Voters and public officials choose police reform in moderation after George Floyd's murder

(CNN)Anti-police candidates and a policing overhaul referendum were rejected on Election Day in Seattle, Minneapolis and Buffalo, continuing a trend of voters and public officials choosing moderate and measured approaches to policing over sweeping or radical changes.

The debate over every issue related to law enforcement has played out in city councils and state legislatures across the country since George Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer last spring, setting off the largest protest movement in American history.

Protests and unrest in response to Floyd's death have shaped local and national politics since. A policy favored by protesters was cutting spending on law enforcement, with proposals that ranged from gradual shift of law enforcement funding to social services to outright abolition of police departments and the role police play in America.