Friday’s results still left the Oceanside sales tax measure too close to call, but the trend with votes added since the Election Day tally has been incrementally moving toward rejection.
The new results show “no” on Measure S ahead by 458 votes after it had a 440-vote edge Thursday night. More than 47,000 ballots have been tallied so far.
It’s unclear how many ballots remain to be counted in Oceanside. Countywide, there are a projected 390,000 left to count out of almost 1.3 million cast. San Diego County voting officials expect to post new updates Monday evening and have until Dec. 3 to certify results.
The City Council voted to put the half-cent sales tax on the Nov. 3 ballot in the hopes of generating $200 million for five infrastructure projects. City officials said it was necessary to repair the cracking cement portion of the pier, to repair roads, to replenish sand on city beaches and to build a fire station and police headquarters.
But the measure ran into opposition from residents across the political spectrum who cited affordability concerns, especially given the fact that voters had approved a sales tax measure in 2024 when they extended an existing half-cent sales tax for 10 years.
The new increase would bring the city’s sales tax rate to 8.75%, tied for highest in San Diego County with eight other cities, including Del Mar, Escondido, San Marcos and Solana Beach.