Oklahoma County voters reject jail sales tax by wide margin

Oklahoma County voters rejected a proposed 0.4 percent sales tax to build and operate a new jail on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with 62.3 percent voting against the measure, according to unofficial results reported by NonDoc.

The proposal needed a simple majority to pass. It fell far short.

Oklahoma County Jail Sales Tax — Unofficial Results

Source: NonDoc, citing unofficial returns as of 11:20 p.m. Nov. 3, 2026. All results are unofficial until certified by the Oklahoma County Election Board.

The 0.4 percent sales tax would have run 25 years and was estimated to generate about $70 million annually, according to NonDoc's pre-election reporting. District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan proposed the tax to close a funding gap on a jail project whose estimated cost had climbed to about $850 million for a facility of at least 1,800 beds, NonDoc reported.

Voters approved $260 million in property tax bonds for the jail in 2022. That amount proved far short of the projected cost, NonDoc reported Nov. 8.

Maughan said on election night that there was no backup plan. He told FOX 25 there would not be enough money to finish the new construction site.

The same election reshaped who will make the next call. Democrat Jennifer Mayo defeated Republican Jessica Clayton by 67 votes in the District 3 commissioner race, according to unofficial results.

Mayo's win gives Democrats a two-to-one majority on the three-member Board of Commissioners for the first time in decades, NonDoc reported. Maughan will be the lone Republican, serving alongside Mayo and District 1 Commissioner Jason Lowe.

Lowe, a Democrat who opposed the sales tax, said the vote reflected broad frustration. He told FOX 25 that voters are "tired of the corruption … tired of the mismanagement in Oklahoma County and also across the nation."

Lowe said the county has never commissioned an independent study on whether the current jail can be renovated. He called that irresponsible and said it should have been the first step.

In a statement to FOX 25, Mayo said she wants an independent audit of the entire jail project, including American Rescue Plan Act funds. She said she would not commit to a specific solution until she has the information to evaluate the county's options.

Mayo's campaign website outlined a plan for either outcome of the vote. With the tax defeated, her plan calls for bringing in architects to assess what it would take to make the current facility safe and to estimate how many years it could operate under different renovation options, NonDoc reported.

A behavioral health center tied to the jail project is already under construction in southeast Oklahoma City. Lowe told FOX 25 that federal funding will cover its completion, but the rejected sales tax would have helped pay to staff it.

Maughan and Lowe split on the threat of federal intervention. Maughan said he expects the county could hear from the U.S. Department of Justice. Lowe said he does not believe a federal takeover is imminent.

Oklahoma County is the only one of the state's 77 counties without a sales tax, NonDoc reported.