On Tuesday, voters took to the ballot box to weigh in on the future of Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers (ALPRs), adding to a growing nationwide backlash against mass government surveillance and mounting privacy concerns.
Although Flock cameras are just over a year old in York, Maine, residents have decided to join other Maine communities and ditch the controversial surveillance technology. York voted to pass a citizen-led initiative, effective immediately, that bans ALPRs in the town of more than 14,000, according to WMTW 8, an ABC News affiliate. Under the measure, any future deployment of surveillance technology will first require voter approval before being deployed.
The town’s four Flock cameras have been covered in plastic since September, following reports of privacy and data storage security issues, WMTW 8 reports. Town Manager Peter Joseph told WMTW 8 that residents grew concerned about stories of police officers using the cameras “to track either acquaintances, ex-romantic partners, things like that.”
And rightfully so. As of election day, the Institute for Justice has logged 300 separate incidents of ALPR misuse or abuse by law enforcement across the country.
Meanwhile, in League City, Texas, southwest of Houston, voters rejected an advisory measure approving law enforcement’s use of 84 total ALPRs throughout the city of nearly 120,000, according to unofficial early voting results published by Community Impact. Although this measure was nonbinding, its outcome carried political weight in the city’s mayoral race.
Both mayoral candidates acknowledged residents’ privacy concerns while maintaining that ALPRs are valuable tools in criminal investigations. They differed, however, on how, or if, they would abide by the voters’ decision. The nonpartisan challenger, Tom Crews, expressed uncertainty over how residents’ rejection of the city’s ALPRs would affect the city’s $175,000 annual contract with Flock. But incumbent Republican Mayor Nick Long vowed to abide by the vote’s outcome, stating that the cameras could be covered or disabled. “We have already voted on city council that if the vote is no, we will have the cameras bagged or disabled within 72 hours of the certification of the vote,” Long told FOX 26.
Long won the mayoral election comfortably, with over 66 percent of the vote, according to unofficial early voting results published by Community Impact.
Relatedly, in Pflugerville, Texas, northeast of Austin, voters approved Proposition B, according to unofficial early voting results published by Community Impact. The amendment to the city charter requires the city council “to adopt protections governing the collection, use, retention, and oversight of data, facial recognition, and surveillance technologies.” The vote comes just one week after the city council unanimously approved policies for reviewing and overseeing surveillance technologies.
The new policies are meant to ensure surveillance tools are used effectively and safely while protecting residents’ data, Councilmember Jonathan Coffman told FOX 7 Austin. Pflugerville’s mayor Doug Weiss echoed this sentiment, telling FOX 7 Austin that the city government “is going to make sure everything is thoroughly vetted and reviewed by a citizen committee and truly benefits our citizens.”
These local elections highlight an important shift in the debate over government surveillance: Americans are demanding greater transparency and involvement in whether and how they are monitored, regardless of political ideology.
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