Research · Austin ballot petitions · November 2026
What it takes to get a petition on the Austin ballot
You need 20,000 valid signatures. Turn in 20,000 and you'll fall short, because the City Clerk throws out every line from someone who isn't a registered Austin voter. Two of the last five Austin petitions failed that way.
- valid signatures needed
- 20,000
- of Austin's 545,230 voters
- 3.7%
- of signatures valid in recent drives
- 79%–93%
Collect well past 20,000
The Clerk checks a random sample of at least a quarter of the lines and estimates the valid total from it. Unregistered signers, people who signed twice, incomplete lines and addresses outside the city limits all come off.
- 20,000 signed100% must be valid
- 22,500 signed89% must be valid · 2,500 can be bad
- 25,000 signed80% must be valid · 5,000 can be bad
- 27,500 signed73% must be valid · 7,500 can be bad
- 30,000 signed67% must be valid · 10,000 can be bad
- 35,000 signed57% must be valid · 15,000 can be bad
The drives that fell short got about four lines in five right. At that rate, 25,000 signatures only just gets you there.
Where drives go wrongAiming for 20,000, and finding out the error rate when the Clerk reports it.
What B-59 doesWe set the goal from your own error rate, measured from the first week of collecting.
The last five Austin petitions
- 2018 CodeNEXT referendumMade the ballot 31,062 signed, 25,790 (estimate) (83%) · Austin Monitor (opens in new window)
- 2020 Public camping ban (first try)Fell short 24,201 signed, 19,122 (estimate) (79%) · Austin Monitor (opens in new window)
- 2021 Police staffingMade the ballot 27,778 signed, 93% reported valid (93%) · Community Impact (opens in new window)
- 2022 Police oversightMade the ballot 32,674 signed, at least 20,451 · Community Impact (opens in new window)
- 2025 Convention centerFell short more than 25,000 signed, 19,506 (estimate) · Community Impact (opens in new window)
The two that failed weren't sloppy. The 2020 camping petition had about 79% valid, close to CodeNEXT's 83% two years earlier. It just started from 24,201, which needed 83%. The 2025 convention center drive came in under 500 short.
Several hundred of the convention center signers lived just outside the city limits, in Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction. They had Austin addresses, but their signatures didn't count. The drive's backers argued in court that those lines alone would have put it over 20,000.
Figures as reported by the linked outlets, which quote the City Clerk, except 2021's 93%, which the organizers announced. For 2022 the Clerk gave only a floor ("at least"), so no share is shown; the 2025 bar is drawn at 25,000, the low end of what was reported.
Where drives go wrongNobody checks registration at the clipboard, so the problems first show up at the Clerk's office.
What B-59 doesCirculators confirm each signer is a registered Austin voter, and we check every batch against the voter roll as it comes in.
Count back from the election
Since voters approved Proposition G in November 2026, petitions go only on November ballots in even-numbered years, so the next is November 2028. The Council has to order the election 78 days out and gets up to 10 days after the Clerk certifies; the Clerk needs at least 30 days to verify. No signature can be more than 180 days old on the day you file.
November 2028
- Jan 14, 2028Oldest signature that still counts
- Jul 12, 2028Last safe day to file
- Aug 11, 2028Clerk certifies
- Aug 21, 2028Council orders the election
- Nov 7, 2028Election day
Assumes the Clerk takes the stated minimum of 30 days and the Council uses its full 10. Verification can run longer, so file earlier if you can. Miss it and the next election is November 2030. What Prop G changed
Where drives go wrongPlanning from election day, then running out of time while the Clerk verifies.
What B-59 doesA calendar built back from the Council's deadline, with slack for a slow count, and collection timed so no signature expires.
Two more rules
Every 2 years
The most often a Texas city charter can be amended. Austin amended its charter in November 2026, so the next charter election can't come before November 2028.
No statewide petitions
Texas has no citizen initiative for state law; amendments start in the Legislature. City petitions are where voters get to write the question.
Where drives go wrongCollecting signatures for an election the measure can't legally be on.
What B-59 doesBefore the first signature, we check which elections your measure can make.
Running a petition in Austin?
B-59 is a progressive political consulting studio in Austin. We set the signature goal, train circulators, check signatures against the voter roll as they come in, and run the campaign through election day. Talk to us before the first signature, while the plan is still cheap to change.
Sources
- Austin City Clerk: petition types and current thresholds (opens in new window)
- Austin City Clerk: initiative petitions (sampling, verification time, Council's 10 days) (opens in new window)
- Texas Election Code ch. 277: petition requirements, the 180-day rule, sampling (opens in new window)
- KUT: Proposition G's ballot language (even-year November petition elections) (opens in new window)
- Texas Election Code §3.005(c): order by the 78th day before a uniform-date election (opens in new window)
- Texas Election Code §41.001: uniform election dates (opens in new window)
- Texas Local Government Code §9.004: charter amendment petitions (opens in new window)
- Texas Constitution art. XI, §5(a): charters amended no more than every two years (opens in new window)
Rules checked November 2026. This is research on how the process works, not legal advice.