A half-cent sales tax that would have accelerated rail, highway, bus and transportation improvement projects across the region fell just .56 percent short of passage, The Source reported.
The final vote tally, released Sunday by the Los Angeles County Registrar, showed 66.1 percent of voters in favor of Measure J and 33.9 percent against the measure. It was about 14,000 votes behind the two-thirds approval needed to pass, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's blog The Source:
... turnout was less in 2012 than in 2008 when Measure R was approved with 67.9 percent of the vote. In 2008, a total of 3,001,783 votes were cast in the Measure R election. The final numbers this year show that 2,863,951 votes were cast for or against Measure J.
Measure J would have extended the Measure R sales tax—the half-cent sales tax hike voters approved in 2008—for the next 30 years.
The sales tax increase is currently set to last until 2039, and is projected to raise $40 billion in that time period. Approval of Measure J would have extended the tax until 2069.
Metro responded to the final tally Monday morning, saying it's possible the agency might ask voters in the future to extend Measure R:
In the final vote tally, 66.11 percent of voters, nearly two million Los Angeles County residents, expressed confidence in Metro and the Measure R program. Progress will continue as Metro remains focused on delivering a dozen new transit projects and 15 highway improvement projects that voters approved four years ago in passing Measure R.
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