--- title: "Flock Cameras Got Eviscerated by the Midterms" description: "Numerous anti-Flock ballot measures and politicians won handily in Tuesday's elections, the latest sign of America's disgust with ALPRs." date: "2026-11-06" modified: "2026-11-06" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/flock-alpr-surveillance-cameras-eviscerated-midterms" categories: - "Future Society" - "Privacy" --- # Flock Cameras Got Eviscerated by the Midterms ![A photo illustration of a bent Flock camera pole.]() *Shutterstock / Futurism* Tuesdays midterm elections in the US were a referendum on a lot of things — the [war on Iran](), [data centers](), and the [ultra-powerful tech lobby](), to name just a few. In several local contests, the elections were also a crushing blow for the [rising domestic surveillance industry](), as voters sent automatic license plate reader (ALPR) companies like Flock Safety packing. In York County, Maine, for example, a ballot measure to remove the town's current ALPRs and require voter approval for any future installations of surveillance technology passed with flying colors, winning a [72 percent]() share of the vote. And in League City, Texas, a measure to "advise the city to continue police use" of ALPRs failed — albeit by a slimmer margin, with [54 percent]() of voters opposing the measure. As the newspaper [*Community Impact* reported](), cities like Pflugerville, Texas also [passed ordinances]() requiring public approval before installing any facial recognition, surveillance, and AI tools that could infringe on residents' privacy going forward. Beyond ballot measures, municipal politicians with wishy-washy messaging around Flock bans were also trounced. As the right-libertarian magazine [*Reason* observed](), incumbent mayor of League City Nick Long retained his seat by promising to abide by voters' wishes when it comes to ALPRs, saying that "if the vote is no" on the ballot measure, then "we will have the cameras bagged or disabled within 72 hours of the certification of the vote." Long's opponent Tom Crews, on the other hand, wasn't so bold, waffling on the question of how a no vote would impact the city's $175,000 contract with Flock. Crews was then clobbered at the polls, losing with just 33.6 percent of the vote. And there's clearly appetite for more restrictions on ALPR companies going forward, as numerous measures across the country simply failed to make the ballot. According [to Ballotpedia](), at least seven measures were left on the table in states like West Virginia and Colorado, in one case due to municipal leaders [choosing to ditch ALPRs](), basically pre-empting a referendum by voters. In other words, the surveillance rout may just be the beginning — though with over [145,000 ALPRs]() installed throughout the country, local organizers have their work cut out for them if they want to end Flock spying for good. **More on Flock:** *[Flock Cameras Are Really Just the Start of Our Dystopian Surveillance Hell, Experts Warn]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [So Many People Are Smashing Flock’s Cameras That It’s Disguising Them Inside Other Objects]() - [Flock Is Losing Dozens of Contracts as Controversy Grows]() - [Regular People Are Rising Up Against AI Surveillance Cameras]() - [Redditors Are Celebrating the Cutting Down of Flock Surveillance Towers With Based Memes]() - [Grand Jury Declines to Indict Man Caught on Camera Destroying Flock Pole]() - [Flock Surveillance Cameras Are Actually Horrible for Fighting Crime, FBI Data Shows]() - [Crowd of Angry Citizens Loses It After City Council Fast-Tracks Resolution on Flock AI Cameras]() - [Flock Is in Serious Trouble After Massive Backlash]()