Free Republic

A court temporarily blocked an anti-voting measure from happening in a red-leaning California county where it would have imposed restrictive voter ID rules and stopped early voting. The new election policies, called Measure B, were passed by Shasta County voters in June. The measure would have also eliminated mail voting, required hand-counting ballots and created a separate voter registration system disconnected from the state’s voter rolls. In granting a preliminary injunction to halt the initiatives, Shasta County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Hanna said most of them violated state law. “Measure B seeks to create a whole new electoral system that...

Voters narrowly approved a sales tax increase to help fund a BART extension into the South Bay, the latest vote tally shows. With all but a handful of ballots counted, Santa Clara County's Measure B secured the necessary two-thirds approval needed to win. The count Friday was 66.78 percent in favor, enough for backers to finally claim victory after the proposal had been losing in the days after the Nov. 4 election. The plan calls for raising the Santa Clara County sales tax by one-eighth of a cent, revenue from which will help to operate and maintain the 16.1-mile extension...

CBS 5 Poll: South Bay BART Measure Falling Short SAN JOSE (CBS 5/KCBS/BCN) ― A new poll of Santa Clara County voters finds Measure B, a one-eighth-cent increase in the sales tax to help pay for the BART extension to San Jose, still has not garnered the two-thirds majority it needs to pass. A CBS 5 poll conducted by SurveyUSA found that 62 percent of likely voters either lean toward voting or are certain to vote for the extension. The Yes on B campaign has lined up big names such as former Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta to convince the 17...