Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.

Austin, Texas, Proposition A, Police Policies on Minimum Number of Officers, Training Requirements, and Demographic Representation Initiative (November 2021)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Austin Proposition A
LocalBallotMeasures Final.png
Election date
November 2, 2021
Topic
Local law enforcement
Status
Defeatedd Defeated
Type
Initiative		Origin
Citizens

Austin Proposition A, the Police Policies on Minimum Number of Officers, Training Requirements, and Demographic Representation Initiative was on the ballot as an initiative in Austin on November 2, 2021. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported this ballot initiative to:

* establish minimum police staffing and require there to be at least two police officers for every 1,000 residents of Austin;

* add an additional 40 hours of police training each year on topics such as active shooter scenarios, critical thinking, and defensive tactics; and

* provide police with additional compensation for being proficient in non-English languages, enrolling in cadet mentoring programs, and being recognized for honorable conduct.

A "no" vote opposed this ballot initiative to establish minimum police staffing, require there to be at least two police officers for every 1,000 residents of Austin, and make other changes to policing policies.



Election results

Austin Proposition A

Result Votes Percentage
Yes 46,495 31.11%

Defeated No

102,969 68.89%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Overview

How would have Proposition A changed police staffing?

Proposition A would have established minimum police staffing in Austin, Texas, based on the city's population. The ballot initiative would have required there to be at least two police officers for every 1,000 residents of Austin. No less than 35% of a police officer's employment time would have been budgeted for community engagement.[1]

The ballot initiative would have also required there to be full enrollment for at least three full-term cadet classes until staffing levels return to the levels prescribed in Austin's 2019-2020 budget.[1]

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) in 2019, Austin, Texas, had 1,802 police officers or 1.90 officers per 1,000 residents. Of the state's ten largest cities, Austin ranked third for the number of police officers per 1,000 residents. Dallas, Texas, ranked first with 2.31 officers per 1,000 residents.[2]

What else would Proposition A have changed?

Proposition A would have added a Chapter 2-16 to the Austin City Code that would have addressed several policing policies besides police staffing, including:[1]

  • adding an additional 40 hours of training each year on "critical thinking, defensive tactics, intermediate weapons proficiency, active shooter scenarios, and hasty react team reactions;"
  • providing additional compensation for being proficient in one of the five most common non-English languages in Austin, enrolling in a mentoring program for cadets, and being recognized for honorable conduct;
  • stating that the police chief should seek demographic representation, as reflected in "racial, ethnic and gender diversity of the city," in hiring police officers;
  • requiring the mayor, councilmembers, staff and assistants of councilmembers, and the director of the Office of Police Oversight to complete the curriculum of the Citizen Police Academy and participate in Austin's Ride-Along Program; and
  • requiring people appointed to the Public Safety Commission, Community Police Review Commission, or successor boards to complete the curriculum of the Citizen Police Academy and participate in Austin's Ride-Along Program.

Austin Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo estimated that the ballot initiative would cost between $54.3 million and $119.8 million per year.[3]

Who was behind the campaigns surrounding Proposition A?

See also: Campaign finance

Save Austin Now led the campaign in support of the ballot initiative. Save Austin Now said, "The law establishes officers per resident requirement of two officers per 1000, the nationally recognized "Safe City Standard" as defined by the US Justice Department. Austin is now far and away the least staffed department. We currently are at mid-2000's levels of staffing and are expected to hit mid-1990's levels of staffing by the end of the year according to the Austin Police Association. Obviously, the city has grown considerably since the '90s and this is why we’re seeing crime increase, cases go unsolved, and 911 response times of over 13 minutes." Through October 23, 2021, Save Austin Now had raised $3.0 million, including $100,000 from Charles Maund Toyota and $98,000 from TelcoDR founder Danielle Royston. Earlier in 2021, the campaign sponsored Proposition B, which voters approved on May 1. Proposition B criminalized sitting, lying down, or camping in public places and prohibited solicitation at specific hours and locations.[4]

