ANN ARBOR — On Tuesday Nov. 8, southeast Michigan vetoed a $4.6 billion regional transit plan by a slight margin. 

The plan did not pass in two of four counties that had the proposal on the ballot. Most voters in Oakland and Macomb counties did not support it, while voters in Washtenaw and Wayne counties did.

The 20-year, 1.2 mill tax plan did not need the support of the majority of voters in each specific county to pass it, but rather an overall support. 

Inclusively, 912,033 people voted against the proposal and 893,798 supported it with reports of 99 percent of precincts released on Wednesday morning. 

A transit advocate group, Citizens for Connecting our Communities, also released a statement that morning showing gratitude for all its campaign volunteers and expressing disappointment with the result.

“We are grateful to all of our supporters and volunteers who worked so hard to show the tremendous benefits voting YES would have provided,” the group said. “Including connecting our communities across Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties, increasing independence for seniors and people with disabilities and connecting people to jobs and opportunities throughout Southeast Michigan. This election was unprecedented and unusual in many, many ways and there’s no doubt that was reflected in this initiative’s razor-thin margin and unfortunate outcome.”

Because it did not gain many supporters, the RTA must wait until November 2018 to propose the plan again.

The tax would have charged homeowners with a $200,000 market value and a $100,000 taxable value around $120 per year. If approved, it could have produced more than $160 million in proceeds for the RTA in the first year, according to
estimates.