KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville voters have spoken: Mayor Indya Kincannon's half-cent sales tax increase has been voted down.

Polls for the 2025 Knoxville city election closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday. After early voting results came in around 8:30 p.m., it was evident the sales tax referendum would not pass. More than 62% of people who voted early voted against it.

By the end of the night with 100% of precincts reporting, that percentage remained largely unchanged with roughly 61.5% voting against the measure.

Here's how the city voted, per the unofficial results:

"The Knoxville voters spoke, and our Knoxville sales tax referendum came up short. It certainly wasn't the outcome we were hoping for, but I'm incredibly proud to all the people who came out to vote," Kincannon said.

If voters had

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