No Way on A led the campaign in opposition to Proposition A. Opponents included Mayor Stephen Adler, the Travis County Democratic Party, and the ACLU of Texas. Austin Mayor Steve Adler said, "We must understand the budget implications of this petition to make the best choices for our community. Directing the City Council to hire additional police officers at this time could result in layoffs in other departments. We also need more public health professionals, firefighters, park rangers, and EMS to keep our community safe." The committee reported receiving over $1.1 million in contributions, including a $500,000 contribution from Open Society Policy Center, a nonprofit founded and chaired by George Soros, and a $200,000 contribution from the Fairness Project.[5]

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:[6]

“ A petitioned ordinance to enhance public safety and police oversight, transparency and accountability by adding a new chapter 2-16 to establish minimum standards for the police department to ensure effective public safety and protect residents and visitors to Austin, and prescribing minimal requirements for achieving the same at an estimated cost of $271.5 million – $598.8 million over five years.[7] ”


Save Austin Now filed a lawsuit asking the Texas Supreme Court to order the Austin City Council to rewrite the ballot question. The supreme court ruled that the language, which is featured above, drafted by Save Austin Now complied with state law and should be used over the language drafted by the city council. Click here to read more about the lawsuit.[6]

Full text

The full text of the ballot initiative is below:

Support

Yes on Austin Prop A. 2021.png

Save Austin Now led the campaign in support of Proposition A.[8] Save Austin Now sponsored Proposition B, which voters approved on May 1, 2021. Proposition B criminalized sitting, lying down, or camping in public places and prohibited solicitation at specific hours and locations. Matt Mackowiak, the chairperson of the Travis County Republican Party, co-founded Save Austin Now.[9] Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association, was a board member for Save Austin Now.

Supporters

Officials

Former Officials

Unions

  • Austin Police Association


Arguments

  • Save Austin Now: "The law establishes officers per resident requirement of 2 officers per 1000, the nationally recognized "Safe City Standard" as defined by the US Justice Department. Austin is now far and away the least staffed department. We currently are at mid-2000's levels of staffing and are expected to hit mid-1990's levels of staffing by the end of the year according to the Austin Police Association. Obviously, the city has grown considerably since the '90s and this is why we’re seeing crime increase, cases go unsolved, and 911 response times of over 13 minutes."
  • Save Austin Now Cofounder Matt Mackowiak: "We have been faced with the most urgent and intense police staffing crisis in the history of our city. The consequence of that is Austin has never been less safe than it is right now."
  • Former Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell: "There’s nothing wrong with having too many police officers, but there’s a lot wrong with having too few. We’ve seen the results of that in rising crime rates, rising murder rates, etc. in our city and we’ve seen it across the nation."
  • Austin Police Association: "How safe is the community when there are not enough officers? Yesterday 100% of the patrol shifts were below authorized staffing. Response times go up when a shift only has 2 officers, when it is authorized 11. ... Officers support Prop A., we hope you do."
  • Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association: "Austin police staffing is in crisis. It has never been worse (measured by officers per population). We are at roughly 1.56 / 1000 population today -- and that number is falling fast. One year ago, we had 1,800 available police officers. Today we are around 1,490 and headed to 1,300 or 1,350 by Feb. 1, 2022. ... Now 911 calls are routed to 311, unless a life is immediately threatened or the perpetrator is confirmed to still be on the premises. Response rates to the most urgent calls are up from an average of 7.5 minutes to over 10 minutes on an average night. ... That is why I am supporting Prop A and asking for Austin voters to show their support for every officer and every victim of crime by voting Yes for Prop A."

Campaign advertisements

The following videos were released by Save Austin Now:[10][11][12]

Title: "Don't Give Up On Austin"
Title: "Prop A Is About Austin's Safety."
Title: "Austin Dems For Prop A

Opposition

No Way on Prop A 2021.png

No Way on A led the campaign in opposition to Proposition A. Click here to view a full list of the campaign's endorsements.[13]

Opponents

Officials

Political Parties

  • Texas Working Families Party
  • Travis County Democratic Party

Unions

  • AFSCME Local 1624
  • Austin EMS Association
  • Austin Firefighters Association

