Fresno County residents delivered an anti-tax message Tuesday with their votes on three local ballot measures.
Measure E, the 0.2 percent sales tax that would benefit Fresno State academics and athletics, is unique in only needing to break through the 50 percent threshold.
But voters turned it down with 53.8 percent voting no, a 7.6 point advantage over those who voted yes.
The measure would have generated an estimated $720 million for the university over its 20-year lifespan. A third of that total, $240 million, would have been allowed to be used for athletics purposes, such as renovating the aging Valley Children’s Stadium.
The Fresno County Transportation Authority pushed to get the longstanding Measure C tax pushed through four years early.
But it didn’t work. Voters turned down the renewal of the half-cent sales tax that benefits the county’s roads and transportation network.
Needing a two-thirds vote to pass, Measure C only got 58.19 percent support according to the latest tally.
If it had passed, Measure C would have been renewed for a 30 year term starting in 2027. Measure C was first approved by voters in 1986 and renewed in 2006.
The third tax to be shut down by voters was Measure M, which was only voted on by City of Fresno residents.
Measure M, the one-eighth percent sales tax to support veterans services, also needed a two-thirds majority to pass.
But Fresno residents only supported it at a 59.25 percent clip.
