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Measure V fails: Nevada County’s ballots continue to be counted

Jennifer Nobles / The Union
2022 Election campaign buttons with the USA flag - Illustration
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Nevada County’s proposed 1/2 cent sales tax, Measure V, has failed.

Updated Nevada County Elections Office results released Tuesday evening showed that the “No” on Measure V campaign has increased its lead to a margin of 1,733 votes.

Approximately 989 unprocessed ballots remain to be counted as of Wednesday morning according to assistant clerk-recorder Natalie Adona.



Even if all 989 of those ballots came in as “Yes” on Measure V votes, the measure would still not have enough votes to pass.

“Our next update will be on Tuesday, as we’re closed for the Thanksgiving holiday this Friday,” Adona said.



Measure V would have implemented a half-cent sales tax, intended to help provide wildfire prevention, emergency services, and disaster readiness. The “no” votes currently have 51.77 percent of the vote.

Opinions about Measure V have come from both sides of the issue.

Nevada County Supervisor Sue Hoek wrote in The Union on November 3, “Our Board put Measure V on the November 8th ballot, a half percent sales tax that would add 50 cents to a $100 purchase, in order to fund community priorities such as preventing wildfires, improving evacuation routes, and providing green waste disposal options – now it’s up to the voters to decide.”

Reader Gary Pesselt, who was against the measure, said: “The Board of Supervisors decided to put the general fund sales tax increase on the November ballot, it will be called Measure V. Members of the Board of Supervisors acknowledged that none of the money would go to firemen or equipment and that future Boards could do whatever they wanted with the money as there was no legal limit on the use of general funds.”

Nevada City’s Measure W, commonly referred to as the Nevada City Historic Neighborhoods District Initiative, finds 67.41 percent of voters opting for “no.”

Though results aren’t final and officials say the election likely won’t be certified until early December, there are some local races that are being closely watched.

Haven Caravelli and Hilary Hodge continue to lead opponent Matthew Coulter in the race for two vacant spots on Grass Valley’s city council, while Lisa Swarthout is carrying 62.64 percent of the votes over Patti Ingram Spencer; both are vying for the seat of District 3 County Supervisor.

Three seats are up for grabs on the Nevada Joint Union High School District Board of Supervisors with Olivia Pritchett, Wendy Willoughby, and Ken Johnson each leading in their respective districts.

As per Tuesday’s election update, Nevada County voters chose Dr. Kermit Jones in his bid for District 3 House of Representatives over Kevin Kiley, though the rest of the district chose Kiley as the election was called Tuesday by the Associated Press.

The Union is a sister publication to the Sierra Sun. To contact Staff Writer Jennifer Nobles email jnobles@theunion.com, or call 530-477-4232.


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