League City, Texas, voters told their police department to stop using 55 Flock license plate cameras on Tuesday, casting 25,538 votes against Proposition A and 21,744 for it, according to unofficial results posted by the city. That works out to 54.01% to 45.99%. Mayor Nick Long did not wait for the election to be certified before asking staff to cover the cameras.
What the ballot asked, and what actually binds the city
Proposition A asked voters to state a nonbinding preference on whether the League City Police Department should keep using automated license plate readers at fixed locations on public roads. The Texas Tribune reported that the cameras log plate numbers along with make, model, paint color and details such as dents and bumper stickers on every passing vehicle, and called it the first referendum of its kind in Texas.
The vote itself carries no legal force. The force comes from a separate resolution the City Council approved on Oct. 13, which, as Click2Houston reported, directs staff to remove or cover the cameras within 72 hours after the official canvass. The city says the canvass is set for the Nov. 17 council meeting, so by my count the deadline lands around Nov. 20. Cameras that cannot come down right away are to be covered so they stop collecting plate images. The same resolution tells staff to review the Flock contracts, find other uses for the money, and deal with privately owned plate readers in city rights-of-way…