Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Austin, Texas, Proposition E, Ranked Choice Voting Initiative (May 2021)
| Austin Proposition E | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date May 1, 2021 | |
| Topic Local electoral systems and Local charter amendments | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Initiative | Origin Citizens |
Austin Proposition E was on the ballot as an initiative in Austin on May 1, 2021. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported amending the city's charter to implement the use of ranked-choice voting for city elections if permitted by state law. |
A "no" vote opposed amending the city's charter to implement the use of ranked-choice voting for city elections if permitted by state law, thereby maintaining local runoff elections. |
A simple majority was required for the approval of Proposition E. However, the measure would not take effect until and unless a state law is passed authorizing local jurisdictions to use ranked-choice voting.
Election results
|
Austin Proposition E |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
87,604 | 57.95% | ||
| No | 63,560 | 42.05% | ||
Overview
What did Proposition E do?
- See also: Ranked-choice voting (RCV)
Proposition E was designed to implement ranked-choice voting for city elections if the system is permitted by state law. A ranked-choice voting system (RCV) is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, he or she is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated. First-preference votes cast for the failed candidate are eliminated, lifting the second-preference choices indicated on those ballots. A new tally is conducted to determine whether any candidate has won a majority of the adjusted votes. The process is repeated until a candidate wins an outright majority.
Going into the election, Austin held runoff elections when no candidate reaches the required majority vote threshold for victory according to a requirement set by state law.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Proposition E was as follows:
| “ | Shall the City Charter be amended to provide for the use of ranked choice voting in city elections, if such voting is permitted by state law? | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Support
Austinites for Progressive Reform led the Yes on E campaign in support of Proposition E.[1]
Supporters
- Common Ground for Texans[2]
- Democracy Policy Network[2]
- FairVote[2]
- More Equitable Democracy Action[2]
- Represent.Us[2]
Arguments
- FairVote said, "Because two-round runoffs require two elections, they can result in a different group of voters participating in the final round than the first one: generally, fewer voters overall, and a less representative group of voters."[1]
Opposition
If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Opponents
- Austin Chamber of Commerce[3]
Background
Ranked-choice voting in Texas
Based on state law as of May 2021, if no candidate receives more than 50% of votes cast in a Texas municipal election, the top two candidates proceed to a runoff election. According to the city of Austin Law Department, ranked-choice voting was not permitted under Texas state law. A spokesperson for the department said, "Ranked-choice voting would not be implemented in Austin until or unless the Texas Constitution was amended and/or until the state Legislature amended the Texas Election Code to allow it." "Preferential voting," another term used to describe ranked-choice voting, was in the Texas Election Code but was removed in 1985.[4]
As of March 2021, Ballotpedia identified the following legislation related to ranked-choice voting introduced during the 2021 Texas legislative session:[5][6]
- Senate Bill 537 sponsored by Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D)
- House Bill 117 sponsored by Rep. Terry Meza (D)
- House Bill 740 sponsored by Rep. Art Fierro (D)
- House Bill 2460 sponsored by Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D)
- House Bill 2457 sponsored by Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D)
Ranked-choice voting (RCV)
| Ranked-choice voting (RCV) ballot measures | |
|---|---|
| Pages: • Ranked-choice voting (RCV) • History of RCV ballot measures • Electoral systems on the ballot • Local electoral systems on the ballot • Electoral systems by state | |
- See also: Ranked-choice voting (RCV)
The ballot measure has played a role in shaping electoral systems in the U.S., including ranked-choice voting (RCV) for state and local elections.
Since 1915, there have been more than 150 ballot measures to adopt or repeal ranked-choice voting systems. Ashtabula, Ohio, was the first jurisdiction to approve a ranked-choice voting measure in 1915.
RCV is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates on their ballots. RCV can be used for single-winner elections or multi-winner elections; when used for multi-winner elections, the system has also been called single-transferable vote or proportional representation. These terms were often used to describe multi-winner RCV before the 1970s. You can learn more about ranked-choice voting systems and policies here.
Local RCV ballot measures
Between 1965 and 2024, 79 ranked-choice voting (RCV) local ballot measures were on the ballot in 58 jurisdictions in 19 states.
- Ballotpedia has located 71 local ballot measures to adopt RCV. Voters approved 52 (78.9%) and rejected 15 (21.1%).
- There were eight local ballot measures to repeal RCV. Voters approved four (50.0%) and rejected four (50.0%).
- The year with the most local RCV ballot measures was 2022, when nine were on the ballot in nine jurisdictions. Voters approved seven of them.
- The state with the most local ballot measures related to RCV is California, where there have been 13.
The following table shows the number of ranked-choice voting measures by topic.
| Local ranked-choice vote measures by topic and outcome, 1965 - April 2025 | |||||
| Topic | Total | Approved | Approved (%) | Defeated | Defeated (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adopt RCV | 72 | 57 | 79.2% | 15 | 20.08% |
| Repeal RCV | 8 | 4 | 50.0% | 4 | 50.0% |
| Total | 80 | 61 | 76.3% | 19 | 23.7% |
Austinites for Progressive Reform sponsored four other initiatives that appeared on Austin ballots on May 1, 2021.
- Proposition D: Designed to align mayoral elections with presidential election years instead of gubernatorial elections years beginning in 2024
- 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.[7]
On January 11, Austinites for Progressive Reform, the campaign sponsoring Proposition E, Proposition D, Proposition F, Proposition G, and Proposition H, submitted 24,000 signatures in support of all four petitions. On January 26, the city clerk certified the petition has sufficient. On February 9, 2021, the Austin City Council voted to certify the initiatives to the ballot.[8]
See also
External links
Support |
OppositionSubmit links to editor@ballotpedia.org. |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Yes on E, "Home," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Yes on E, "Endorsements," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ Austin Chamber of Commerce, "May 2021 City of Austin propositions voter guide," accessed April 5, 2021
- ↑ Community Impact, "Legality of ranked-choice voting prompts disagreement between supporters, Austin city attorneys," January 15, 2021
- ↑ Yes on E, "Full text of amendment," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ Texas Legislature Online, "Legislation Search," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ 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
