Austin, Texas, Proposition D, Change Mayoral Elections to Coincide with Presidential Election Years Initiative (May 2021)
| Austin Proposition D | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date May 1, 2021 | |
| Topic Local elections and campaigns and City governance | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Initiative | Origin Citizens |
Austin Proposition D was on the ballot as an initiative in Austin on May 1, 2021. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported aligning mayoral elections with presidential election years instead of gubernatorial elections years beginning in 2024, meaning the mayor elected in 2022 would only serve a two-year term. |
A "no" vote opposed aligning mayoral elections with presidential election years, thereby maintaining their alignment with gubernatorial elections years. |
A simple majority was required for the approval of Proposition D.
Election results
|
Austin Proposition D |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
102,174 | 66.47% | ||
| No | 51,536 | 33.53% | ||
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- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Proposition D was as follows:
| “ | Shall the City Charter be amended to transition the election for mayor from gubernatorial election years to presidential election years, providing that the mayor elected in 2022 will serve a 2-year term and then mayoral elections will occur on the same date as presidential elections starting in 2024? | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Support
Austinites for Progressive Reform led the Yes on D campaign in support of Proposition D.[1]
Arguments
- Yes on D campaign said on their website, " To ensure the most representative and accountable government, the mayor should be elected by the city’s largest and most representative electorate. A YES on D will provide that the mayor elected in 2022 will serve a two-year term, so the city can hold a mayoral election in the higher-turnout 2024 election and every four years thereafter."[1]
Campaign advertisements
The following video was released by Yes on D:[2]
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Opposition
If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Background
Mayoral elections in Austin
The last mayoral election held in Austin prior to the vote on Proposition D was on November 6, 2018. Voter turnout for the election was 41.73%. Stephen Adler won the re-election with 59.1%[3]
In Austin, when a mayoral candidate does not receive a simple majority of the votes runoff elections are held. This occurred in 2014. A runoff election took place on December 16, 2014, to decide the outcome of the mayoral and remaining city council races. In that election, Stephen Adler defeated Mike Martinez in the mayoral race. The turnout for the runoff election was 13.3%.[4]
The mayor is a member of the city council. He or she presides over council meetings and official city ceremonies. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national and international levels.[5]
Austinites for Progressive Reform sponsored four other initiatives that appeared on Austin ballots on May 1, 2021.
- Proposition E: Designed to enact ranked-choice voting once state law authorized it
Proposition F: Designed to change city governance from a council-manager system to a mayor-council system- Proposition G: Designed to add an additional city council district, thereby increasing the total number of city council members from 10 to 11
- Proposition H: Designed to adopt a public campaign finance program that provides $25 to registered voters to contribute to campaigns of qualifying candidates
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a successful indirect initiative petition drive. In Austin, to place an initiated charter amendment on the ballot petitioners must collect 5% of qualified voters of the city or 20,000, whichever number is the smaller. As of January 2021, the number of qualified voters in Travis County was 553,166, and 5% of the qualified voters was 27,658.[6]
On January 11, Austinites for Progressive Reform, the campaign sponsoring Proposition D, Proposition E, Proposition F, Proposition G, and Proposition H, submitted 24,000 signatures in support of all five petitions. On February 9, 2021, the Austin City Council voted to certify the initiatives to the ballot.[7]
See also
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External links
Support |
OppositionSubmit links to editor@ballotpedia.org. |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Yes on D, "Home, " accessed March 9, 2021
- ↑ YouTube, "Move Election Date to Presidential Year: Austinites for Progressive Reform," accessed March 9, 2021
- ↑ Travis County Elections, "Election Results," accessed March 9, 2021
- ↑ Who Votes for Mayor, "Austin," accessed March 9, 2021
- ↑ City of Austin, "Government," accessed August 11, 2014
- ↑ Austintexas.gov, "General Information: Initiative, Referendum, and Recall," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ KVUE, "Austin City Council votes to let voters decide on 'strong mayor' government proposal on May ballot," February 9, 2021
