Election Results: Prop A fails, state constitutional amendments pass

AUSTIN, Texas - November 2 was Election Day and in Texas, voters decided on eight proposed amendments to the state constitution as well as dozens of local issues and races as well.

In Austin, one of the most talked-about and controversial items on the ballot was Proposition A, which would have required the city to hire at least two police officers per every 1,000 residents. In the end, 69% voted against it while 31% voted in favor of it. During early voting, results showed it was overwhelmingly against Prop A and that held as Election Day came. 

Austin voters also decided on Proposition B and voted yes for it. Prop B allows the city to trade nine acres of city-owned parkland for another piece of land that could be used as a park. The current property up for grabs is the Central Maintenance Complex on South Lakeshore Boulevard. The land is now available for private bidders to purchase and use as they see fit.

All state constitutional amendments on the ballot passed.

Highlights on the big items on the ballot can be seen below.

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Election results for the City of Austin

Click here for election results for the City of Austin. Voters in Austin voted on two propositions for the City of Austin special election on November 2. 

As it stands right now, 69% have voted no, 31% for yes on Prop A. 

Proposition A (Policing) - FAIL

For 46,433 31%
Against 102,791 69%
Updated at 11 p.m.

"The people of Austin know that we are one of the safest big cities in the country and I think this election was in part about that," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said. "Our numbers are going up for murders but they are going up across the country. We need to deal with that but that doesn’t mean we aren’t a safe city. We have 200 funded un-filled police positions right now, we need to fill those."

"I do believe we moved things in a meaningful direction and I do believe this council will have to move in favor of public safety probably not as far as we would have liked or as far as Prop A would have taken us they won’t, at least not in the short term but that leads us to next year and so the commitment I want to make to you is we aren’t going anywhere," said Matt Mackowiak, a co-founder of Save Austin Now. "We aren’t going to save Austin now tonight but we will but I promise you we will."

The Austin Justice Coalition released the following statement following the election: 

"The voters of Austin overwhelmingly rejected the politics of fear yesterday, and renewed their commitment to a more just public safety system, a more just city budget, and a more just city overall. It cannot be overstated: Prop A was not just voted down. It went down in flames.

Austin voters sent a resounding message of support for a comprehensive approach to public safety that includes improvements to our parks and youth programs, better EMS and fire protection, public and mental health services. And voters want to improve public safety without sacrificing libraries or community centers or no-kill. That means a balance, allowing Austin leaders to invest in all kinds of services that meet people’s real needs.

Austin voters also sent a clear message to the Travis County Republican Party and the Austin Police Association -- when the people of Austin are informed, hope trumps fear, truth trumps lies, and progress trumps the status quo. City officials must now renew their commitment to the Reimagine Public Safety process and begin implementing the recommendations of the Task Force.

The huge coalition that came together, more than 120 organizations strong, needs to get even stronger in the coming months to preserve this victory and build on it. Austin Justice Coalition will strengthen those bonds as part of our new "District Organizing: Project Engage (DOPE)" that aims to further structure our support across town. We look forward to helping to make Austin a model city for transformative public safety. Our thanks goes out to our amazing community and supporters for seizing this victory."

Prop A would have required that:

• Austin always employs at least two sworn police officers for every 1,000 Austin residents.
• Police officers spend at least 35% of their time in community engagement.
• The City holds enough full-term police cadet classes until the department returns to the numbers of police officers prescribed in the 2019-2020 city budget.
• All sworn police officers spend an additional 40 hours each year in mandatory continuing education and in-service training (above the hours required by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement), with an emphasis on training outside a classroom setting intended to equip the officers to handle evolving, fluid, dangerous situations and enhance their own safety and that of the public.
• Increase pay or paid time off for police officers who speak one of the five most common non-English languages spoken in the city or who participate in a mentoring program for new police cadets; officers would also be eligible for added pay or paid time off every five years if they are in good standing.

