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Results of the local police measures on the November ballot

Following the killing of George Floyd on May 25, cities and counties introduced police-related measures. Ballotpedia tracked 20 such measures that appeared on the Nov. 3 ballot.

All 20 measures were approved or were ahead pending the count of remaining ballots.

Local ballot measures were on the ballot in 10 cities and four counties within eight states. Below are three notable measures among the 20. Note: All vote counts were as of 6:00 p.m. EST on Nov. 11.

Los Angeles County Measure J - This measure requires that no less than 10% of the county's general fund be appropriated to community programs and alternatives to incarceration. It prohibits the use of those funds for incarceration or law enforcement purposes. The measure passed 57% to 43%.
Columbus Issue 2 - This measure created the Civilian Police Review Board to investigate alleged police misconduct, subpoena testimony and evidence during the investigations, make recommendations to the Division of Police, and appoint and manage the new position of Inspector General for the Division of Police. Prior to November, Columbus did not have a police oversight board or commission or an equivalent agency. According to the National Fraternal Order of Police, 20 of the 25 largest city police departments in the U.S. had an oversight board or commission in place as of the beginning of 2020. The measure passed 74% to 26%.

Portland Measure 26-217 - This measure amended the city charter to establish a new police oversight board to replace the existing police review board. It allows the new board to subpoena witnesses, request police documents and evidence to investigate complaints made against the Portland Police Bureau, and impose disciplinary actions up to termination of law enforcement professionals. It also authorizes the board to recommend policing policy to the Portland Police Bureau and Portland City Council. The measure passed 82% to 18%.

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A closer look at the margins of victory in the 206 Pivot Counties

We’ve given you election analysis of the nation’s 206 Pivot Counties in several editions of the Brew following last week’s election. Here’s a closer look at the margins of victory in those counties based on unofficial vote totals. We will continue to update this analysis as vote totals are certified.

Pivot Counties are the 206 counties nationwide that Ballotpedia identified as having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. These counties are sometimes referred to as swing counties by media and political observers.

We have split the Pivot Counties into two categories based on the unofficial results:

Retained Pivot Counties, which voted for Trump again in 2020, and
Carousel Pivot Counties, which voted for Joe Biden (D) this cycle.

Preliminary analysis shows the following breakdown for the 206 Pivot Counties

174 Retained Pivot Counties
20 Carousel Pivot Counties
12 unclear/too-close-to-call

Trump has been winning the 174 Retained Pivot Counties with an average margin of victory of 14.9 percentage points. Additionally, compared to his 2016 results, Trump's margin of victory decreased in 49 Retained Pivot Counties and increased in 125.

Biden has been winning the 20 Carousel Pivot Counties with an average margin of victory of 3.1 percentage points. Compared to Obama's results in 2012, the last time a Democrat won in these counties, Biden's margin of victory represents a decrease in 18 and an increase in two.

The five counties with the largest change in margin of victory for Democrats and Republicans since 2016 are in the tables below.

Largest margin changes

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Local roundup

In this year’s November mayoral elections, four of the 24 elections called so far have seen party changes. Republicans lost three offices and Democrats lost one. Democrats and independents each flipped two offices.

With the results we have so far, here’s what we know:

Democratic mayors increased from overseeing 63 of the 100 largest cities to 65.
Republican mayors decreased from holding 28 offices to 25.
Independents increased from holding three offices to holding five.

Mayoral races in Riverside and Stockton, California, remain undecided. December runoff elections for mayor will be held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Dec. 5); Corpus Christi, Texas (Dec. 12); and El Paso, Texas (Dec. 15).

Here’s a rundown of the races where parties changed hands:

In Honolulu, Hawaii, independent Rick Blangiardi won the open seat. Democratic mayor Kirk Caldwell was term-limited.
In Irvine, California, Democrat Farrah Khan defeated incumbent Christina Shea (R).
In San Diego, California, Democrat Todd Gloria won the open seat. The incumbent, Kevin Faulconer (R), was term-limited.
In Scottsdale, Arizona, independent David Ortega won the open seat. Incumbent Jim Lane (R) was term-limited.

In those four cities—and in most of the nation's largest cities—mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan, though many officeholders and candidates are affiliated with political parties. Read about the criteria Ballotpedia uses to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation here.

Elections were held in 29 of the 100 largest U.S. cities. In 15 of the 29 cities, the incumbent was Republican at the start of 2020. Twelve incumbents were Democratic, one was independent, and one was nonpartisan.

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