Voters in League City, a Houston-area suburb, have rejected their police department's use of 55 license plate cameras, meaning the devices will be taken out of service.
Here's what to know
With all precincts reporting, just under 54% of the 46,400 votes on Proposition A supported camera removal, according to Galveston County election results, The Texas Tribune reported.
Each vehicle that passes the cameras has its license plate number, make, model, and paint color recorded. Bumper stickers and dents are among the other identifying details the cameras record.
Proposition A put the police department's continued use of these Flock devices to a public vote.
More background
Texas voters had not previously voted on police use of the increasingly controversial cameras, according to The Texas Tribune.
By late August, an estimated 13,000 Flock cameras were placed statewide. However, several cities and counties have since canceled their Flock Safety agreements and deactivated the devices, reducing that total.
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Unlike residents of York, Maine, who voted on a similar proposition while camera operations were suspended pending the election, League City voters went to the polls with their system still running, according to The Texas Tribune.
The City Council committed to removing the cameras if voters rejected their use when it passed a second resolution in mid-October. The ballot measure had originally been described as a nonbinding way to gauge public sentiment.
Certification of the election results starts a 72-hour window for League City to take down or bag the 55 cameras.
Where can I learn more?
Communities across Texas and beyond are debating the use of Flock cameras.
• In Texas, El Paso blocked future Flock cameras after privacy concerns forced earlier removals.
• Texas bought 3,200 Flock cameras using a $1 car insurance surcharge targeting converter theft.
• Jersey Village, Texas, became an early launchpad for Flock cameras' nationwide expansion.
• In Texas, a 60-year robbery sentence is testing the limits of Flock cameras.
• An Ohio city banned license-plate readers, citing concerns about big-tech surveillance overreach.
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