Austin launches new transparency tool to track how the city council votes

The City of Austin has launched a new online database, the Council Voting History Page, to provide residents with easy access to the voting records of the mayor and city council members on all council items since January 2023.
(CBS Austin file image)

CBS Austin
by Bettie Cross
Fri, October 20th 2023, 3:40 PM GMT-7

AUSTIN, Texas — A new online tool just launched that allows Austin residents to keep track of how council members voted. The Council Voting History Page gives easy access to how Austin’s mayor and council voted on every council item since January of 2023. The online database eliminates the need to monitor council meetings or search the minutes of those meetings for voting information.

“I think it is an effective transparency tool. I think this is the sort of data that most voters in Austin and most residents in the city would be surprised to find was not already available,” said Joshua Blank, Research Director at the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. “In a city as tech-forward as Austin, it is surprising that it has taken this long for the city council to make the record of their votes this easily accessible.”

The Council Voting History Page allows searches that can be filtered by council member, date of meeting, vote cast, and agenda item. During elections, it will give voters an easier way to track council decisions and eliminate guesswork and speculation.

“What is useful about something like this is that it allows voters to not assume how they think a progressive or conservative council member might vote on a given issue but actually confirm how they did in fact vote on a given issue,” said Blank.

The Austin City Council is now in step with the Texas Legislature which already makes records of its proceedings available to voters.

“Texas generally is known as a relatively data-forward state when it comes to transparency and when it comes to providing information to its citizens, especially online. So, it is good to see the City of Austin moving forward in this important area,” said Blank.

The City of Austin says voting records will be updated after each meeting’s minutes are approved.

CBS Austin requested an interview with Austin City Clerk Myrna Rios about the new online database. Instead, a spokesperson emailed us this information.

What made the City of Austin establish a voting record database?

The Office of the City Clerk supports the City of Austin's goal of transparency and has prioritized easier public access to this information, reinforcing the trust and relationship council members have created with the communities they represent. The Council voting history record database is a tool users can filter the council meeting voting history by council member, date of the meeting, vote cast, agenda item, and more.

Did the online database come about in response to public requests, an internal decision, or both?

Both. This project has been one of many top priorities for our office since I was appointed City Clerk in 2021. Additionally, over the years we have had requests from the public, commissions, and Council Offices.

Have you seen a need for a consolidated place for voters to research candidates?

This database is not election-related.

Is this being done in other cities in Texas and across the country?

Yes, there are other municipalities that publish similar datasets.

Has it been found to be well utilized and beneficial?

We anticipate high traffic since it is information that has been requested in the past. Recently we were able to fill vacant positions with highly talented staff that created this online data set that allows the public to access.