Jackson County Voters Approve Question 1, Vote To Keep Jackson Statues

     Jackson County voters narrowly approved Question 1 on the November 3rd ballot,  adding a fee of up to $1.00 for all subscribers to communication services that features the ability to call 911, with revenue going to the County’s E-911 System Fund.
     The measure is an attempt to fix Jackson County’s current funding mechanism for the service, which is supported entirely by a 7% landline surcharge. Most 911 calls are made by cellphones and the number of landline users continues to decline. Jackson County states the declining revenues threaten emergency response.
     Voters overwhelmingly defeated Question 2, which asked if the statues of Andrew Jackson located outside the Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City and the Historic Truman Courthouse in Independence should be removed. The statues have been discussed by the legislature for nearly a year. Calls for the statues of the country’s seventh president to be removed intensified this summer in the wake of protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The measure was defeated with 72.17% voting no. 
     Jeff Coleman, State Representative D-32 (R), ran unopposed and was re-elected to a second term. 
     Unofficial totals show voter turnout in Jackson County at 80.3%.