Over the next five years, the estimated cost of Proposition A would be $271.5 million - $598.8 million. View a factsheet about Prop A – including the full ballot language here: English version. Spanish version.

Proposition B (Parkland) - PASS

For 106,795 7 74%
Against 38,116 26%
Updated at 11 p.m.

If Proposition B is passed, the city would look to sell, lease, or exchange nine acres of park property (known as Central Maintenance Complex located 2525 S. Lakeshore Blvd) in exchange for:

• at least 48 acres of waterfront land, and
• the cost of a new maintenance facility on another City-owned land to be determined, and
• partial or full funding for the removal of Fiesta Garden’s existing maintenance facility (located at 2202 Jesse E. Segovia Street) and restoration of that land to parkland.

Proposition B would start the process of making additional parkland available to city residents. The city will issue a solicitation for proposals and will select from proposals that meet the minimum criteria outlined in the ballot language. View a factsheet about Prop B – including the full ballot language here: English version. Spanish version.

Election results for the City of Buda

Click here for election results for the City of Buda. 

Voters in Buda voted on two propositions and the At Large Position 3 on the Buda City Council for the City of Buda special election on November 2. Virginia Jurika, LaVonia Horne-Williams, and Emily Jones are all on the ballot for the open At Large Position 3 on the Buda City Council.

Proposition A - PASS

For 569 75%
Against 188 25% 
Updated at 1 p.m.

The city is asking voters to approve roughly $73.5 million just for one proposition — transportation projects. Many of them set out to make roads safer and more pedestrian and bike-friendly. There are several roads that would be reconstructed under Proposition A.

Proposition B - PASS

For 478 63%
Against 279 37%
Updated at 11 p.m.

The City of Buda is also asking voters to approve another $16 million for parks and recreation projects. Click here to see a sample ballot.

Election results for the City of Kyle

Click here for election results for the City of Kyle. 

Voters in Kyle were tasked with electing members to Kyle City Council Districts 5 and 6, each for three-year terms.

District 5

District 5 Council Member Mayor Pro Tem Rick Koch ran against challengers Donny Wills, Leah Kaufman, and Daniela Parsley. Wills received 13.3% of the vote or 236 votes; Kaufman received 22.94% of the vote or 407 votes; Koch received 36.19% of the vote or 642 votes; and Parsley received 27.56% of the vote or 489 votes.

A runoff election has been set for Dec. 7.

District 6

District 6 Council Member Michael Tobias ran unopposed and won with 100% of the vote or 302 votes. 

Election results for the City of Pflugerville

Preliminary results for the City of Pflugerville are available online for Travis and Williamson counties.

Council Member Place 3

Preliminary results show Kimberly Holiday with 3,050 votes, Bradley Scott Hickman with 2,430 votes and Adline "A.K." Brewer with 470 votes. 

Council Member Place 5

Jim McDonald received 3,120 votes and Mike Heath received 2,752 votes.

Amendments to Home Rule Charter - ALL PASS

Preliminary results show that all thirteen amendments to the City of Pflugerville’s Home Rule Charter passed. These charter amendments include changes to procedure, city departments and staffing, gender neutral wording and compliance with state law.

Travis County ESD No. 17 annexation propositions - FAIL

Travis County’s preliminary results also indicate that the Travis County ESD No. 17 annexation propositions failed in the City of Pflugerville and ETJ. City Council will continue discussion and consideration of a private EMS contract with Acadian Ambulance Services of Texas at their next meeting, says the city of Pflugerville.

Election results for local school districts

Two Central Texas school districts also had items up for a vote. 

The Leander Independent School District had three props on the ballot as part of its $727 billion bond package. It appears Prop A, which called for the construction of new schools and maintenance, narrowly was rejected. Prop B, calling for broadband improvements, passed and Prop C, which asked for renovating performing arts centers and auditoriums in high schools, was rejected.

