ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – St. Louis County voters rejected a key measure in Tuesday’s municipal election. Proposition B, a proposal that would have expanded the St. Louis County Council’s authority, has failed.

Had it passed, Proposition B would have granted the St. Louis County Council the authority to remove department heads with a “super majority” vote, or approval from five of the county council’s seven members.

Instead, the vote failed. A majority of voters (61.8%) voted “no” on Proposition B, while only 38.2% voted “yes.” More than 94,000 people cast votes on the measure, per the county’s preliminary election results.

The proposition faced a great amount of scrutiny from St. Louis County department heads, even to the point of it reaching the Missouri Supreme Court. A lawsuit against the county council claimed that the ballot language was misleading to voters and failed to explain how the proposition would “radically amend” St. Louis County law.

The Missouri Supreme Court ultimately sided with the county council to allow Proposition B to stay on the ballot.

Leading up to the election, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page had also been accused of improperly using public funds for fliers in opposition to Prop B.

Page shared the following statement via social media on voters rejecting Proposition B:

“Prop B was a bad idea. Voters saw through the deceptive language and saw it for what it was: an attempt to disrupt county government and make it harder to get business done. It is time to move on and focus on issues important to the daily lives of St. Louis County residents.”

Greater St. Louis, Inc. Interim CEO Dustin Allison issued the following statement on Proposition B:

“As the voice of the St. Louis region’s business community, Greater St. Louis, Inc. expressed our strong opposition to Proposition B and encouraged St. Louis County voters to cast a ‘no’ vote. We are proud to stand with the voters of St. Louis County who voted down Proposition B.

“We look forward to working with the leaders of St. Louis County to drive growth and create more opportunity for the future.”