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San Francisco Voters Approve Police Drones, LPR, and Looser Pursuit Rules

The proposition—which was placed on the ballot by Mayor London Breed—needed a simple majority to pass. In initial returns, the measure was winning with nearly 62% of the vote.

Returns Tuesday night showed San Francisco voters approving Prop. E, a ballot measure that would give San Francisco’s Police Department expanded surveillance powers.

The proposition would allow the city’s police department to use drones, license plate readers and more cameras, while also offering officers more latitude when it comes to vehicle pursuits, SFStandard reports.

The proposition—which was placed on the ballot by Mayor London Breed—needed a simple majority to pass. In initial returns, the measure was winning with nearly 62% of the vote.

It also would require that any new rules imposed on officers proposed by the Police Commission, the department’s watchdog, first go through a community feedback process. The measure also tasks the department and commission with finding ways to cut down the time police spend filling out paperwork.

 The San Francisco Department of Elections will count all vote-by-mail ballots received with valid postmarks delivered by mail by March 12. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday to be counted.