Research · Austin ballot petitions · November 2026
Austin's next petition election is November 2028
On November 3, Austin voters approved Proposition G. Citizen initiatives and petitioned charter amendments now go on the ballot only in November of an even-numbered year. No petition can reach the ballot in 2027, and a drive that misses the 2028 cutoff waits until 2030.
- next petition election
- Nov 7, 2028
- last safe day to file
- Jul 12, 2028
- oldest signature that counts then
- Jan 14, 2028
What Prop G changed
Before
A certified petition went to the next election state law allowed: May or November, in any year. Which one depended on when the Clerk certified it.
Now
The next November election in an even-numbered year that leaves enough time to meet the rest of the law. That's the presidential and midterm ballots, when turnout is highest.
Prop G passed 206,286 to 116,761 (64%), by unofficial count. It takes effect once the Council canvasses the vote and declares it adopted. Its ballot language names initiatives and petitioned charter amendments; it doesn't mention referendum petitions, which challenge an ordinance the Council has passed, so check their timing with the Clerk.
Where drives go wrongPlanning a 2027 drive on the old rule, which the Clerk's website still describes.
What B-59 doesWe plan against the rules as they stand on the day you start, and recheck them as they change.
Count back from November 2028
The Council has to order a November election 78 days ahead and gets up to 10 days after the Clerk certifies. The Clerk says verification takes at least 30 days for a petition this size.
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
Miss July 12, 2028 by much and the petition can still be certified, but there is no election for it until November 5, 2030. That's two years of waiting with the signatures already counted.
The Clerk can be faster than 30 days: the 2026 audit petition was certified 20 days after it was filed. Plan on the slower number anyway.
Dates assume the Clerk takes the stated 30 days and the Council uses its full 10. Prop G's "enough time to comply" isn't defined further, so treat Jul 12, 2028 as a planning date, not a legal one.
Where drives go wrongTreating 2028 as far off, then filing in August with the Council's window already closing.
What B-59 doesA calendar built back from the Council's deadline, with slack for a slow count.
You can't bank signatures for two years
A signature counts only if it's no more than 180 days old on the day the petition is filed. Filed on July 12, 2028, nothing signed before January 14, 2028 counts. Collecting in 2027 for a July 2028 filing throws the 2027 work away.
That leaves two ways to run it.
File early
Collect within any 180-day stretch, file, and let the certified petition wait for November 2028. The text is fixed from the day you file, and opponents get the whole wait to organize.
Collect in 2028
Every signature from Jan 14, 2028 to Jul 12, 2028 counts, and the campaign runs straight into the general election. It's a six-month sprint with no room to recover from a bad week.
Either way, the Council can still adopt a certified ordinance exactly as written within 10 days. Only the election waits for November.
Where drives go wrongStarting a drive whenever the issue is hot, then finding half the signatures expired at filing.
What B-59 doesWe choose when to start collecting from the filing date, so no signature ages out before it's turned in.
On a busier ballot
Every petition now shares a ballot with a presidential or midterm race. Turnout is higher, so more voters decide the measure, many of whom heard nothing about it until they read the ballot.
One state rule helps petitioners: since September 2025, a city can't put its own competing or conflicting measure on the same ballot as a petition-initiated one (Texas Election Code §277.005).
Where drives go wrongSpending everything on signatures and having nothing left to reach November's electorate.
What B-59 doesWe budget the campaign with the drive, so qualifying doesn't leave you broke for the race that matters.
Planning a petition for 2028?
B-59 is a progressive political consulting studio in Austin. We pick the collection window, set the signature goal, check signatures against the voter roll as they come in, and run the campaign through election day. The rest of what it takes, including how the last five Austin petitions did, is in our petitions research.
Sources
- KUT: the Nov. 2026 charter amendments, with Prop G's ballot language (opens in new window)
- Fox 7: which Austin propositions passed (unofficial results) (opens in new window)
- City of Austin: voters approve seven of 10 charter amendments (Nov. 4, 2026) (opens in new window)
- Community Impact: the audit petition certified 20 days after filing (opens in new window)
- Austin City Clerk: initiative petitions (opens in new window)
- Texas Election Code ch. 277: the 180-day rule (§277.002) and competing measures (§277.005) (opens in new window)
- Texas Election Code §3.005(c): order by the 78th day before the election (opens in new window)
- Texas Election Code §41.001: uniform election dates (opens in new window)
Checked November 7, 2026. This is research on how the process works, not legal advice.