A ballot measure that would have made it easier to fund affordable housing and other public projects in California has failed.
Proposition 5 was trailing 56% to 44% as of Friday afternoon, an average of 1.3 million votes, according to the Secretary of State's office.
The measure would have lowered the approval threshold for local bonds from two-thirds to 55%. Backers said it is necessary to help build houses for low-income people, increase roads and transportation, repair parks and build other public infrastructure.
Previous election results showed a number of local bond measures exceeding 55% support but failing to reach the required two-thirds majority, meaning Proposition 5 could lead to a flood of new projects.
But opponents argued that the tax increase that would result from simple authorization was too expensive.
“Supporters of Proposition 5 repeatedly asserted that their measure was not a tax increase, but merely 'asking the question' to see if voters want to relax the vote requirement to raise taxes,” the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., a staunch opponent of Proposition 5, said in a statement. “That question has now been answered.”
Supporters of this measure, the housing group, local governments, the union and other advocates, admitted their defeat on Friday.
“The battle to address California's housing crisis and infrastructure needs is far from over,” the Yes on 5 campaign said in a statement. “California needs to take bold, transformative steps to build more affordable housing and improve critical infrastructure in our communities.”
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