ELECTION Austin petition process in line for revisions City Council voted March 9 to establish a resi- dent commission tasked with proposing updates to Austin’s political petition process, potentially including a higher signature requirement and new ethical and transparency standards for petitioners. Propositions could also be locked to higher-turn- out November elections. Council’s action came two months ahead of an election featuring two rival ballot propositions resulting from petition drives. One, backed by Austin’s police union, has attracted criticism from some o cials over claims that petition canvass- ers misled residents or obscured details of the proposition. In Austin, anyone who collects the signatures of at least 20,000 registered voters may petition the city government to enact new policy, roll back previous council action or amend the city charter. The removal of a city o cial would follow the same process, but with a higher signature require- ment of 10% of the city’s voters—currently, more than 66,000 names. Successful petition measures may either be approved by City Council or, more commonly, put BY BEN THOMPSON
CITIZEN INITIATED PETITIONS IN TEXAS
Texas voters may petition their cities to enact policies or take other actions, and successful petitions typically prompt elections. Petition requirements vary by city.
2020 population estimate
City signature threshold*
City
Petition signature requirement
15% of voters in the highest-turnout mayoral election within three years of petition’s ling
Houston
2,304,580
36,155
10% of registered voters as of the last regular city election
San Antonio
1,434,625
82,372
Dallas
1,304,379
10% of registered voters
66,510
5% of registered voters or 20,000 voters, whichever is smaller
961,855
20,000
Austin
Fort Worth
918,915
20% of registered voters
101,526
SOURCES: CITIES OF AUSTIN, DALLAS, FORT WORTH, HOUSTON AND SAN ANTONIO; BEXAR AND HARRIS COUNTIES; U.S. CENSUS BUREAU COMMUNITY IMPACT
*ESTIMATES BASED ON CURRENT AND PAST ELECTION AND VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION
on an upcoming election ballot. Austin has seen 15 petition elections since 2012 on topics such as ride-hailing regulations, the city’s government system, marijuana enforcement, police sta ng, and criminalizing public camping and sleeping. The 20,000-signature threshold for most peti- tions represents around 3% of the city’s voter pool, well below limits set in other large Texas cities and many peer cities nationwide. Austin used a 10% threshold until 2012; the current limits were
enacted to line up with state law. “If we’re going to spend valuable city resources on an election, that petition should stem from a representative cross-section of the public and not an ever-shrinking sliver,” said District 5 Council Member Ryan Alter, who sponsored the resolution to create a new charter review commission. Once formed, that commission will work to produce recommended changes that Austin voters will consider in the city’s November 2024 election.
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