Elgin voters choose to decriminalize low-level marijuana offenses

Roughly 70% of voters in Elgin approved decriminalizing low-level marijuana offenses in the city on Tuesday.

ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) — Roughly 70% of voters in Elgin approved decriminalizing low-level marijuana offenses in the city on Tuesday.

It was one of five Texas cities to do so following efforts from local and state marijuana activists.

Prop A reads it will "eliminate enforcement of low-level marijuana offenses in the City of Elgin," meaning people found with things like small amounts of marijuana will not be charged with possession of the substance. 

This proposition was part of a ballot measure campaign by Ground Game Texas, the group that got similar offenses decriminalized in Austin.

Mike Siegel, political director of Ground Game Texas, said the propositions passed Tuesday night in Denton, San Marcos, Killeen and Harker Heights had only happened after local organizers reached out to his group wanting similar proposals they'd seen pass in Austin happen in their own towns. 

The organization was started by Siegel and Julie Oliver, both former Texas democratic congressional candidates, to motivate progressive voters to turn out with issues they knew mattered to them like marijuana legalization. 

He said the group took inspiration from similar Bush-era strategies where the issue of abortion was used to draw evangelicals to the polls and in turn vote for Bush. 

“For us, we felt like it hadn’t been used by Democrats in Texas,” said Siegel.

While the four other cities had individual groups reach out for help to get their propositions worked out, Siegel said he knew about Elgin from his time on the campaign trail and used those connections to enact this change.

He said the group worked for roughly a year gathering signatures and going through the process to get the proposition on the ballot.