Election Day was last week, right?
Yet, a week and a half later, we’re still waiting for outcomes in at least two Senate races. And in the “anything can happen” category, voters in San Jose still don’t know the outcome of the vote to increase sales tax to increase regional transit to the city.
Votes are still being counted for the proposal to increase the sales tax by one-eighth-cent to bring Bay Area Regional Transit (BART) to San Jose. The increase would be in place for 30 years but would not be collected until an agreement for additional funding is reached with the federal government, thought to be a few years out.
Proponents of the measure had given up hope, but now with more than 600,000 votes counted, the measure has the exact number of votes that it needs to pass – for now. There are still nearly 10,000 votes to go… an overwhelming majority of those need to be “yes” votes for the measure to pass. Expect those votes to be tallied any day now. Votes must be counted and certified by Dec 2.
The turnabout is rather overwhelming. A week ago, with 164,000 ballots remaining, opponents of the measure claimed victory. However, most of the uncounted ballots, which were absentee and provisional ballots, were “yes” votes, changing the picture completely.
The late “yes” votes are thought to represent younger voters who tend to be in favor of increasing mass transit. Absentee ballots and provisional ballots are not uncommon among younger voters, who may be in college or graduate school.
If the trend continues, the measure may pass after all, capping off a wild election season. It just goes to show that it ain’t over till it’s over…
How can you say that absentee ballots are youngsters at college. Many older voters use absentee ballots because they work, or they are travelling or they just flat out can’t read the ballots in the usually poorly lit voting precincts. San Jose should pay its fair share of Bart.