Measure H, a quarter-cent Los Angeles County sales tax to fund anti-homelessness programs, maintained the two-thirds majority needed for approval in a final ballot tally released Monday.
The measure’s backers already declared victory on Friday, when an update showed it had a safe margin above two-thirds. The final results have the measure finishing with 69.37 percent of the “yes” vote.
The election results will be certified Tuesday by the county Registrar- Recorder/County Clerk’s office.
The quarter-cent sales tax is projected to generate about $355 million annually for 10 years.
In total, the measure received 585,905 votes, compared to 259,098 votes against.
“This is a historic victory, as Measure H will kick-start an unprecedented effort to fight and prevent homelessness, the defining civic issue of our time,” Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said Friday. “Thanks to the generosity and compassion of the people of Los Angeles County, we now have the means to end this crisis.”
With all precincts reporting after the election, preliminary results released early March 8 showed Measure H with 67.44 percent of the vote, just ahead of the two-thirds majority it needed for approval. But with nearly 295,000 vote-by-mail, provisional and questioned ballots still left to be counted, it was unclear at the time if the measure would maintain the required percentage.
— City News Service