McALLEN, Texas — Residents in this border city voted down a proposed property tax, despite apparent efforts to stack the deck in favor, as political activists claimed.
On Tuesday night, Hidalgo County voters voted down Proposition 1, which called for the creation of a hospital district that would be funded by property taxes in order to cover indigent care in the area. Opponents of the proposed tax have stated that indigent healthcare is already funded by the county and the move is simply a way for hospitals to increase revenues at the expense of taxpayers.
According to information published by the Hidalgo County Elections Office, residents denied Proposition 1 with 111,723 votes or 71.82 percent against the measure with only 43,832 in support.
Breitbart Texas previously reported on the push for the new taxing district was backed by a PAC known for funding the campaigns of multiple local, state and federal Democrats, including the Clintons. In the days prior to the election, two local activists filed a lawsuit claiming that county officials were trying to stack the deck by having various hospitals be designated early voting sites. The lawsuit was dismissed in a ruling that opponents to the tax have deemed suspicious.
The creation of the district was previously considered and defeated in 2014, however local politicians resurrected the ballot measure for the presidential election in what opponents claimed was an effort to have the overwhelmingly Democrat county vote pass it.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project and you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
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