Notable local police-related ballot measures (2021)

This page features notable local police-related ballot measures on the ballot in 2021.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ballotpedia covered 12 notable police-related local ballot measures in 2021.

Voters in Albany, New York; Austin, Texas; Bellingham, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Cleveland decided on police policy measures on November 2.

Minneapolis voters defeated an initiative to replace the city's police department with a department of public safety.

Austin voters defeated an initiative to establish a minimum police staffing requirement designed to increase the number of police officers in the city and set training requirements and diversity incentives.

In 2021, Ballotpedia covered local measures that appeared on the ballot for voters within the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. and all state capitals, including those outside of the top 100 largest cities. Ballotpedia covered a selection of notable police-related and election-related measures outside of the top 100 largest cities. Ballotpedia also covered all local measures in California and all statewide ballot measures. Click here to see the scope of Ballotpedia local ballot measure coverage by year.

Ballotpedia considered the following questions in deciding whether to include a police-related measure on this page:

• Is the measure being proposed in response to events involving the use of force by police or related protests, either in the city or county itself or elsewhere in the state or country?
• Are references to the use of force by police, related protests, or proposed reductions in law enforcement funding central to the messaging of campaigns supporting or opposing the measure?
• Does the topic of the measure relate to one of the following:
  • police oversight;
  • the powers and structure of oversight commissions;
  • police and incarceration practices;
  • law enforcement department structure and administration;
  • law enforcement budgets;
  • law enforcement training requirements;
  • law enforcement staffing requirements; and
  • body and dashboard camera footage.

2021 local measures

On the ballot

The following chart contains the name and a description of each measure on the ballot.

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	a
Texas	Austin	Proposition A	November 2	Requires a minimum number of police officers and certain police training and sets demographically representative hiring practice guidelines	d
Washington	Bellingham	Initiative 2	November 2	Prohibits facial recognition and predictive policing technology	a
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	a
Minnesota	Minneapolis	Question 2	November 2	Replaces the police department with a department of public safety in the city charter	d
Ohio	Cleveland	Issue 24	November 2	Changes the oversight structure of the Cleveland Police Department	a
Michigan	Detroit	Proposition P	August 3	Revises the Detroit City Charter, with multiple changes to the Detroit Police Department included	d
Texas	Austin	Proposition C	May 1	Establishes the position of the Director of Police Oversight in the city charter	a
Texas	San Antonio	Proposition B	May 1	Repeals provisions allowing police officers to collectively bargain with the city	d
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	a
Pennsylvania	Allegheny County	Prohibit Solitary Confinement Initiative	May 18	Prohibits the solitary confinement of persons held in the Allegheny County Jail	a
Illinois	Oak Park	Police Defunding Advisory Question	April 6	Advises the city to defund the police department	d

If you know of a local ballot measure that should be included here, please email editor@ballotpedia.org

2020 notable police-related local ballot measures

Responses and reactions to the death of George Floyd

• Events following the death of George Floyd

• Derek Chauvin trial, 2021

• Changes to policing policy in the states and 100 largest cities, 2020

• Local police-related ballot measures

• Largest cities in the United States by population

• List of current mayors of the top 100 cities in the United States

• Federal policy on crime and justice, 2017-2020

• Federal politics

• State politics

See also: Local police-related ballot measures following the killing of and protests about George Floyd (November 2020)

HIGHLIGHTS

Ballotpedia identified 20 local police-related ballot measures on the ballot for November 3, 2020, that qualified following the death of George Floyd.

All 20 measures were approved, but at least two were overturned after the election.

Local ballot measures were on the ballot in 10 cities and four counties within seven states. Cities and counties that voted on these police-related issues in November included:

○ Los Angeles County, California
○ Oakland, California
○ San Diego, California
○ San Francisco, California
○ San Jose, California

○ Sonoma County, California
○ DuPage County, Illinois
○ Akron, Ohio
○ Columbus, Ohio
○ Portland, Oregon

○ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
○ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
○ Kyle, Texas
○ King County, Washington

Click here to read the page on notable police-related local ballot measures in 2020.

Responses in 2020 to the killing of George Floyd and subsequent events

See also: Changes to policing policy in the states and 100 largest cities, 2020

For a full list of policy changes made in response to the killing of George Floyd and subsequent events, click here.

See also

• Changes to policing policy in the states and 100 largest cities, 2020
• Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020
• Local law enforcement on the ballot