In the November 5, 2024 special election, held jointly with the general election in Potter and Randall counties, Proposition A failed. The City's final unofficial count was 27,544 for and 40,392 against (59.46% against); the counties' official reports total 27,579 for and 40,442 against. The Texas Tribune reported that Amarillo was the first Texas city to reject an anti-abortion ordinance placed on a citywide ballot. The council canvassed the results on November 15, 2024.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Citywide totals for Proposition A differ slightly between the City's election-night count and the counties' official reports; both show it rejected with about 59.5% against.
Sum of the official county reports: Potter County 9,602 for, 14,969 against; Randall County 17,977 for, 25,473 against.
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News outlets reported the result as 59% to 41% (ABC7) and "about 20 percentage points" on unofficial results (Texas Tribune); the Amarillo Tribune later reported it as 59.5% to 40.5%.
[5][4][7]
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The Texas Tribune reported that Amarillo became the first Texas city to reject an anti-abortion ordinance placed on a citywide ballot.
[4]
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The Amarillo Tribune reported that supporters of Proposition A spent over $56,000 and opponents nearly $10,000 on campaigning, that the Project Destiny Amarillo PAC supported the measure, and that the Amarillo Reproductive Freedom Alliance organized the opposing campaign with support from Ground Game Texas.
[8]
Supporters spent min
$56,000
Opponents spent approx
$10,000
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After the vote, the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative told the Texas Tribune the fight was "far from over" and attributed the result in part to Republicans who opposed the ordinance; a co-founder of the Amarillo Reproductive Freedom Alliance said, "we reject extremist government overreach."
[4][8]
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The City did not publish a finding on why voters rejected Proposition A; the explanations reported after the election came from campaign participants on each side.
[8][9]
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On November 15, 2024 the council adopted Resolution 11-15-24-1 canvassing the special election returns, 4-0, with Councilmember Josh Craft absent. The City Secretary had said that if the ordinance failed, the City would canvass the election and take no further action.
[6][10]
