Voters

By WCT Newsroom

November 07, 2006 at 11:00 PM

MINNEAPOLIS -- It would be hard to find a Minnesota voter who supports congested freeways, potholed roads or spotty bus service. It appeared Tuesday, however, that many weren't ready to amend the state constitution to do something about it.

A proposed amendment to require that all motor vehicle sales tax proceeds go to transportation had strong support among the voters who expressed a view on the question, but a large proportion left that part of the ballot blank, which counted as a "no" vote.

With 38 percent of precincts reporting, 59 percent voted yes, while 41 percent voted no, but it wasn't clear how many counties were able to immediately include blank votes in their returns. Passage requires a majority of everyone who voted in the election, and it was possible that enough voters abstained to sink the amendment.

Election officials had said beforehand that the time required to account for the non-votes meant the outcome might not be known until Wednesday.

Supporters said the amendment would funnel an extra $300 million a year into transportation projects by 2011, but opponents said it was poorly written and could leave a big hole in future budgets.

Minnesotans for Better Roads and Transit, a coalition of over 1,000 groups and businesses, planned to spend about $3.5 million to support the amendment. Opposition was less organized but came from a couple of groups.

A coalition of rural legislators and mayors said the amendment was poorly worded and might not direct enough money into highway projects. The wording said that at least 40 percent of the money would be used for mass transit, with no more than 60 percent for roads and bridges. Critics said that vague language left open the possibility that light rail and bus projects might grab nearly all the money.

Others, such as the teachers union Education Minnesota, said it would divert money from schools, health care and other programs. Almost half of the motor vehicle sales tax dollars now flow into the state's general fund, where the money can be spent on anything.