PHOENIX — 24 of 34 questions poised to Maricopa County voters in some cities and school districts are on their way to passing.
At 8 p.m. on election night, county election officials reported that 268,083 of 1,410,174 eligible voters have cast a ballot. A turnout of 19%. Ballots from voters that dropped off their vote at an election center today are expected to be counted in the next few days.
Budget Override Continuations
Thirteen school districts put the question to voters to allow for a budget override continuation, a provision in state law that allows districts to increase their budget over their state-set limits by a maximum of 15%. Eight are passing, including Chandler Unified by a margin of 4,216 votes.
So far, school districts where an override is trailing are:
- Buckeye ESD: -252 votes
- Liberty ESD: -364 votes
- Buckeye HSD: -622 votes
- Litchfield ESD: -1,455 votes
- Agua Fria HSD: -1,638 votes
Bond Approvals
Six school districts, as well as the city of Chandler and the town of Gilbert, asked their voters to approve bonds. Both municipalities were successful, but only three of the six districts are passing.
School districts with trailing bond approvals:
- Queen Creek ESD: -1,931 votes
- Higley Unified: -664 votes
- Cave Creek Unified: -481
Budget Increases
Three of the Four school districts with a budget increase measure on the ballot have “Yes” leading. Fountain Hills Unified is the lone district with yes trailing by 175 votes. District voters were split on questions with a budget override continuation request leading by 257 votes.
Propositions
Three municipalities had propositions on the ballot, including an approval of Scottsdale’s 2021 General Plan which voters are approving of 25,209 to 21,812. Both Gilbert and Surprise asked voters to extend franchise agreements with utilities that operate in the town, both passing overwhelmingly.
