Road Bonds get the nod

Jaynell Graham
Editor

Roads to Prosperity Amendment of 2017
Unofficial Results for Pocahontas County

Of the 5,484 registered voters in Pocahontas County, only 769 turned out to vote in the October 7 Road Bond election.

The unofficial results for this county were recorded Saturday night, as follows:

For the amendment: 513

Against the amendment: 256

According to the West Virginia Secretary of State website, only 120,510 votes were cast statewide. Of those votes, 87,751 or 72.82% were for the amendment, and 32,759 were against.

The amendment passed in every county except Ritchie.

There are 1,222,562 registered voters in West Virginia.

The Roads to Prosperity Amendment of 2017 will allow the state to issue up to $1.6 billion in road bonds to fund a variety of road projects – projects proposed for every county in the state.

Governor Jim Justice held town halls around the state, drumming up support for the amendment, assuring voters that there would be no increase in taxes.

The Legislature passed Senate Bill 1006 earlier this year which increased Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) fees and paved the way for a fluctuating increase in tax on the wholesale price of gas.

Monies from these increases – nearly $140M annually – will go into the state’s existing road fund to help pay off the bonds
The canvass of votes in the October 7 election will be held Friday, October 13, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the commission room at the Pocahontas County Courthouse.