ELECTION RESULTS
Voters in Austin were faced with two options in the May 6 election to alter the way police oversight is handled in the city. RESULTS BREAKDOWN
Prop A wins approval, Prop B rejected in Austin police oversight election
Equity Action board President Chris Harris said Proposition A’s resounding victory represents a win for Austinites by deterring police wrongdoing. “We’re going to have a police oversight system now where we can be much more assured that full and thorough investigations will occur when an allegation of wrongdoing is made and that facts about misconduct are going to see the light of day,” Harris said. The nal outcome for police oversight in Austin is still to be determined and ties into the relation- ship between Austin and the police association. After the passage of Proposition A, city o cials certi ed election results May 16. Following this, the chapter of Austin’s city code covering police oversight will be repealed and replaced by the text of Proposition A in line with state law. Contract talks between the city and the police association stalled out earlier this year after many city o cials stated their desire to wait for the May election before voting on a new deal. Austin and the police union will handle the next labor agreement process with the updated oversight framework in place. The handling of police union contracts and some oversight provisions are established in Texas government code, and police association representatives have argued that some of Propo- sition A’s contents will not be enforceable under state rules.
BY BEN THOMPSON
Pass
Fail
Proposition A had a landslide victory in Austin on May 6 as voters soundly rejected the compet- ing police oversight measure Proposition B. Proposition A passed with 79.27% support among Austin voters who cast ballots in the May election, while Proposition B failed with 19.52% of votes cast in favor, based on voting totals out of Travis, Williamson and Hays counties reported after 10 p.m. May 6. Proposition A was crafted by the criminal jus- tice organization Equity Action last year. Equity Action leaders have said they wanted to forward the measure to voters to strengthen police accountability and transparency, and to remove aspects of the police oversight system from the bargaining process between Austin and the Austin Police Association, the city’s police union. Proposition B, backed by Voters for Oversight and Police Accountability, was based on the framework of Proposition A with several changes to language and oversight outcomes throughout.
CITY OF AUSTIN
Shall the voters of Austin adopt an initiated ordinance, circulated by Equity Action, that will deter police misconduct and brutality by strengthening the City’s system of independent and transparent civilian police oversight?
PROPOSITION A
79.27% For
20.73% Against
Shall the voters of Austin adopt an initiated ordinance, circulated by Voters for Oversight and Police Accountability, that will strengthen the City’s system of independent and transparent civilian police oversight?
PROPOSITION B
19.52% For
80.48% Against
SOURCE: TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
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NORTH NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION • JUNE 2023
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