Organizations

  • ACLU of Texas
  • Austin Area Urban League
  • Austin Justice Coalition
  • Black Lives Matter Austin
  • Equity PAC
  • Ground Game Texas
  • Law Enforcement Action Partnership
  • Open Society Policy Center
  • Sierra Club Political Committee
  • Texas Civil Rights Project
  • Texas Criminal Justice Coalition

Individuals


Arguments

  • Austin Mayor Steve Adler: "We must understand the budget implications of this petition to make the best choices for our community. Directing the City Council to hire additional police officers at this time could result in layoffs in other departments. We also need more public health professionals, firefighters, park rangers, and EMS to keep our community safe."
  • Austin City Councilmember Greg Casar: "George Floyd was killed one year ago, and instead of working on police reform, this group is fear-mongering and trying to avoid police accountability. Their petition drive is about writing a blank check of taxpayer funds to their own department, while cutting off funds for all our other public employees and critical public safety needs. This petition goes directly against what the Black Lives Matter movement is all about."
  • Sukyi McMahon, senior policy director of the Austin Justice Coalition: "The local Republican Party, Gov. Greg Abbott, Congressman Chip Roy, and some of Austin’s wealthiest Republicans are attacking our local democracy once again. They’re trying to force our city to hire 500 more police officers next year even if it means slashing other safety services or public programs."
  • Carol Guthrie, business manager for AFSCME Local 1624: "This petition lifts up one kind of public safety worker over all others and guarantees that Austin will only be able to fund the police department. We need to hire all kinds of different types of staff, from park rangers to EMS and fire personnel, and this petition means cuts to those departments will need to be made."
  • Jennifer Shaw, a senior program officer at the Open Society: "We expanded our support for local police reform efforts in the wake of the murder of George Floyd with the goal of increasing community-based safety. We support the No Way on Prop A campaign because Prop A will not provide comprehensive public safety reform and will reduce the essential services that the people of Austin rely upon."
  • Dr. Bill Spelman, former city councilman and University of Texas professor: "The homicide increase is large and alarming. We need to act. But this is a national problem: Most big cities across the country have seen huge increases in homicide. And there’s no correlation between the number of sworn officers and homicide rates, in the U.S. or in Austin. Experience shows that if police, other City agencies, social services, businesses, and the public all work together, we can solve this problem. But Prop A won’t work, and by diverting resources from other City agencies and social services – and probably requiring tax increases – Prop A would make it harder to keep us safe."


Campaign advertisements

The following videos were released by No Way on Prop A:[14][15]

Title: "Prop A will make Austin LESS safe"
Title: "The Truth about Prop A"
Title: "How will Austin pay for Prop A?"

Media editorials

Ballotpedia identified the following media editorial boards as taking positions on Proposition A.

Ballotpedia lists the positions of media editorial boards that support or oppose ballot measures. This does not include opinion pieces from individuals or groups that do not represent the official position of a newspaper or media outlet. Ballotpedia includes editorials from newspapers and outlets based on circulation and readership, political coverage within a state, and length of publication. You can share media editorial board endorsements with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Support

Ballotpedia did not identify media editorial boards in support of the ballot measure.

Opposition

  • The Austin Chronicle Editorial Board: "Proposition A: AGAINST. Murder in Austin has gone from "vanishingly rare" to "extremely rare" during the Prop A campaign, part of a nationwide trend. This is a fortuitous accident for Save Austin Now's multimillion-dollar campaign machine but should be nothing more than noise to responsible Austin voters who know that they live in one of America's safest big cities, full stop. The 2.0 staffing and "uncommitted time" components of Prop A have been on the wish list of the city's police union since the 1990s, but were rejected as wasteful featherbedding even back when there was approximately zero pressure upon local leaders to stand up to the cop lobby and for those harmed by police misconduct. A generation later, we all – even our new, hired-from-within-APD police chief – know what we need to do to right-size and update our public safety systems to align with Austinites' values. We know that better alternatives to armed police response exist for preventing violence and helping Austinites in crisis."[16]
  • The Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board: "Worse, this ballooning spending on police would be baked into city budgets for decades to come, as a new state law heaps penalties on any large city that tries to scale back its police spending to invest in other priorities. No sensible person would run a business this way, following a costly and arbitrary staffing rule. And Austin should not run APD that way. We strongly urge voters to reject Prop A in the Nov. 2 election."[17]

Campaign finance

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through October 23, 2021.


