Voters have signaled strong support for the three Harris County bond referendums, which received between 11 and 38 percentage points more votes in their favor compared to votes against based on unofficial results from the Harris County Office of the Elections Administrator.
Proposition A funding $100 million for public safety facilities received 55.52% voter approval; Proposition B for $900 million for roads, drainage and multimodal transportation received 69.05% voter approval; and Proposition C for $200 million for parks projects received 63.3%.
Grant Martin—a political consultant who ran the 2012 and 2017 bond campaigns for the city of Houston—said he did not see the opposition to the bonds from Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle have an impact on voters' decisions.
"Part of that is that there was no well-funded opposition campaign, so the negative statements that they would make were ... in the press, which has a limited impact," Martin told Community Impact. "It's not a simple message to communicate because people are inclined not to vote against those things. They're inclined to support better roads."
Budget Director Daniel Ramos previously said the bonds would lead to a tax rate increase of $.012 per $100 valuation and cost $32 a year for a resident with a home valued at $300,000, but the county's financial situation would not lead to a net increase in taxes for residents.
Updated 7:29 a.m. Nov. 9
With 774 out of 782 Election Day voting centers reporting, unofficial Harris County results show all three Harris County bond referendums have passed.
Proposition A, which would fund $100 million for public safety facilities, was the closest of the three, receiving 55.49% voter approval.
The largest bond amount, Proposition B, also received the greatest amount of voter support. The proposition—which would provide $900 million for road and mobility projects countywide—saw 69.02% of voters approve it.
Meanwhile, Proposition C, which funds $200 million for countywide parks projects, earned 63.28% of the votes cast thus far.
Updated 12 a.m. Nov. 9
All three propositions remain on track to pass, with 103 of 782 Election Day voting centers reporting at midnight Nov. 9. Propositions A, B and C have received 55.31%, 68.23% and 62.06% voter support, respectively.
Updated 11:40 p.m. Nov. 9
With 11 out of 782 Election Day voting centers reporting on election night, results continue to show voter support for all three Harris County bond referendums. Proposition A has received 55.18% of the votes counted thus far compared to 68.03% and 61.9% of Propositions B and C, respectively.
Posted 8:05 p.m. Nov. 9
Early voters showed their support for three bond propositions in Harris County that would provide $1.2 billion to county roads, parks and public safety facilities.
According to unofficial early voting results Nov. 8 from Harris County, 55.17% of early voters approved Proposition A, which would provide $100 million for public safety facilities. So far, 378,821 votes were cast in favor of the proposition, while 307,803 of the early votes cast were against it.
Although projects for the proposition have not been finalized, the Harris County Sheriff's Office proposed four capital improvement projects in an Aug. 2 commissioners court meeting that could be funded from the bond, including a facility to train first responders on flood and swift-water rescue operations as well as another to simulate active shooter scenarios.
Meanwhile, 68.02% of early voters showed their support for Proposition B, which would provide $900 million for mobility projects countywide. Of the early votes cost, 470,357 voters support the proposition, while 221,171 voted against it.
According to prior reporting, $300 million of the funding would go to general road bonds; $200 million would be allocated for neighborhood drainage; and $200 million would be earmarked for road and drainage partnerships with local entities. Another $100 million would be allocated for road rehabilitation projects, while $50 million would fund multimodal transit projects, such as sidewalks and trails, and the last $50 million would go toward Vision Zero—a program to reduce traffic-related fatalities by re-engineering layouts of high-injury corridors.
The third county bond proposition, Proposition C, saw support from 61.89% of early voters, or 426,122 votes for, compared to the 262,416 votes cast against. If passed, the bond would fund $200 million for parks and trails countywide. Daniel Ramos, executive director for the Office of Management and Budget, previously said commissioners had spent all of their allocated funds for parks and would not be able to fund park projects next year without pulling from general funds. He said the park proposition may also help address unequal access to parks as well as parks that may not be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
All results are unofficial until canvassed. Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide to see results from all local elections in your community.
