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Results: Austin Voters Reject Prop 1 in Favor of City's Uber/Lyft Regulations

KUT News

Update 9 p.m. Election day totals now are nearly the same as those reported earlier, with 44% in favor and 56% against Prop 1. 

7 p.m. Early voting totals are in for Austin's Proposition 1 election: 44% voted for Prop 1, and 56% voted against. Proposition 1 deals with regulations for ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft. Both companies have said they'll cease to operate in Austin if the measure does not pass. Uber set a hard-out for 8 a.m. Monday. Lyft set its out for 5 a.m. Monday.

The ride-hailing companies are both opposed to regulations requiring their drivers to undergo fingerprint-based background checks. The regulations also deal with fee structures, where drivers can pull over to pick up passengers and other details.

A text sent from Lyft announcing it will pull out of Austin if voters don't pass Prop 1.

Read the full ordinance here.

The polls for election day voting closed at 7 p.m., and you can check back here for more results as they're announced

KUT will be airing live coverage and analysis beginning at 8 p.m. here and at 90.5 FM.

Get a closer look at today's results here at the Travis County Clerk's site.

More on Prop 1: In December, the Austin City Council passed a new set of rules that are technically in effect right now, though some elements are not being enforced yet. Those new rules include requiring fingerprint background checks for ride-hailing drivers. Uber and Lyft have said they will not operate under those rules. Early this year, the companies funded a political action committee to start a petition calling for overturning the new rules. The PAC submitted more than 20,000 signatures to the city clerk's office - more than enough to force council to take a vote on the PAC's proposed rules. The Austin City Council voted those rules down, which automatically put the issue to voters.

The ordinance on the ballot would remove the fingerprint requirement, and instead require the name-based background checks that ride-hailing companies have been doing since their services were legalized in Austin in 2014 (more on those background checks here). Both companies have promised to leave the city if their drivers have to undergo fingerprinting background checks.

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