Denton voters have approved an amendment replacing gendered language with non-gendered terms in the city charter.
Proposition A was passed during the May 3, 2025, special election and aims to eliminate gender-specific terms in favor of gender-neutral language.
More specifically, the amendment states that “a word importing a specific gender only shall extend and be applied to include all genders, and, where applicable, to firms, partnerships, and corporations.”
Voters overwhelmingly passed the proposition during the special election, with 4,958 people voting in favor of the amendment to secure the 57.08% majority.
Initial discussions about these changes began in June 2024, when the Denton City Council formed the Charter Review Committee to recommend changes to the city charter.
This commission met multiple times over the past year to discuss changes that could be made to the city charter, including the eventual recommendation to adjust the gendered language throughout the document.
Denton Chief of Staff Kristi Fogle oversaw the Review Committee meetings and said in November that she was grateful for those on the committee who have helped the city pass meaningful change.
“We showed up for eight meetings after people worked long days and […] took the time out of their lives to be here and to go through what were some really contentious and sometimes uncomfortable issues,” she said, per North Texas Daily.
“That shows a lot of dedication to the city and to the pursuit of excellence.”
Denton voters also had the opportunity to vote on two other amendments to the city charter.
Proposition B states that the charter would be changed to “resolve conflicts with state law and modify vague or unclear language.”
This amendment was also overwhelmingly passed by voters, with 6,751 voters submitting their ballots in favor of the amendment to secure a 79.13% majority.
Finally, Proposition C was voted upon by voters and would have increased municipal judge terms from two years to four years.
Despite the previous two propositions being easily passed by voters, Proposition C was defeated by 54.93%, or 4,711 voters, who cast their ballots against it.