School sales tax fails in 31 of 46 Virginia localities that voted; Richmond approves, Chesterfield narrowly

Most Virginia localities that asked voters to approve a new 1% sales tax for school construction were turned down Tuesday. Richmond, Charlottesville, Albemarle County and a string of smaller cities said yes, according to unofficial results. In Chesterfield County, the measure passed by 1,643 votes, a margin narrow enough that a recount is possible.

The question appeared on the ballot in 46 cities and counties on the Virginia Department of Elections results site, after the General Assembly expanded the taxing authority statewide this year. (Several news outlets put the number at 47.) With every precinct reporting election-night results as of about 1 a.m. Wednesday, the state's site showed the tax passing in 15 localities and failing in 31. Across all of them combined, 47.6% of voters said yes.

Where it passed

The tax passed in Albemarle (53.6%), Chesterfield, Middlesex (51.2%), Prince Edward (54.6%) and Rappahannock (53.4%) counties and in the cities of Buena Vista (61.4%), Charlottesville (71.8%), Fairfax (55.7%), Lexington (69.6%), Martinsville, Radford (64.7%), Richmond (67.1%), Staunton (57.1%), Waynesboro (63.3%) and Winchester (56.1%), according to the state's results.

In Chesterfield, the largest locality on the ballot, "yes" had 50.47%, or 87,580 votes to 85,937, with provisional ballots still outstanding. The Richmonder reported that the margin was close enough that a recount could be called, and that early and mail voters favored the tax while Election Day voters opposed it. Chesterfield had estimated the tax would bring in $65 million to $70 million a year.

Some margins were razor thin. In Martinsville, the tax passed 2,065 to 2,060, a five-vote margin. In Stafford County, it failed by 628 votes out of more than 66,000 cast, and in Madison County by 132.

Where it failed

Voters rejected the tax in Alleghany, Amelia, Augusta, Essex, Floyd, Fluvanna, Franklin, Frederick, Giles, Grayson, Greene, Greensville, Isle of Wight, King and Queen, Madison, Mathews, Nelson, New Kent, Nottoway, Orange, Powhatan, Pulaski, Smyth, Stafford, Sussex, Wythe and York counties and in Covington, Emporia, Newport News, Norfolk and Portsmouth.

In Hampton Roads, which WHRO said mostly rejected the tax, Portsmouth voted 61.3% no, York County 61% no, Newport News 59% no and Norfolk 55.8% no, according to the state's figures. Smyth County had the widest defeat, at 71.5% no, followed by Covington at 68.5% and Powhatan at 67.7%.

Bipartisan support did not guarantee approval. In Wythe County, both parties endorsed the measure, but 63.4% of voters rejected it, Cardinal News reported. In Prince Edward County, the local Republican and Democratic chairs issued a joint endorsement and the measure passed.

What happens next

Approval does not put the tax in place automatically. The local governing body must still adopt an ordinance to levy it, and the money can go only to school construction, major renovations and related debt, not salaries or other operating costs.

Richmond Mayor Danny Avula thanked volunteers and voters in a statement quoted by The Richmonder: "My team is committed to working with our Council colleagues and RPS to be good stewards for what voters have entrusted us with." The Richmonder reported that Avula has promised to roll back the city's meals tax by 1 percentage point and that the city expects to issue bonds against future revenue from the tax. Chesterfield officials have also promised to lower real estate and personal property taxes, the outlet reported.

In Radford, where the tax is projected to raise about $1.5 million a year, Superintendent Adam Joyce told Cardinal News the division faces "$52 million worth of repairs that need to be done in the next decade."

All results are unofficial until local canvasses are completed and the State Board of Elections certifies them.

Essex County is a county in Virginia's Middle Peninsula. Its county seat is Tappahannock.