Proposition 10, Nacogdoches City Charter Amendment, Initiative and Referendum (November 2009)

The Proposition 10, Nacogdoches City Charter Amendment, Initiative and Referendum was on the November 3 ballot in Nacogdoches County for voters in the city of Nacogdoches.

This charter amendment sought to give the city residents the ability to have an initiative or a referendum petitioned to be on the ballot. This allows residents to initiate or repeal an ordinance that was decided upon by a previous petition. In order for voters to get an initiative or referendum on a ballot they would need to collect 2,500 signatures or 15 percent of registered city voters. Opponents stated that even though there is a need for voters to have this kind of power, the number of signatures needed to even initiate this process is far too great to obtain. They hope that voters will realize that a 'no' vote doesn't mean the issue will never be brought up again, but that instead, in two years, the question can be brought forth again but with a lower signature requirement. But those in favor cite that the large number of signatures is a positive thing because it will ensure that this petition process will not get abused by the county voters.

Even though this amendment was defeated, those who were opposed to it still want to try again, but next time get it with a lower signature amount which would be needed to get a petition passed. Opponents saw the voter turnout as them saying they too thought the signature requirement was too high and hope that this still will be a possible amendment in the future.

Election results

The measure was defeated.

City Charter Amendment
Result		Votes	Percentage
d No		641	54.5%
Yes		536	45.5%
Total votes		1,177	100.00%
Voter turnout		n/a%

External links

• City Website