Save Austin Now PAC was registered to support Proposition A. Save Austin Now PAC also sponsored Proposition B (May 2021). Therefore, the contributions and expenditures listed below are for both ballot initiatives. Through October 23, 2021, Save Austin Now PAC had raised $3.0 million. Equity PAC was registered to oppose Proposition A. The committee reported over $1.1 million in contributions.[18][19][20]

Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Support $3,044,632.14 $0.00 $3,044,632.14 $2,817,066.67 $2,817,066.67
Oppose $1,116,575.41 $68,535.71 $1,185,111.12 $792,818.60 $861,354.31
Total $4,161,207.55 $68,535.71 $4,229,743.26 $3,609,885.27 $3,678,420.98

Support

The contribution and expenditure totals for the committees supporting the ballot measure were as follows:[18]

Committees in support of Proposition A
Committee Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Save Austin Now PAC $3,044,632.14 $0.00 $3,044,632.14 $2,817,066.67 $2,817,066.67
Total $3,044,632.14 $0.00 $3,044,632.14 $2,817,066.67 $2,817,066.67

Donors

The following were the top five donors to the support committee:[18]

Donor Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions
America 2076 $100,000.00 $0.00 $100,000.00
Charles Maund Toyota $100,000.00 $0.00 $100,000.00
Danielle Royston $98,000.00 $0.00 $98,000.00
Joe Liemandt $75,000.00 $0.00 $75,000.00
Philip Canfield $75,000.00 $0.00 $75,000.00

Opposition

The contribution and expenditure totals for the committees opposing the ballot measure were as follows:[19]

Committees in support of Proposition A
Committee Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Equity PAC $1,116,575.41 $68,535.71 $1,185,111.12 $792,818.60 $861,354.31
Total $1,116,575.41 $68,535.71 $1,185,111.12 $792,818.60 $861,354.31

Donors

The following were the top five donors to the support committee:[19]

Donor Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions
Open Society Policy Center $500,000.00 $0.00 $500,000.00
The Fairness Project $200,000.00 $50,526.67 $250,526.67
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies $100,000.00 $0.00 $100,000.00
Sixteen Thirty Fund $100,000.00 $0.00 $100,000.00
AFSCME $25,000.00 $0.00 $25,000.00

Background

Austin City Council's votes on police budget in 2020 and 2021

Reduction in 2020

On August 13, 2020, the Austin City Council approved a $309 million budget for the Austin Police Department for fiscal year 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, the department's budget was $432 million. The total reduction between 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 was about $123 million. The budget reduction also included the elimination of 150 vacant police officer positions.[21][22]

Increase in 2021

In May 2021, the Texas State Legislature passed a bill to decrease state funding to cities that decrease their police budgets, except in cases in which a city's budget decreases overall or in situations where expenses were higher due to capital expenditures or disaster response. State Rep. Craig Goldman (R), one of the bill's authors, said, "As municipalities across this nation are defunding their police departments, are taking money away from the police budgets and putting them elsewhere in their city budgets, this bill makes sure that in the state of Texas, that is not going to be allowed."Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D) responded to the bill, saying, "This summer we saw protests in the streets, we also saw elected officials decide to make decisions because of police brutality. We refuse to improve policing in this state. Instead, we attack those who are trying to take care of our citizens."[23] Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed the bill on June 1, 2021, with an effective date of September 1, 2021.[24]

On August 12, 2021, the Austin City Council approved the budget for fiscal year 2021-2022. The budget included $443 million for the police department, a $134-million increase from 2020-2021 and an $11-million increase from 2019-2020.[25][22] According to KXAN, the $443-million budget for the police department was the highest in the city's history.[26]

Officers per 1,000 residents in Texas

The FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) provides data on the number of law enforcement employees and officers in the United States. In 2019, the UCR reported that Austin, Texas, had 1,802 police officers or 1.90 officers per 1,000 residents. Of the state's ten largest cities, Austin ranked third for the number of police officers per 1,000 residents. Dallas, Texas, ranked first with 2.31 officers per 1,000 residents.[2]

