Early returns show Sanpete voters opposing Proposition 11, Amendment B

Kennedy, Shelley lead congressional and legislative races; Amendment A receives strong support

By Robert Stevens

MANTI—Early election returns Tuesday night showed Sanpete County voters narrowly opposing Proposition 11 and Constitutional Amendment B, while Amendment A received considerably stronger support.

Unofficial results reported as of 8:59 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, showed 1,992 votes against Proposition 11 and 1,831 in favor. The 161-vote margin represented approximately 52.1 percent opposed and 47.9 percent in favor.

Proposition 11 would authorize Sanpete County to implement a sales and use tax of up to 1 percent to help fund rural healthcare and emergency services, including the county’s E911 system.

Constitutional Amendment B also faced opposition in the county, with 1,974 votes against and 1,846 in favor, a difference of 128 votes. Approximately 51.7 percent of those voting on the amendment opposed it.

Amendment B would require certain citizen initiatives that increase taxes to receive at least 60 percent voter approval rather than a simple majority.

Amendment A, which concerns publication requirements for proposed constitutional amendments, received 2,329 votes in favor and 1,452 against. The measure held an 877-vote lead, with approximately 61.6 percent supporting it.

Statewide returns showed similar trends for both constitutional amendments, although the margins differed.

A separate statewide snapshot showed Amendment A receiving 290,974 votes in favor and 197,086 against, or approximately 59.6 percent support.

Amendment B faced stronger statewide opposition than in Sanpete County, with 310,540 votes against and 182,360 in favor. Approximately 63 percent of statewide voters opposed the measure in those early returns.

Kennedy, Shelley lead local voting

Republican Mike Kennedy held a substantial lead in Sanpete County’s portion of the U.S. House District 4 race.

Kennedy received 2,925 votes, compared with 765 for Democrat Jonny Larsen. Unaffiliated candidate Steven Burt received 99 votes, while Libertarian Taylor Wright received 81.

Kennedy’s 2,160-vote advantage over Larsen gave him approximately 75.6 percent of the votes reported in the county contest.

The separate districtwide results also showed Kennedy leading Larsen, although by a narrower margin. Kennedy had 49,719 votes across the reporting portions of District 4, compared with Larsen’s 42,341, a difference of 7,378 votes.

In the Utah House District 66 race, Republican Troy Shelley led Democrat Breanne Mashek by a wide margin in Sanpete County.

Shelley received 2,814 votes, compared with 727 for Mashek. Constitution Party candidate Russ Hatch received 335.

Shelley’s county lead over Mashek stood at 2,087 votes.

Districtwide returns also favored Shelley, with 5,086 votes compared with Mashek’s 1,241. Hatch had 608 votes in the districtwide count.

School-board candidates hold early leads

Two contested school-board races in Sanpete County also showed clear leaders in the initial returns.

In North Sanpete School District Seat 5, Jeremy Madsen led Tyler Lane Lee with 304 votes to Lee’s 95. Madsen received approximately 76.2 percent of the votes reported in the race.

In South Sanpete School District Seat 1, Mark S. Olson led Timothy J. Miller by 134 votes. Olson received 393 votes, or approximately 60.3 percent, compared with Miller’s 259 votes, or 39.7 percent.

Results remain unofficial

The early figures provide an initial picture of voting in Sanpete County, but additional ballots may change the totals and margins.

County results in congressional and legislative races also represent only the Sanpete County portions of those districts. Final outcomes depend on votes from all participating counties.

All reported totals remain unofficial until election officials complete the required canvass and certify the results.