The Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability organized a rally on Monday, July 13, 2026, in downtown Fresno to urge support of the Better Roads, Safe Streets ballot measure. LILIANA FANNIN lfannin@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n
Measure S, the Fresno County election campaign for a half-cent transportation tax, spent nearly $500,000 on signature-gathering to qualify for the ballot, or about $15 per signature collected.<\/p>\n
Overall, the campaign spent more than $940,000 from January to June for all expenses, according to campaign finance filings<\/a> with the county<\/p>\n To qualify for the ballot, the campaign needed 21,909 valid signatures, which meets the threshold of at least 10% of the number of registered county voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election. The campaign submitted 32,562 signatures. Of those, 7,547 were found to be invalid, including 74 duplicates, according to Fresno County Clerk\/Registrar of Voters James Kus. That represents a 23% invalid rate.<\/p>\n During a count, when enough valid signatures are found, the clerk stops, Kus said. That left 2,810 signatures unchecked.<\/p>\n After the campaign submitted signatures in April 2026, Kus said his office could not certify after a random sample revealed too many duplications. His office was then required to review all signatures. He officially found 22,205 valid signatures, submitting his certification to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on July 8.<\/p>\n Campaign finance records filed with Fresno County show $490,000 spent for an out-of-state firm that specializes in gathering signatures \u2014 The Outreach Team<\/a> based in Ithaca, NY. The Outreach Team used several local vendors with smaller subcontracts. Schmitt Consulting, based in Friant, held a $6,600 contract. Sacramento-based Higher Education for All and Newport Beach-based DCS Management LLC also did work with the petitions.<\/p>\n That cost averaged $15.04 per signature. The campaign said the price is a bargain.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that represents a below-market cost for an effort of this size and scope, the average cost on average of $25. In fact, we initially anticipated the signature-gathering effort would cost significantly more,\u201d Yes on Measure S spokesman Michael Lukens told The Bee.<\/p>\n Lukens said a \u201cstrong coalition\u201d of volunteers helped keep the costs down.<\/p>\n A judge ruled Monday that Measure S will be on the Nov. 3 ballot<\/a>.<\/p>\n Campaign critics unsure<\/p>\n Former Fresno city councilman and Fresno County supervisor Henry R. Perea said the $15 per signature figure is on the high end, \u201cbut not out of line.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTheir attempted public marketing of their effort is that it was a grassroots community folks out in Fresno County gathering signatures, but we\u2019re now finding out that was far from the truth,\u201d Perea said.<\/p>\n Perea worked on an alternate transportation tax plan, \u201cFix Our Roads,\u201d which failed to gather enough signatures to qualify. The initial delay in certifying signatures open the door to a delay in confirming when Measure S would be on the ballot.<\/p>\n The supervisors received the certification report at its July 14 meeting and called for a 30-day financial impact report. Supervisors received the report on Aug. 11, past the Aug. 7 deadline to place an item on the November ballot. The supervisors voted to place the item on the March 2028 ballot.<\/p>\n The state legislature, however, passed a law mandating Measure S appear on the November ballot. Perea testified against the law, AB 1923, earlier this month. The county sued and Fresno County Judge Jonathan Skiles heard the arguments.<\/p>\n Skiles ruled Monday that voters would see the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot.<\/p>\n Central Valley campaign manager Cameron Forgey said it is standard practice to collect 150% of the signatures required in case some are disqualified. He said normally, signatures are checked digitally to avoid duplications.<\/p>\n \u201cThat delay gave the county its window, and it was unforced. Unfortunately, the tug of war between the county and the state is going to leave voters more confused than anything heading into November, on what\u2019s probably the most consequential thing on the local ballot,\u201d Forgey said.<\/p>\n Forgey, who said he would vote for Measure S, is currently consulting on Robert Fuentes\u2019 campaign for Fresno City Council.<\/p>\n