Preliminary results came in for Fresno County on Nov. 8 during the statewide general election.

The Fresno County Registrar of Voters estimate that nearly 41,000 ballots remain to be processed. Further updates will be received on Nov. 15, as mail-in ballots continue to be counted.

Here are the current projections for Fresno ballot measures as of Monday, Nov. 14:

Measure E 

Measure E, a proposed 0.2% countywide sales tax that would have brought Fresno State an estimated $36 million per year for the next 20 years, looks to be on track to not pass. The ballot measure needs a simple majority of 50% plus one vote to pass.

Of the 149,062 votes cast, 53.49% voted no. Yes votes totaled 46.51%.

Two-thirds of the funds received would have gone to academic improvements, and one-third would have gone to athletics. The measure saw waves of both criticism and support. 

Critics of the measure expressed concern with those who could potentially profit from the measure: the Fresno State Improvement Zone Committee.

The leader of the committee, Richard Spencer, owner of Harris Construction, was the general contractor for the $29 million Jordan Agricultural Research Center, columnist Marek Warszawski wrote in The Fresno Bee. 

According to Warszawski, Harris Construction is under contract for four more current or recently completed campus infrastructure projects. 

“But can you see why it might be in the best interest of a construction company owner to sponsor a tax initiative that would generate more money for construction? I certainly hope so,” he wrote.

Incumbent Jim Patterson endorsed the ballot measure and said it was a “good return on investment.”

“It’s critical to our community to help Fresno State expand its impacted nursing, engineering, criminology and [agricultural] programs,” he said.

Measure C

Measure C, a renewal proposal that would generate $6.8 billion for local transportation over a 30-year period in Fresno county, received 86,615 yes votes. At 57.99% of the vote, it is still short of the needed two-thirds majority vote to pass.

Over 149,000 votes cast, and the no votes amounted to 42.01%.

This renewal proposal drew criticism from opponents for its lack of specificity for projects funded by Measure C, and a lack of community engagement when the renewal was drafted, according to Veronica Garibay, Fresno State alumnus and member of the “No on Measure C” campaign.

Garibay said detailed analysis of specific projects funded by Measure C is often only available through each individual city or the county itself, and that those analyses don’t specify individual street projects and more. 

The “Yes on Measure C” campaign promised strict accountability and local control, including 

requirements to publicly disclose all spending and complete independent audits.

Measure M

Measure M, a ballot measure aimed to establish a 0.125% sales tax to provide approximately $19.5 million annually for 20 years to veterans programs and facilities, is still short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass.

As of Nov. 10, 72,457 votes were cast. Yes votes totaled 42,827, earning the measure 59.11% of the vote. No votes totaled 29,630, or 40.89% of the vote.

Final official results will be available on the Fresno County website as mail-in ballots will be counted by election officials up to Nov. 15.