After checking thousands of names submitted by workers’ rights activists last month, the city’s secretary’s office announced today that a petition to put a paid sick leave ordinance on the ballot this fall fell 871 valid signatures short of the 53,765 needed to take the issue to voters.

The key phrase here is “valid signatures.” Although Working Texans for Paid Sick Time, which coordinated the 60-day petition drive, submitted more than 120,000 signatures, only 52,885 qualified as valid, according to the city secretary’s office. To get an issue on the ballot, petitioners need 10 percent of the registered voters in Dallas to sign on. And for a signature to count, it has to come from a registered voter living in the city of Dallas.

City Secretary Bilierae Johnson says most of the thrown-out signatures belonged to people who were not registered to vote. Many other names were tossed because the signer did not live in the city of Dallas. A smaller—but significant, considering how close the petition came—number of signatures were discounted because petitioners had only recently registered to vote. (Voters must wait 30 days for their registration to become effective, Johnson says.) Others were dropped from the petition because they signed on a date outside of the 60-day petition circulation period required by the city, in this case between April 13 and June 11.

As it stands, it does not look like Dallas voters will be making a decision on paid sick leave in November. In a statement, Working Texans for Paid Sick Time criticized the “steep requirements” of the petition drive and said it was considering “legal action” in response to today’s announcement:

“On June 11th, more than 120,000 people made clear that Dallas working families should have the right to earn paid sick time. We have some concerns about how the validation process was conducted, we spoke to the City Secretary this morning and have requested additional information for review. The City of Dallas ignores these voices to the determinant [sic] of Dallas families, local businesses, and our economy. We are considering all available options, including legal action, to ensure the voices of working people in Dallas are heard.”

Johnson says the signatures were validated thoroughly and fairly, with the city secretary’s office working 10-hour days and weekends throughout the month-long verification process. Following the initial count, there was also a quality control check.

City-mandated paid sick leave has been adopted by the Austin City Council, although state legislators have made it clear they’re not willing to let that stand without a fight. Dallas City Council members Philip Kingston, Omar Narvaez, and Adam Medrano supported the adoption of a paid sick leave ordinance here, but the more democratic approach of letting voters decide had obvious appeal. There was even some thought that it would help the city in an inevitable showdown with the Texas legislature. However, it seems Dallas voters will be left out of the action this time.

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