NONPARTISAN PETITION DRIVE · LET BRISTOL VOTE

They decided. Now you decide.

Since 2025, City Hall has approved red light cameras, more plate readers, drones and a citywide camera network. None of it went to the voters. A petition under Section 67 of the City Charter would put three questions on the ballot. Signing does not decide them. It lets you vote on each one.

3,868 valid signatures from registered Bristol voters put the three questions on the ballot.

Decided without a vote

What City Hall approved, with no public vote, and what another Connecticut town found.

$4.03M

A five-year Axon police tech package the Council approved 5 to 2 on April 14, 2026: 13 plate readers, 8 drones and 250 camera streams.

Source: Bristol Edition, Apr. 16, 2026

27

Plate reader cameras listed in two Axon documents: 13 in that package and 14 in an August quote of $189,000, sole source.

Source: Axon quote, City of Bristol FOI response, Sept. 2026

$50, then $75

The camera fine, plus a fee of up to $15. The ticket is mailed to the vehicle's owner, whoever was driving.

Source: Bristol Code Secs. 14-80 and 14-82

590,000

Searches of Windsor's plate data in nine weeks, found by a resident's FOI. Windsor has turned its cameras off.

Source: NBC Connecticut, July 15, 2026

5 to 2

The Council vote on June 9, 2026 adopting the camera ordinance. Its definition also covered speed cameras.

Source: Bristol City Council minutes, June 9, 2026

6 to 1

The Council vote on Oct. 13, 2026 choosing Sitestream for red light cameras. The speed wording came out only after residents objected.

Source: Bristol Edition, Oct. 15, 2026

Three questions. A separate vote on each.

One can pass or fail without the others. The Town Clerk writes the final ballot wording. This is the wording the petition asks for.

1. No ticketing by camera

"Shall the City of Bristol be prohibited from using red-light cameras and speed cameras and from issuing citations based on them?"

A yes vote bars the City from using red light and speed cameras or fining by camera. Officers enforcing in person and State-run devices are not affected.

2. No tracking without a warrant

"Shall the City of Bristol be prohibited from operating or contracting for automated license-plate-reader systems and from obtaining license-plate-reader data from any source without a warrant or a declared emergency?"

A yes vote ends the City's plate reader system at the earliest penalty-free date and deletes stored data. Warrants, court orders and declared emergencies still allow access to data held by others. A witness's phone photo of a plate is not affected.

3. Citizen review first

"Shall the City of Bristol create a citizen Privacy Advisory Commission and require its review, a public hearing, and an ordinance before acquiring or using any surveillance technology, and require an annual public report on such technology's use?"

A yes vote creates a seven-member citizen Privacy Advisory Commission. Before any new surveillance tool: a public report, the Commission's review, a public hearing and a Council ordinance. Plus a public report every year.

Read and share the fact sheets

One page each. Open, print or forward them. Every fact is numbered and sourced on the sheet.

Where to sign

Our first main drive is Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Bristol's polling places. Look for volunteers with clipboards outside the 75-foot line. More days, times and places will be posted here. Petitions are signed in person, in front of a volunteer.

Polling places, Tuesday, Nov. 3:

District 1

  • Faith Lutheran Church, 1125 Stafford Ave.

  • Northeast Middle School, 530 Stevens St.

  • Mountain View School, 71 Vera Rd.

District 2

  • Chippens Hill Middle School, 551 Peacedale St.

  • West Bristol School, 500 Clark Ave. (rear entrance off Matthews St.)

  • South Side School, 21 Tuttle Rd.

District 3

  • Bristol Eastern High School, 632 King St.

  • Bristol Arts & Innovation Middle School, 70 Memorial Blvd.

  • Greene-Hills School, 718 Pine St. (entrance off Daley St.)

How signing works:

  • Registered Bristol voters only. Not registered yet? Start at the Secretary of the State's voter registration page.

  • Sign once, in ink: your signature, your printed name as registered, your street address and the date.

  • It becomes a public record. Filed petitions can be inspected at the Town Clerk's office. The sheet never asks for a phone number or date of birth.

  • Can't make it to a table? Request a home visit and a volunteer will bring the petition to you.

Can't make it to a table? We'll come to you.

If you can't get to a signing event, ask for a home visit. A volunteer will bring the petition to your door.

  • Registered Bristol voters only. Anyone in your household who is registered can sign during the same visit.

  • It has to be in person. State law requires each signature to be made in front of the volunteer, so we can't mail the petition or take signatures online.

  • We'll call or text to set a time. Volunteers visit in pairs, in daylight, and carry the full petition text. You sign at the door.

  • Your information is only used to schedule the visit. Only the volunteers making the visit see it. It is never sold or shared outside the campaign.

Fair questions

Does signing mean I support all three?

No. Signing puts the questions on the ballot. You can still vote yes or no on each one.

"Cameras reduce crashes."

At camera intersections, a federal study found rear-end crashes up 14.9% and rear-end injury crashes up 24%. A 12-year Houston study found no drop in total crashes or injuries. Longer yellow lights cut red-light running 36 to 50%, with no tickets.

"Only violators pay."

The owner pays, whoever was driving. The ticket can arrive by mail up to 60 days later, and the owner then has 10 days to appeal in writing.

"Who can sign, and who can collect?"

Only registered Bristol voters can sign, and only their signatures count. One signer on each sheet, who is a Bristol voter, swears before a notary, justice of the peace or attorney that the signatures are genuine. The Town Clerk checks every name, signature and address against the voter list. A person who signs twice counts once. Volunteers who collect signatures should be registered Bristol voters.

"Can I sign at the polls on Nov. 3?"

Possibly. Volunteers may stand with clipboards outside the 75-foot line at a polling place, and outside the 20-foot circle around curbside voting. Tables are not allowed. The petition is nonpartisan.

"The cameras only record red light runners."

Sitestream, the vendor the Council chose, has described one of its cameras as having "built-in ALPR" that reads plates "during speed enforcement and non-enforcement hours." Any limit in the ordinance, a future Council can change.

"Plate readers solve crimes."

They photograph every passing car, not just suspects. Outside agencies searched Avon's plate data 425,611 times in ten months, and at least 1,688 searches were tagged immigration or ICE. Question 2 keeps warrants and declared emergencies.

"State law already protects privacy."

Public Act 26-14 sets rules for keeping and sharing scans. It does not stop a city from photographing every passing car.

Who is behind this?

Stop State Surveillance is a nonpartisan group of Bristol residents. The campaign takes no position on any candidate or party.

Volunteer

The drive runs on two-hour shifts. Three jobs need people now.

  • Collect signatures. Training takes 15 minutes. You must be a registered Bristol voter, and you sign line 1 of every sheet you carry.

  • Swear in sheets. Notaries public, justices of the peace and Connecticut attorneys can take the oath each sheet needs.

  • Host a table or a sign. A storefront, a parking lot or a front lawn on a busy street, with the owner's permission.

Sign up to help

Tell us how you can help and we will reach out with shifts. Your details stay with the campaign and are never shared.