Today is Election Day for the proposed Lane County Income Tax Measure 20-129 and the Income Tax cap Measure 20-130. All ballots must be received by 8 p.m. and voters can use one of the many official drop locations around the city.
The nearest location to the University is a white receptacle drop box located outside of the ASUO office in the EMU.
There are several common errors voters make when returning their ballots that could prevent them from being counted, according to the Lane County Web site. It instructs voters to remember to sign the return identification envelope and be sure to seal the envelope before returning the ballot. It also says because the signature on each voter registration card is matched to the signature on the oath section of the ballot, signing the oath the same way as on the ballot will not count. The deadline for mail-in ballots was last Friday, so postmarked ballots do not count.
Measure 20-129 proposes a 1.1 percent tax on personal, non-resident and business incomes. Those who support the measure say the money garnered from the income tax will replace federal funds that have been cut. Although there is support in Washington D.C. for new similar federal funding, many say the requested funding will not come to fruition for Lane County. Opponents of the measure say it may provide the needed money to replace the possible loss of federal funding but does not fairly tax residents. The measure will impose a blanket tax where the middle and lower classes pay the same percentage as the upper class. No other county in Oregon has an income tax and opponents are against the idea of starting the trend in Oregon.
Measure 20-130 will cap the income tax at 2 percent and designate the tax to public safety only. Public safety includes sheriff, youth services and district attorney departments, programs to protect people from criminal activity, mental health and crime victim services, and alcohol and drug treatment.
The first results will be posted at 8 p.m. on the Lane County Web site, www.co.lane.or.us, and will be updated each hour throughout the night.
Annette Newingham, Lane County Elections executive said, “This type of election typically goes throughout the night and into the early morning hours. The process should not go past around 6 in the morning, but we’ll just have to keep counting until we are done.”
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