Lincoln voters approve continuation of street-improvement sales tax

Lincoln residents cast their votes Tuesday to decide if the city will continue a quarter-cent sales tax to pay for street projects. The tax was the main item on the primary election ballot.

As of Tuesday evening's unofficial final results, there were 24,492 votes in favor of continuing the quarter-cent sales tax and 12,265 against. The voter turnout was just over 20%, but some early vote and provisional ballots have yet to be counted. Full results can be found at the Lancaster County Election Commissioner's website.

The tax was originally approved in 2019 by a vote of 50.7% to 49.4% and is scheduled to end on Sept. 30 of this year. With its approval, the tax will now continue through Sept. 30 of 2033.

In a statement on election night, Director of Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Liz Elliott wrote that she is grateful for voters' trust in the work of her department.

"This approval reflects our community’s shared priority in investing in our city’s streets. We are ready to continue improving Lincoln streets and delivering on the promises made. We remain steadfast in our commitment to engage with residents, prioritize transparency, and ensure that every dollar is spent efficiently to maximize results for our community. Thank you for believing in this effort and in the future of our city," she wrote.

Elliott previously said that 73.5% of revenue from the tax is invested in existing streets, 25% is used for growth projects and 1.5% is allocated to a partnership with the Railroad, Transportation and Safety District to improve the 33rd Street and Cornhusker Highway area. The city has also received a nearly $67 million federal grant to pay for the 33rd Street and Cornhusker Highway project, which is expected to cost at least $120 million.

Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird also thanked voters for their support.

"This victory affirms our shared commitment to making strategic, steady investments in the streets that support our economy, safety, and quality of life. I’m also grateful to the coalition of business and community leaders who championed this important effort," she wrote.

Lincoln Chamber of Commerce President Jason Ball said the tax is essential to growing Lincoln's economy.

"One of Lincoln's biggest needs right now is to build more industrial and commercial sites in the city, and generally, those are going to go on the edges of town," he said. "So the city needs to grow to get there. We need last mile infrastructure to connect streets and roads to the new South Beltway."

Lincoln's primary election also featured four school board races, three City Council seats and one race for Airport Authority. In the Airport Authority race, both candidates will automatically advance to the general election on May 6.

For City Council, nine candidates were seeking seats in the election, with the top six advancing to the general election.

As of Tuesday evening's unofficial final results, incumbent Sandra Washington led the candidates with 18,387 votes, followed by incumbent Tom Beckius with 17,884, Jerry Shoecraft with 16,759, incumbent Bennie Shobe with 16,477, Stan Parker with 15,895, Maher Aurang Zeb with 5,761, Elina Newman with 5,273, Rene Carrillo with 2,610, Maghie Miller-Jenkins with 2,324 and 183 votes cast for write-in candidates.

Lincoln Public Schools districts one, three, five and seven were on the ballot. Only district three had more than two candidates.

In that race, Barbara Baier led with 1,263 votes as of Tuesday evening. Seth Duncan had 894 and Andrea RaGene Evans had 444.

According to the Lancaster County Election Commissioner's website, approximately 7,000 additional early vote ballots will be counted Friday. The 190 provisional ballots cast will be counted sometime next week.