Hinojosa Targets Abbott Over 10,000 Texas ALPR Cameras as Poll Shows 45%-40% Race
Updated
Updated · KEYE TV CBS Austin · Aug 26
Hinojosa Targets Abbott Over 10,000 Texas ALPR Cameras as Poll Shows 45%-40% Race
3 articles · Updated · KEYE TV CBS Austin · Aug 26
Summary
Gina Hinojosa’s campaign this week launched an ad accusing Greg Abbott of enabling warrantless tracking through Texas’ automated license plate reader network, saying 10,000 Flock cameras log where drivers “sleep and pray.”
State records show the Texas Department of Public Safety holds a Flock Safety contract worth up to $28.5 million, while advocacy groups estimate thousands of ALPR cameras operate statewide.
The attack taps a bipartisan privacy backlash that has spread beyond Austin, where most police use of Flock cameras stopped after the city declined to renew its contract last year.
Abbott had criticized Austin’s pullback after a May shooting spree, and police groups argued ALPRs help solve crimes quickly even as opponents warn about data sharing and misuse.
Texas Politics Project polling this month still showed Abbott ahead 45% to 40%, with 10% of voters saying they had not thought enough about the governor’s race to form an opinion.