Updated at 9:41 p.m.
Wichita voters have soundly rejected a proposed 1% sales tax that supporters said would have helped fund public safety, housing and cultural investments, and cut property taxes.
Unofficial results from the Sedgwick County Election Office showed nearly 82% of voters voting ‘no’ on the proposal.
More than 50,000 people — about 20% of registered voters — weighed in on the proposed sales tax. The higher-than-usual turnout came in spite of nearly a dozen closed polling sites and a shortened campaign cycle.
Nonprofit group Wichita Forward had hoped voters would agree to a seven-year tax. The group was formed in September by local CEOs Aaron Bastian of Fidelity Bank, Ben Hutton of Hutton Corp. (formerly Hutton Construction), and Jon Rolph of Thrive Restaurant Group.
The group said about $850 million dollars could be raised if the tax passed. Wichita City Council members voted to pay for a special election at a cost of $170,000, despite community questions about transparency, timing and motivation.
Key figures from both sides of the vote said that the proposal failed because residents didn’t trust that city leaders and proponents would actually accomplish what the tax proposal's promises.
Celeste Racette, a founding member of the Save Taxpayers Vote No group, said that she was “stunned and just so overjoyed” at the results.
Racette said Wichitans aren’t ready for city leaders sign off on what she described as “vague” plans after a several high-profile deals with developers failed to deliver on their initial promises.
“This was a coalition of all political parties — Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, unaffiliated and independents,” Racette said. “And we're telling the City Council and the mayor, ‘you need to do a better job of transparency, accountability and reestablishing trust.’”
Mayor Lily Wu said in a Facebook post Tuesday that her December vote in favor of holding the special election "was a mistake."
"The proposal included initiatives our community has discussed for decades. But it was big, broad, and fast," Wu said in the post. "It asked for a level of trust many Wichitans were not ready to extend. And we must take that lesson seriously."
Rolph of Wichita Forward said he was disappointed in the results and surprised by the vote margin. Rolph was previously a part of a 2014 effort to pass a 1% sales tax. That proposal failed 62% to 38% in a nearly 26,000 vote margin.
This time, he said, the election likely reflected voters’ overall distrust.
“There’s just distrust in the world right now, at all levels of government and all over. That was certainly an issue,” Rolph said. “It sounds like we need more time to work on these issues and discuss them as a community. I think this community is innovative and has grit and wants to be the best that it can be, and we’ll wake up tomorrow and get to work on that.”
Vice Mayor Dalton Glasscock was one of the sales tax’s most vocal proponents on the City Council. He conceded the election in a Facebook post before results were even final on Tuesday.
“The voters have spoken, and I’m grateful that so many Wichitans participated in moving our city forward,” Glasscock wrote.
“Those on both sides were voting for the Wichita they believe in. And from what I heard throughout this process, this vote wasn’t just about a single proposal, it was about trust and process,” his post said. “For some residents, there’s a real, justifiable lack of institutional trust that we have to take seriously. At the same time, I also heard clearly that Wichitans care deeply about public safety, infrastructure, and growth and they want to address them the right way.”
Opponents called the tax proposal rushed and lacking public input. Several of them shared those thoughts with Wichita Documenters in exit surveys and interviews at polling locations Tuesday.
The special election also occurred just as most Sedgwick County homeowners saw a sharp spike in their property values. Notices from the county appraiser's office went out this week.
"I got my appraisal yesterday," Wichita resident Earl Henderson wrote on an exit survey at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in east Wichita. He voted no on the proposed sales tax.
"My house appraisal went up. I'm tired of it," he said.
Terri Istram, 67, said she voted no because she has concerns about the city's "ability to handle the money correctly."
Wichita resident Hugo Marquez said he voted no because he wants more investment in the city's bus system, which is not part of the sales-tax proposal. "If they ask to raise taxes for that, I would be for it," he said.
Voter Lillian Phares said city leaders should find a better way to fund projects.
“I would rather we take a look at where our current tax dollars are going towards, and maybe rework our budget in a way that would better the citizens of this city,” she said.
Lillian Turner said she voted no because higher prices on purchases would affect too many residents.
"I really care about this city, and I think it’s going to hurt a lot of people that are low-income that can’t afford another 1% tax increase," Turner said.
Data from the Sedgwick County Election Office shows that more than 50,000 people cast ballots in the special election. That's significantly more than the 28,000 people who voted in the Wichita school district bond issue election in February of 2025.
Several local organizations endorsed the Wichita Forward plan, including the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce, Visit Wichita, United Way, the Old Town Association and the Wichita Firefighters Union.
Exit surveys were conducted Tuesday and data collected by Wichita Documenters, a program that pays local residents to cover local government meetings and conduct other projects that encourage civic engagement. To learn more, visit Wichita Documenters.
