Voters will decide on the future of policing in Minneapolis. The question goes beyond 'defunding the police'

People on both sides of Tuesday's ballot measure agree that what the city has now isn't working. Passage or failure doesn't represent what elected leaders have suggested: that it's a wholesale referendum on the "defund the police" movement.

The nearly 18 months since Floyd's death on Memorial Day 2020 has been marked by protests and court battles and political grandstanding by elected officials across the country. On Tuesday, voters in Minneapolis will have their first chance to weigh in on a concrete proposal to begin overhauling policing there.

Passage of the measure, requiring 51% of those voting on the question to answer "Yes," would lead to the creation of a "Department of Public Safety." If the city continued to employ police officers, then they would be organized under that department. It would also remove a requirement to employ a minimum number of officers and would split authority for the new department between the mayor and city council.