Special to the Reporter

More than 49,000 Shelby County residents &045;49,804, in fact &045; turned out last week to vote on Amendment 1, Gov. Bob Riley’s proposed tax and accountability package.

The measure failed in the state as well as the county. According to still unofficial results from the county’s Probate Office, a resounding 70 percent, or 35,243 voters, of Shelby County voters said no to the proposed package. Just more than 29 percent, or 14,521 voters, voted in favor of the $1.2 billion package.

Shelby County turnout was high with about 59 percent of registered voters casting ballots.

A breakdown of the vote by beat and box can be seen in the printed version of this week’s Shelby County Reporter