  In 2020 the tragic murder of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement
ignited and intensified nationwide protests, demanding changes in police
funding and allocation. This happened during a budgeting feedback exercise
where residents of Austin, Texas were invited to share opinions on the budgets
of various city service areas, including the Police Department, on an online
platform designed by our team. Daily responses increased by a hundredfold and
responses registered after the "exogenous shock" overwhelmingly advocated for
reducing police funding. This opinion shift far exceeded what we observed in 14
other Participatory Budgeting elections on our Participatory Budgeting
Platform, and can't be explained by shifts in the respondent demographics.
Analysis of the results from an Austin budgetary feedback exercise in 2021 and
a follow-up survey indicates that the opinion shift from 2020 persisted, with
the opinion gap on police funding widening. We conclude that there was an
actual change of opinion regarding police funding. This study not only sheds
light on the enduring impact of the 2020 events and protests on public opinion,
but also showcases the value of analysis of clustered opinions as a tool in the
evaluation toolkit of survey organizers.