In August 2021, Austin Police Department Interim Police Chief Joseph Chacon said that the department had 1,809 officer positions and of that 1,650 were filled.[26]

City Population (2019) Officers (2019) Officers per 1,000 residents
Dallas 1,330,612 3,075 2.31
Houston 2,310,432 5,264 2.28
Austin 950,807 1,802 1.90
Fort Worth 874,401 1,650 1.89
El Paso 679,813 1,171 1.72
Arlington 395,477 680 1.72
San Antonio 1,508,083 2,297 1.52
Plano 287,064 403 1.40
Corpus Christi 325,780 426 1.31

Police-related ballot measures in 2021

See also: Notable local police-related ballot measures (2021)

In 2021, Ballotpedia covered a selection of local police-related measures concerning police oversight, the powers and structure of oversight commissions, police practices, law enforcement department structure and administration, law enforcement budgets, law enforcement training requirements, law enforcement staffing requirements, and body and dashboard camera footage.

State Jurisdiction Title Election date Description Result
New York Albany Proposal 7 November 2 Increases the authority of the Community Police Review Board over investigations and oversight of complains against police Approveda
Texas Austin Proposition A November 2 Requires a minimum number of police officers and certain police training and sets demographically representative hiring practice guidelines Defeatedd
Washington Bellingham Initiative 2 November 2 Prohibits facial recognition and predictive policing technology Approveda
Colorado Denver Referred Question 2G November 2 Transfers the power to appoint the Independent Monitor to the Office of the Independent Monitor, which is responsible for disciplinary investigations concerning the Denver police and sheriff’s departments, from the mayor to the Citizen Oversight Board Approveda
Minnesota Minneapolis Question 2 November 2 Replaces the police department with a department of public safety in the city charter Defeatedd
Ohio Cleveland Issue 24 November 2 Changes the oversight structure of the Cleveland Police Department Approveda
Michigan Detroit Proposition P August 3 Revises the Detroit City Charter, with multiple changes to the Detroit Police Department included Defeatedd
Texas Austin Proposition C May 1 Establishes the position of the Director of Police Oversight in the city charter Approveda
Texas San Antonio Proposition B May 1 Repeals provisions allowing police officers to collectively bargain with the city Defeatedd
Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Ban No-Knock Warrants Initiative May 18 Requires police to knock on a door, announce their presence, and wait at least 15 seconds before entering a residence to execute a warrant Approveda
Pennsylvania Allegheny County Prohibit Solitary Confinement Initiative May 18 Prohibits the solitary confinement of persons held in the Allegheny County Jail Approveda
Illinois Oak Park Police Defunding Advisory Question April 6 Advises the city to defund the police department Defeatedd


In 2020, Ballotpedia identified 20 police-related measures in 10 cities and four counties within seven states that appeared on local ballots. All 20 of the ballot measure were approved.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Texas

In Austin, initiative petitioners must gather 20,000 signatures to qualify an initiative for the ballot. The requirement is based on five percent of the qualified voters in the city or 20,000, whichever is smaller. The deadline to collect signatures to qualify for the 2021 ballot was July 22, 2021. If petitioners collect enough signatures, their initiative is sent to the city council, which must either approve the initiative or put it on the ballot for the next allowable election date.[27][28][29]

On May 26, 2021, Save Austin Now announced the proposed petition to increase the staffing of the city's police.[9]

On July 19, Save Austin Now submitted 27,778 signatures.[30]

On August 3, 2021, the Austin City Clerk announced that a sampling of a quarter of the submitted signatures projected 25,786 valid signatures, 5,786 more than the minimum requirement. The city council had ten days to approve the ordinance itself or to put the initiative on the ballot. The deadline for the city council to put the initiative on the November 2, 2021 ballot was August 16.[29][31]

On August 11, the city council voted unanimously to put the initiative on the ballot.[3]

On August 16, 2021, Save Austin Now filed a lawsuit against the ballot language drafted by the Austin City Council.[6]

On September 2, the city council voted to adopt the ballot language ordered by the Texas Supreme Court.[32]

Lawsuit

  
Lawsuit overview
Issue: Whether the ballot language is biased against the proposed initiative
Court: Third Court of Appeals;Texas Supreme Court
Ruling: The ballot language submitted by petitioners complied with state law and should appear on the ballot.
Plaintiff(s): Save Austin NowDefendant(s): Austin City Council; City of Austin
Plaintiff argument:
The ballot language as written by the city council is biased against the proposition because it doesn't include key provisions of the initiative, and the estimated fiscal cost is also misleading.		Defendant argument:
The ballot language does comply with the city's charter.

