Thread: L.A. County Measure H Raises Sales Tax on the Poor to Pay for Homeless

(Lots of graphics at link don't copy and paste well http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-c...voter-turnout/ )

What if Los Angeles held an election and 80% of voters didn’t care?

By LOS ANGELES TIMES GRAPHICS STAFF
MARCH 7, 2017

Apathy could be the big winner in today's election.
Recent history tells us most Angelenos won't bother to cast a ballot.

That means out of 2 million registered voters, a small sliver might decide key issues that affect all the city's residents.

What's at stake in L.A.?

The school board could tip pro-charter

Charter school advocates are looking at their best chance to win a majority that favors charter schools on the Los Angeles Unified School Board. Charter supporters say students could leave public schools that have low standardized test scores.

Charter critics insist a pro-charter majority could permanently harm traditional public schools.

Sources: Times reports, ballotpedia.org

Funding a fix to L.A.'s homeless problem

Measure H proposes a countywide quarter-cent sales tax for 10 years to combat homelessness. More than 43,000 homeless people live in Los Angeles County, according to a 2016 Times report mapping the county's homeless.

The future of L.A. development

The hotly contested Measure S ballot initiative would restrict certain types of new development across the city. It would bar developers from receiving permission to build projects higher or denser than city rules allow for at least two years. Supporters and opponents have each spent millions of dollars on the measure.

People don’t care about
mayoral elections like they used to

In the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, voters got off their couches, out of their cars and made their way to the ballot box. By the ’80s enthusiasm for civic engagement faded. Ever since — with the exception of one notable runoff election that Eric Garcetti won in 2013 — more than half of voters stayed home.

Percent of registered voters who did not vote in mayoral elections

Who stays home and who shows up?

Poor communities with large numbers of residents who are ineligible to vote, such as immigrants, are most likely to stay away from the polls.

About 93% of voters in Watts didn’t vote in 2013.

Upper-income voters are more likely to make it to the ballot box.

The upper-income coastal enclave of Pacific Palisades had the fewest voters who stayed home with 66%.

http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-c...voter-turnout/

As of 7 p.m. a random sampling of voter turnout was at 11.45 percent...

http://ktla.com/2017/03/07/live-resu...mary-election/

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

As of 7 p.m. a random sampling of voter turnout was at 11.45 percent...

http://ktla.com/2017/03/07/live-resu...mary-election/

I see every running incumbent is winning their race right now.

Measure H Rebounds From Early Deficit, Reaches Two-Thirds Majority

POSTED 5:27 AM, MARCH 8, 2017, BY LOS ANGELES TIMES

A Quarter-cent sales tax increase in Los Angeles County to fund anti-homelessness measures appeared to earn the two-thirds majority needed for passage early Wednesday, with 100% of county precincts reporting.


A Yes on H advocate speaks to crowd of supporters during a rally. (Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Measure H would generate about $355 million annually for homeless programs over 10 years, backers say. The tax increase would raise the sales tax rate to 9% across most of Los Angeles County and up to 10% in a few communities.

It would be the second phase of a two-step fundraising strategy developed by the city and county. Los Angeles city voters approved a $1.2-billion bond measure in November to provide supplemental funding for 10,000 units of permanent housing with support services for the chronically homeless.

The new sales tax revenue would pay for services attached to those units and provide rental subsidies and services for thousands more units across the county.

http://ktla.com/2017/03/08/measure-h...irds-majority/