Voters Reject Library Tax
- Livable El Cerrito
- Jun 3
- 2 min read
The latest results posted on Election Night show that the Measure C library tax was losing by a decisive margin of about 70% to 30%. However, it was not possible to count all the ballots by midnight, according to Dawn Kruger, coordinator of media relations for the county elections division.
A report on how many ballots have yet to be counted will be posted by Thursday, she said.
72% Voted ‘No’
As of the last posting, 5,490 El Cerrito ballots had been counted. The county reported that 3,844 voters -- or 72.43% -- voted ‘no’ on Measure C, while 1,463 -- or 27.57% -- voted ‘yes’.
The votes counted so far include 4,817 vote-by-mail ballots and 673 Election Day ballots for a total of 5,490 ballots, or 30.74% of the 17,859 registered voters in the city. The county page can be viewed here.
Still Breaking ‘70-30’
Wally Nowinski, a leader of the ‘No on C’ campaign, said there were two small updates after the initial release of results showing that about 72% of voters were casting ‘no’ ballots.
“The later updates are still breaking 70-30 for NO,” Nowinski noted.
He added, “These results speak to the incredible grassroots effort behind this campaign. We were badly outspent, but had an incredible team of volunteers who knocked and fliered every door in the city multiple times. Those one-on-one conversations with neighbors are more important than any endorsements.”
Was It a Low Turnout?
Kruger said early voting had indicated there would be a relatively low turnout of around 35% of the 17,859 registered voters in El Cerrito. However, a larger-than-expected number of mail-in ballots came in over the past few days, she said, including on Election Day. Those are the ballots that still need to be counted.
Measure B County Sales Tax
Also losing as of the latest interim report issued late on Election Night was the proposed Contra Costa County sales tax, Measure B.
With ballots from 22.76% of the county’s registered voters counted, Measure B was losing by a margin of 58.77% ‘no’ votes to 41.23% ‘yes’ votes.
Instead of wasting 80k on an early election for Measure C, maybe they could have paid for the 4th of July celebrations they are now requesting donations for. This city council HAS TO GO.
With measure C off the table, the city can now come together to develop a reasonable plan for improving the existing library.
70 % against - City Council, do you get it yet?
Huge thanks to every single voter who took the time to research this needlessly complex proposal and vote accordingly.