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Texas and U.S. flags fly at half-staff outside a tan building with a curved roof in Killeen
Flags at half-staff outside a building in Killeen in August 2009. (Photo: abbamouse / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Politics & Government

Sidney Sherman

November 4, 2026 · 3 min read

Killeen Voters Approve All Eight Charter Changes, Including New Limits on Recalls

Unofficial results show every Killeen charter proposition passing with more than 60 percent, including three that make it harder to recall a council member.

Killeen voters approved all eight proposed changes to the city charter on Tuesday, according to unofficial results posted by KWTX. Three of them change how residents can recall a council member.

The KWTX results page says it refreshes every two minutes but does not show an as-of time or how many precincts had reported. We read it at 5:21 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4. All results are unofficial until the city canvasses them.

The Killeen Daily Herald also reported that all eight propositions passed by wide margins. Its figures came from early voting, before Election Day ballots were added, so they are smaller than the KWTX totals below. In the Herald’s early count, Proposition A passed 17,142 to 6,820.

The results

  • Proposition A, moving regular city elections to November: 19,978 for (71.8 percent), 7,832 against (28.2 percent).

  • Proposition B, repealing the rule that a council member must resign when filing to run for a different council office: 16,925 for (62.3 percent), 10,229 against (37.7 percent).

  • Proposition C, letting the council fill vacancies by majority vote: 18,057 for (67.8 percent), 8,571 against (32.2 percent).

  • Proposition D, changing initiative and referendum petition timelines: 18,679 for (69.7 percent), 8,114 against (30.3 percent).

  • Proposition E, barring the council from adopting an ordinance inconsistent with state law: 19,992 for (74.3 percent), 6,908 against (25.7 percent).

  • Proposition F, setting the grounds for recall of an elected official: 21,383 for (79.6 percent), 5,488 against (20.4 percent).

  • Proposition G, changing recall petition requirements: 20,833 for (77.8 percent), 5,960 against (22.2 percent).

  • Proposition H, requiring those who file recall affidavits to live in the district of the council member named: 21,892 for (81 percent), 5,132 against (19 percent).

By our math, the closest was Proposition B, which passed by 6,696 votes. Proposition H passed by the widest margin, 16,760 votes.

A uniformed Army general in a black cavalry hat waves from a silver convertible during a parade

The 1st Cavalry Division's commanding general rides down Avenue D in downtown Killeen during the city's Christmas parade in December 2014. Photo: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Leah Kilpatrick, Public domain.

What changes

The city's voter guide explains what each vote does. Until now, it says, a resident could seek to recall any elected official for any reason. Proposition F limits the grounds to incompetency, official misconduct or malfeasance in office, and the person filing must state enough facts to support the charge. Proposition G gives the city secretary five business days, instead of one, to hand out recall petition blanks after an affidavit is filed. Proposition H lets only a voter who lives in a district file a recall affidavit against that district's council member.

Proposition D gives city staff 30 days instead of 10 to certify an initiative or referendum petition, and gives petitioners 30 days instead of 10 to fix a deficient one. Proposition E bars the council from adopting, or sending to voters, a citizen-initiated ordinance found inconsistent with state law.

Proposition A writes into the charter a move the council already made. The guide says the council voted in December 2025 to move regular elections for mayor and council to November of odd-numbered years, starting in 2027. Proposition B ends the rule that a council member must resign to run for mayor, or the mayor to run for a council seat. Proposition C has the council fill any vacancy by majority vote of the remaining members, with a special election only if the council loses a quorum.

The city partnered with the Bell County Elections Office to run the charter election alongside the federal and state races. For more background, read our Election Day preview.

Our view

Killeen voters gave every change a clear yes, and that settles it. Moving city races to November should bring more voters to the polls, which is good for self-government.

We do note that three of these changes make a recall harder to start. Recall is a tool citizens should rarely need, but it belongs to them. Now that the bar is higher, council members owe residents even more openness, so that no one ever feels the only way to be heard is a petition.