.3% among 1,249,278 registered voters. As of 3:30 p.m. Nov. 13, the registrar estimated that 5,600 ballots remained unprocessed and 6,000 were left to cure. The next posting was scheduled for Nov. 16 by 6 p.m.
According to the county counsel's impartial analysis, a yes vote by at least two-thirds of the voters casting votes on the measure would let the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority keep collecting the half-cent tax voters approved in 2004, which is set to expire March 31, 2040.
Under the measure, the tax would continue until a later countywide ballot measure repeals it and until outstanding debt and contract commitments are met, the analysis says. Collection under the measure would start April 1, 2040.
The analysis says the money may be spent only on streets, roads, highways and freeways, public transit, transportation technologies and administering the tax. It also says the measure keeps the Independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee formed in 2004.