  Source: Austin-American Statesman

On August 16, 2021, Save Austin Now filed a lawsuit against the ballot language drafted by the Austin City Council. The lawsuit was filed simultaneously with the Third Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court. Save Austin Now argued that the city should use the caption that was printed on the initiative when it was circulated. They also argued that the city council's description was selective because it did not describe diversity initiatives and 40 additional training hours for officers on handling dangerous situations. Lastly, they argued that the five-year cost estimate was exaggerated. The ballot language proposed by Save Austin Now and the Austin City Council can be found below.[6]

Text written by Save Austin Now[33]

“ A petitioned ordinance to enhance public safety and police oversight, transparency and accountability by adding a new Chapter 2-16 to establish minimum standards for the police department to ensure effective public safety and protect residents and visitors to Austin, and prescribing minimal requirements for achieving the same.[7] ”

Text written by Austin City Council[33]

“ Shall an ordinance be approved that, at an estimated cost of $271.5 million - $598.8 million over five years, requires the City to employ at least 2 police officers per 1,000 residents at all times; requires at least 35% of patrol officer time be uncommitted time, otherwise known as community engagement time; requires additional financial incentives for certain officers; requires specific kinds of training for officers and certain public officials and their staffs; and requires there be at least three full-term cadet classes for the department until staffing levels reach a specific level?[7] ”

On September 1, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the city had to use the language used during circulation and drafted by Save Austin Now. The court ruled that the language complied with state law and that the city council was correct in adding a fiscal impact statement.[33]

Reports and analyses

Note: The inclusion of a report, white page, or study concerning a ballot measure in this article does not indicate that Ballotpedia agrees with the conclusions of that study or that Ballotpedia necessarily considers the study to have a sound methodology, accurate conclusions, or a neutral basis. To read a full explanation of Ballotpedia's policy on the inclusion of reports and analyses, please click here. If you would like to submit a report or analysis to be considered for inclusion in this section, email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Fiscal analysis of proposed ordinance

Ed Van Eenoo, the chief financial officer for Austin, Texas, wrote a fiscal analysis for the mayor and city council regarding the proposed ordinance. It was written on August 10, 2021. The analysis concluded that the five-year cumulative cost to the city ranged from $271.5 million ($54.3 million on average per year) to $598.8 million ($119.8 million on average per year). The analysis states that the difference in the ranges depends on the exact number of officers hired to meet the ordinance's requirements. On the low end, the city would need to hire 316 officers in the first year and a total of 403 officers over five years. On the higher end of the range, an estimated 680 officers would need to be added in the first year with an estimated total of 885 officers over the five years. These numbers are dependent on personnel turnover rates, population growth, wage growth, and other operational and capital costs (e.g. additional police stations).[34]

The full text of the fiscal analysis can be found here.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Texas

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Texas.

