County Ambulance Tax Levy Had Low Vote, Didn’t Pass

In Washington County, the General Election date for 2021, Tuesday, November 2nd, offered only a single question for the Voters of the County.

Do you wish to give the Washington County Ambulance District an additional 35¢ per $100 of your assessed valuation?

The question was placed on the ballot with the approval of the District Board and the Election was solely the Ambulance District’s. The vote was across the County, with every registered Voter in good standing having the ability to cast a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’ as they so chose.

No one could complain about the weather, Voters had a beautiful Fall day to enjoy as they got out to go to their polling location.

Washington County Clerk Jenny Allen reported a voter turnout for the Election at 8.41% with 14,515 registered voters in the County and 1,221 casting a ballot on Tuesday, November 2nd.

The proposition offered by the County Ambulance District was a 35¢ additional tax levy.

The voters of the County voted down the question with almost a 60% margin.

The totals for the Yes 489 and the No 728 showed little interest by the Washington County residents overall.

With over 14,000 potential voters on the rolls, not even 1 out of 10 took the time to vote.

While the Ambulance District was looking to expand service, the areas that where discussed for ‘better coverage’ didn’t seem to support the tax levy as a means of paying the bill. The Washington County Ambulance District operates three houses - Potosi Headquarters, Belgrade House and Old Mines House.

As the election neared, there was little discussion about the proposal on the street or appearing on social media.

The Ambulance District had the only question and the sole proposition on the ballot. There were 13 precinct polling locations open on Election Day. The results by Precinct included:
YES NO

Algire 22 17

Belgrade 67 37

Caledonia 30 45

Cruise 17 8

Ebo 21 55

Irondale 20 34

Old Mines 32 86

Pleasant Point 9 7

Potosi North 39 99

Potosi South 68 121

Richwoods 21 25

Shirley 16 20

Stony Point 32 89

Absentee 95 85

Totals 489 728