11:09 p.m. Based on election-night tallies, more than 60 percent of the 326,000 North Carolina voters who had a chance to address local sales-tax increases said no.
11:04 p.m. Alamance County is the last of the 14 counties to finalize its vote totals. All 14 sales-tax referendums go down to defeat. In Alamance, it’s 71 percent to 29 percent.
10:40 p.m. With all votes in, Guilford rejects sales-tax hike 51 percent to 49 percent.
10:28 p.m. All 14 counties appear to have rejected sales-tax increases. Numbers are final in 12 counties. Alamance County, with a 79 percent “no” vote, has just one precinct left to report. The Guilford County vote total is closer, but the sales-tax referendum is losing 51-49 with just a couple of precincts left.
10:22 p.m. With all votes in, Columbus rejects sales-tax hike 62 percent to 38 percent.
10:11 p.m. With all votes in, Caswell rejects sales-tax hike 65 percent to 35 percent.
10:09 p.m. With all votes in, Montgomery rejects sales-tax hike 71 percent to 29 percent.
10:07 p.m. With all votes in, Harnett rejects sales-tax hike 79 percent to 21 percent.
10:05 p.m. With all votes in, Cherokee rejects sales-tax hike 83 percent to 17 percent.
9:21 p.m. With all votes in, Orange rejects sales-tax hike 51 percent to 49 percent.
9:18 p.m. Montgomery County reports its first numbers. The sales-tax referendum either trails or has failed in all 14 counties.
9:17 p.m. Guilford sales-tax vote tightens a bit. With more than 87,000 ballots counted, the “no” votes outnumber the “yes” votes by fewer than 1,600. The “no” vote percentage dips a bit below 51 percent.
9:12 p.m. With all votes in, Bladen rejects sales-tax hike 57 percent to 43 percent.
9:06 p.m. With all votes in, Yadkin rejects sales-tax hike 73 percent to 27 percent.
9:04 p.m. With all votes in, Person rejects sales-tax hike 79 percent to 21 percent.
9:01 p.m. With 68,000 ballots counted, the margin against a Guilford County sales-tax hike continues to hold at 51-49.
8:51 p.m. With all votes in, Chowan rejects sales-tax hike 67 percent to 33 percent. Thirteen of 14 counties are reporting numbers. Sales-tax measures are failing in all 13 reporting counties.
8:39 p.m. With all votes in, Clay rejects sales-tax hike 63 percent to 37 percent.
8:36 p.m. With all votes in, Alleghany rejects sales-tax hike 71 percent to 29 percent.
8:25 p.m. Eleven of 14 counties report at least some numbers. The sales-tax referendum is failing in all 11 reporting counties. The closest races are Guilford (51 percent against), Orange (52), and Bladen (54).
8:10 p.m. With more than 30,000 ballots counted, Orange County has flipped, with 51 percent now saying “no” to higher sales taxes. No county is reporting a sales-tax measure prevailing at this point. Five counties have reported nothing. Guilford has reported nothing since the 7:42 p.m. update.
7:42 p.m. Early numbers are in from nine counties. Only Orange County shows more “yes” than “no” votes, with 51 percent of 15,000+ voters saying “yes.” With more than 46,000 votes counted, Guilford’s sales-tax vote is losing by a 51-49 percent margin. No other races are as close.
6:47 p.m. Voters in 14 counties decide tonight whether their county commissioners can add 0.25 cents to the local sales-tax rate.
