After a brief but intense contest that at times overlapped with the debate about the citiy’s proposed comprehensive plan, two charter amendments that would permit the Ann Arbor District Library to redevelop its downtown site and the adjacent Library Lane parking structure appear headed to victory.

On Tuesday, Ann Arbor voters headed out to the polls to cast their ballots on Proposals A and B for the special 2025 August election. 

After a heated race marked by lawsuits, lawn signs, and fervent online discourse, early unofficial election results show support for Proposals A and B.  

As of 12:14 a.m. early Wednesday, Washtenaw County reported that the Yes vote was leading for both proposals. Out of a reported 25,855 ballots cast, Proposal A has been tallied at 13,691 votes in favor so far, a 58% approval rate, and Proposal B was sitting at 13,471 votes in favor, a 57% approval rate.

Only four of forty-five precincts had been fully counted at that time, and certification can take a week or more. But even if every uncounted vote is No, it appears that both proposed amendments to the city charter would pass. According to a press release from the city, “early reports from the precincts suggest a more than 20% voter turnout citywide, including absentee ballots, early votes and Election Day ballots cast.” 

The ballot language stated that Proposal A will authorize the city to sell the air rights above the Library Lane parking structure to the AADL for $1, intending for a “mixed-use development that includes additional library services, housing, retail and programmable open public space.” 

Proposal B repeals a 2018 city charter amendment that designated the top of the underground parking structure next to AADL as an urban park and civic commons. It will take effect only if Proposal A passes. 

Backed by mayor Christopher Taylor, all ten councilmembers, the AADL board, and other local officials, Props A and B were favored by many as the easy choice. Some, however, opposed the proposals, citing concerns that the library had become a “political pawn,” alleging that the mayor rushed the vote on the future of the vacant lot after stonewalling the 2018 vote to preserve the space as a city commons.

At midnight, Taylor wasn’t ready to declare victory, texting that “There are still a lot of votes to count and I’m grateful to our city staff and election volunteers for conducting a diligent process.”

Not everyone was pleased with the early results.

Attorney Noah Hurwitz, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Ann Arbor taxpayers alleging that the ballot language was misleading and inaccurate, says that he will continue to fight to invalidate the results. “I hope the City has not perpetrated a fraud on the electorate,” he texted, “and that the Library does what it promised.”

Online discourse is ramping up as the results roll in, too. Facebook users are calling the election “slimy,” criticizing the city’s decision to hold a special election when students were out of town. One user, Davi Napoleon, says that even though the results aren’t going the way she wanted, that it “doesn’t matter” because “We’ll just have another election cause that’s the way we roll in this town.”

City clerk Jacqueline Beaudry reports in the press release issued by the city that the absent voter counting board will continue to check in and process all absentee ballots, and that city elections operations will continue work until all ballots are counted. Beaudry says that a “total of 29 absentee ballots were issued Tuesday to newly registered voters” and that “more than 1,800 ballots were returned by voters today at city drop boxes and in the mail.”

AADL board president Molly Kleinman told the Observer previously that the next steps are to issue a public request for proposals, to partner with a developer (or developers), and to deliver on the language stated in the ballots and build a new library. Kleinman declined to comment further until election results are certified.