The "nays" have it on what turned out to be a referendum on referendum.

By a relatively slim margin, city voters decided not to approve Proposition 10 to the city charter, which would have allowed residents more democratic powers through the ability to use initiatives and referendums to change city policy. Prop. 10 was killed by a vote of 536 for and 641 against.

Prop. 10 was arguably the most controversial charter amendment on the city ballot, and that was reflected in the disproportional number of "yes" votes on the first nine charter proposals that dealt largely with city personnel efficiency matters and general housekeeping issues. Propositions one through nine were approved with majorities of more than 70 percent and in some cases more than 90 percent.

The defeated amendment would have allowed citizens to call for either initiatives and referendums if they secured 2,500 signatures of registered voters, or 15 percent of all voters, whichever was greater, within 120 days.

Charter Review Committee member Jackie Warthan, who helped initiate the charter review process and who is in favor of the concept of allowing initiatives and referendums, was perhaps Prop. 10's most staunch critic, based solely on the required number of signatures required to enact change. Upon hearing of its defeat on Tuesday night, she said she was very pleased with the results.

"I am surprised at the voter turnout, and I think it speaks strongly on how the citizens feel about initiative and referendum," she said. "Nacogdoches needs initiative and referendum, but it needs to be meaningful. I think (voters) understood that the signature requirements were to high and unattainable and not reasonable."

Prior to Prop. 10 going to the ballot, Warthan had unsuccessfully lobbied city officials to lower the petition signature requirement and base it on the number of voters who participated in prior elections as opposed to a set number of all registered voters in the city, the majority of which do not historically participate in municipal elections.

Election officials said they were somewhat surprised by Tuesday's turnout, because typically the number of early voters mirrors the number of election day voters. In the current election, a total of 1,303 voters in Nacogdoches County voted early, which represents just over 4 percent of registered voters, compared to the cumulative turnout, which was 3,866 people, or nearly 12 percent of all eligible county voters.

Countywide, voters approved by wide margins in most cases the 11 state constitutional amendments on the ballot. The Martinsville ISD school bond was also approved by a vote of 98 in favor and 54 against.