Georgetown Independent School District also was asked to approve more than $380 million in school bond improvements. Below are the results:

• Prop A - $333 million for new schools and buses - Pass
• Prop B - $16.5 million for district-wide technology improvements - Pass
• Prop C - $7.3 million for renovations and improvements to district performing arts center - Fail
• Prop D - $23 million for district swim center - Fail
• Prop E - $850,000 on improvements to Georgetown High School tennis complex - Fail

Election results for proposed amendments to state Constitution

Click here to see how voters voted on the proposed amendments to the state Constitution.

Proposition 1: rodeo raffles - PASS

Proposition 1 would allow charitable raffles at rodeo events. Unauthorized raffles can be considered illegal gambling under Texas law.

In 2015, voters approved a rule to allow charitable raffles at professional sports games. The resulting change created fundraising opportunities for education, cancer research and youth programs, according to an amendment analysis.

The constitutional amendment on the ballot this November would extend that permission to rodeo events by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association or the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.

Proposition 2: tax financing for county infrastructure - PASS

This amendment would authorize counties to issue bonds or notes to raise funds for transportation infrastructure in underdeveloped areas. Already, cities and towns have the authority to fund projects with this financing method.

Counties would repay these bonds by pledging increased property tax revenues, but these funds cannot be used for construction, maintenance or acquisition of toll roads.

Proposition 3: restrictions on religious services - PASS

If approved, Proposition 3 would ban the state from prohibiting or limiting religious services, including those in churches and other places of worship.

The move stems from conflicts over churches that closed during the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Some local officials extended stay-at-home orders to include places of worship, requiring them to limit attendance or make services virtual — a trend Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans pushed back on.

But critics of the proposal worry the change could prevent the government from acting to protect people in future emergencies, such as evacuations and public health emergencies.

Proposition 4: state judge eligibility - PASS

Proposition 4 would require candidates to have 10 years of experience practicing law in Texas to be eligible for election to the Texas Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals or a Texas court of appeals. Currently, the law requires 10 years of experience but allows for out-of-state experience.

Additionally, candidates running to be a district judge would need eight years of law practice or judicial experience in a Texas court, up from the current requirement of four years.

Proponents of the change argue it could create a higher-quality judiciary, but opponents say the proposed requirements could reduce voter choice and diversity within the candidate pool. In Texas, judges are elected by popular vote.

Proposition 5: judicial misconduct process - PASS

Proposition 5 would allow the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to have oversight of candidates running for judicial seats by accepting complaints or reports, conducting investigations and reprimanding them. The commission, an independent agency created by the state Constitution, already has these powers over current judicial officeholders.

Proposition 6: essential caregiver designation - PASS

This amendment would allow residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities to designate one essential caregiver who cannot be denied in-person visitation rights. If the proposition passes, the Legislature would create further guidelines for these caregivers.

Like Proposition 3, Proposition 6 also comes as a response to pandemic-era restrictions. Nursing homes, which were hit particularly hard by COVID-19, saw extended visitation restrictions that prevented residents from seeing family and friends for months.

Proposition 7: property tax exemptions for bereaved families - PASS

Proposition 7 would put a limit on school district property taxes incurred by the surviving spouse of a person with disabilities older than 65 who has died. The surviving spouse must be at least 55 years old at the partner’s time of death and still live in the home.

The amendment is necessary to update the Constitution in accordance with the tax code, which was modified in the 2019 legislative session to include this change. If approved, individuals eligible for these tax breaks could receive refunds on collections in 2020 and 2021.

The resolution could reduce school district property tax revenue and increase state funding in accordance with Texas public school funding formulas, according to an analysis of the amendment. However, the exact cost of the change cannot be estimated because the number of surviving spouses is unknown.

Proposition 8: property tax exemptions for military families - PASS

Proposition 8 would expand eligibility for residential homestead tax exemptions to include spouses of military members killed or fatally injured in the line of duty. Currently, the exemption is extended to spouses of military members killed in action. The new eligibility would include people killed in accidental vehicle crashes or non-hostile events.

This exemption would apply to fewer than 10 people per year, according to an analysis of the amendment.

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