Buffalo voters said yes to all 11 proposed changes to the city charter, delivering a sweeping overhaul that touches everything from acting mayoral powers to a brand-new civilian police oversight body. Vote totals updated through noon Wednesday showed every single measure passing, with all but one clearing 70 percent approval.
According to WIVB News 4, the closest race was Proposition 1, which clarifies that acting city officials — including an acting mayor — hold the same powers as permanent officeholders. It passed with 67.1% yes (35,298 votes) to 32.9% no (17,273 votes). Every other proposition on the ballot topped 70 percent support, according to the station's reporting, with Proposition 6 posting the widest margin at 91.1% yes (46,609 votes) to 8.9% no (4,560 votes).
The measures were put forward by the Buffalo Charter Review Commission, which the Common Council created in January 2025, as reported by The Buffalo News. It marks the city's first major rewrite of its governing document since 1999, according to Investigative Post's guide to the ballot questions.
The review was a rare chance to revisit Buffalo’s governing framework: the city says its charter remains essentially the same instrument that has guided government since 1928, despite later changes. A 13-member commission appointed by the acting mayor, Common Council members and comptroller began its work in August 2025; proposed changes had to go to voters for approval. The review was the first full examination since 1999, as Buffalo Toronto Public Media reported.
What Each Proposition Actually Changes
Proposition 2 passed 86.1% to 13.9% and establishes a charter revision commission at least once every 10 years, per WIVB's reporting. Proposition 3, approved 82.4% to 17.6%, allows the Common Council to temporarily fill the council president's seat when that person becomes acting mayor, while Proposition 5 (76.25% to 23.75%) clarifies that the council president becomes acting mayor if the mayor's office is vacant.
Proposition 4 passed with the second-widest margin on the ballot, 90.5% to 9.5%, and lets the Common Council suspend dormant city boards while limiting board members to no more than 60 days of service after their terms expire. Proposition 6 requires the city to maintain a publicly accessible website with up-to-date information about city boards and board training. Proposition 7, which passed 71% to 29%, allows the mayor and Common Council to create temporary task forces to advise them on city matters.
Budget Power Shifts Toward the Comptroller and Council
Proposition 8 passed 72.2% to 27.8% and gives the city comptroller more time to review the mayor's proposed annual budget while also giving the Common Council more power to make changes to that budget, according to WIVB's explainer on the ballot propositions. Proposition 9, approved 73.5% to 26.5%, creates a city task force to study and recommend election reforms.
The budget changes arrive amid a significant fiscal challenge. A May 2026 review by the New York State Comptroller projected a $103 million structural deficit in Buffalo’s 2026-27 general fund, citing past reliance on nonrecurring revenue and underestimated expenses. The review said the proposed budget included a $46.1 million property-tax increase and relied on other revenue sources to address much of the remaining gap. That financial backdrop gives Proposition 8’s added review and amendment process particular weight, as detailed in the state comptroller’s budget review.
That election task force carries some backstory: Investigative Post reported that earlier proposals to adopt ranked-choice voting, semi-open primaries, and reduced candidate petition signature requirements never made it onto the ballot themselves. “None of those measures ultimately advanced to the voters,” the outlet noted, leaving the task force as the mechanism for studying such reforms going forward.
New Police Advisory Panel and Human Rights Commission
Proposition 10 passed 76.6% to 23.4% and creates a Civilian Police Advisory Commission made up of city residents, which will advise the city with the goal of increasing transparency and improving relations between residents and police, per WIVB. Ahead of the vote, Investigative Post described the planned body as made up of 11 city residents plus one teenager, aged 16 to 18, who would fill a 12th non-voting seat. That earlier reporting also indicated the commission would not have the power to subpoena police records or discipline officers, instead hearing complaints and working with city and police leadership.
Investigative Post's election-day coverage said the city is expected to empanel the Civilian Police Advisory Commission by February, with the body set to hear from residents, collect data, document issues and advise police leadership on policy.
The new advisory panel would join, rather than replace, Buffalo’s existing Commission on Citizens’ Rights and Community Relations, whose work includes reviewing complaints and discussing community-relations trends through a police oversight committee. The distinction matters: New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, for comparison, can investigate complaints of specified police misconduct and recommend action, while Buffalo’s new body is described as advisory. The city lists the existing commission’s work in its annual reports; New York City outlines the CCRB’s investigative role on its agency page.
Proposition 11, the final measure, passed 81.7% to 18.3% and creates a new Commission on Human Rights to replace the existing Commission on Citizen's Rights and Community Relations. WIVB reported the new body will have expanded powers, including the ability to make recommendations to the mayor and Common Council — a broader mandate than the commission it replaces.
Turnout Lagged Behind the Governor's Race
Despite the lopsided results, plenty of Buffalo voters simply skipped the charter questions altogether. Investigative Post reported that between 10,000 and 12,000 voters who showed up on Election Day did not weigh in on the ballot measures at all. Nearly 62,600 Buffalo voters cast ballots in the gubernatorial race, the outlet noted, while totals for the individual charter propositions ranged from roughly 52,000 down to 49,000.
The Buffalo News, which also covered the results, noted that its voting data came from unofficial Erie County Board of Elections results — language that matches WIVB's own notice that totals were updated only through noon Wednesday.