See also

External links

Support

Opposition

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Save Austin Now PAC, "Petition to save Austin Now by Ensuring Properly Funded, Trained And Accountable Police Protection," accessed July 16, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 FBI, "Uniform Crime Reports - Texas," accessed August 18, 2021
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Community Impact Newspaper, "City Council votes to add Save Austin Now police staffing proposition to Nov. 2 ballot," August 12, 2021
  4. ↑ Save Austin Now PAC," "Why Prop A?" accessed September 21, 2021
  5. ↑ Austin Monitor, "Public safety looms over city budget talks," accessed September 21, 2021
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Austin American-Statesman, "Save Austin Now seeks court order forcing Austin to rewrite ballot language on police staffing," August 16, 2021
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  8. ↑ Save Austin Now, accessed July 16, 2021
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 KVUE, "Austin group filing petition to put a measure on November ballot against City's revised police budget," May 26, 2021
  10. ↑ YouTube, "Don't Give Up On Austin," accessed October 11, 2021
  11. ↑ YouTube, "Prop A Is About Austin's Safety. Safe Parks, Safe Streets, and Safe Neighborhoods.," accessed October 11, 2021
  12. ↑ YouTube, "Austin Dems For Prop A," accessed October 11, 2021
  13. ↑ Austin Chronicle, "Yay, Nay Campaigns on Proposition A Get Underway," September 9, 2021
  14. ↑ YouTube, "The Truth about Prop A," accessed October 11, 2021
  15. ↑ YouTube, "How will Austin pay for Prop A?" accessed October 11, 2021
  16. ↑ Austin Chronicle, "Chronicle Endorsements," October 15, 2021
  17. ↑ Austin American-Statesman, "No on Prop A," accessed October 18, 2021
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Austin, Texas, "Save Austin Now PAC," accessed August 17, 2021
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Austin, Texas, "Equity PAC," accessed September 17, 2021
  20. ↑ This number includes contributions filed after the 30-day pre-election report filed September 23, 2021.
  21. ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Austin City Council cuts police department budget by one-third, mainly through reorganizing some duties out from law enforcement oversight," August 13, 2020
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 KVUE, "Austin City Council unanimously approves fiscal year 2021-22 budget," August 12, 2021
  23. ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Texas’ larger cities would face financial penalties for cutting police budgets under bill approved by House," May 6, 2021
  24. ↑ Texas State Legislature, "HB 1900," accessed August 18, 2021
  25. ↑ Austin, Texas, "Austin City Council Approves Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Budget," August 12, 2021
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 KXAN, "Austin City Council approves $4.5 billion budget, record police funding," August 12, 2021
  27. ↑ austintexas.gov, "Initiative Petitions," accessed July 16, 2021
  28. ↑ KVUE, "Save Austin Now responds to proposed city budget," July 12, 2021
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 austintexas.gov, "Austin City Charter, Article IV, § 1. Power of Initiative," accessed July 21
  30. ↑ KVUE, "Save Austin Now PAC submits more than 25,600 signatures in #MakeAustinSafe initiative," July 19, 2021
  31. ↑ Austin American-Statesman, "Austin voters will get to decide on proposal to raise police staffing levels," August 3, 2021
  32. ↑ Austin Monitor, "Council OKs new ballot language for Prop A," September 3, 2021
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 KUT, "Texas Supreme Court Orders Austin City Council To Change Ballot Language For Police Staffing Measure," September 1, 2021
  34. ↑ Austin.gov, "Fiscal Analysis of 2.0 Officers Per 1,000 Ballot Petition," August 10, 2021
  35. ↑ VoteTexas.gov, "Who, What, Where, When, How," accessed February 27, 2023
  36. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Request for Voter Registration Applications,” accessed February 27, 2023
  37. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Voter Registration,” accessed February 27, 2023
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed July 28, 2024
  39. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Request for Voter Registration Applications," accessed July 28, 2024
  40. ↑ Texas Constitution and Statutes, “Election Code,” accessed February 23, 2023
  41. ↑ The Texas Tribune, “Texas officials flag tens of thousands of voters for citizenship checks,” January 25, 2019
  42. ↑ The New York Times, “Federal Judge Halts ‘Ham-Handed’ Texas Voter Purge,” February 28, 2019
  43. ↑ The New York Times, “Texas Ends Review That Questioned Citizenship of Almost 100,000 Voters,” April 26, 2019
  44. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Secretary Whitley Announces Settlement In Litigation On Voter Registration List Maintenance Activity,” April 26, 2019
  45. ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 46.4 Texas Secretary of State, "Required Identification for Voting in Person," accessed February 27, 2023 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "tvid" defined multiple times with different content
Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Austin,_Texas,_Proposition_A,_Police_Policies_on_Minimum_Number_of_Officers,_Training_Requirements,_and_Demographic_Representation_Initiative_(November_2021)&oldid=9129811"