Members of the Dallas Charter Review Commission are looking at whether city elections should be held in May — like they currently are — or in November.
The commission will discuss how feasible it may be to shift the elections and talk about how that change could affect city council member term lengths and campaign seasons, during the Tuesday Charter Review Commission meeting.
David de la Fuente is the charter review commissioner for District 1. De la Fuente recently submitted one of the first charter amendments for discussion centering on elections.
“Dallas municipal [election] turnout is among the lowest in the country,” De la Fuente said at a late October commission meeting. “Nothing that we have tried on engagement with individuals, through encouraging people to participate in the current system has had a meaningful impact on increasing voter turnout in our city.”
De la Fuente said the potential solution is moving the election to November, of odd numbered years. Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio are three of the largest Texas cities that hold elections in May.
“They are usually the lowest voter turnout…of any major city,” De la Fuente said. “Houston doubles voter turnout and holds their elections in November of odd numbered years.”
De la Fuente said a “hotly contested” Houston mayoral election in 2015 saw around a 27% voter turnout. He says that might seem low compared to a presidential election — or even a gubernatorial election. But compared to Dallas’ voter turnout — just over 12% during the 2019 mayoral election — De la Fuente says anything more is “a godsend.”
De la Fuente said a November election could save the city money as well. He says holding four “regularly scheduled uniform elections every biennium wastes” millions in county and city funding. The November election date is required by Texas state law — May elections are optional, according to De la Fuente’s presentation. Dallas County shares election costs with various governments “that may be using that election date as well.”
But at least one commissioner wanted to know why increases in voter turnout is a good thing.
“The problem that we are attempting to solve is low voter turnout,” District 2 Commissioner Miguel Solis said in late October. “So we think more voter turnout in these elections is a good thing. Why?”
Solis said he wanted to drill down more into the issue and make sure all philosophical and technical questions were out on the table.
De la Fuente says the more registered voters participate; the better municipal governments can serve their residents. He also says having these elections specifically in November of odd-numbered years will prevent “mixing partisan and nonpartisan elections.”
And there are usually no partisan elections scheduled outside of November of even-numbered years.
City officials and community leaders say Dallas has struggled with low voter turnout for years.
The commission — which is made up of 15 individuals appointed by city council members — is tasked with reviewing the city charter, fielding potential amendments from Dallas residents and then reporting back to the city council.
After council members review the commission's recommendations, they will vote on what makes it to the municipal election ballot. Ultimately, Dallas voters will decide the final decision of what — if anything — changes in the city's charter.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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