State lawmakers are hoping to boost voter turnout by proposing bills that would move local elections from May to November. (Photo by Patricia Marroquin/Getty Images)
Dallas’ May 3 election could be its last, as lawmakers consider bills moving all May elections — which have the lowest voter turnout — to November.
Only 8% of registered voters in Dallas County took part in the May 3 election, despite all 14 seats on the Dallas City Council being up for grabs.
That total included about 50,000 in-person ballots cast in the county on Election Day, and about 70,000 early voters, according to the Dallas County Elections Department. For context, 58% of registered voters cast ballots in the November 2024 general election.
While Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson wasn’t on the ballot — his term lasts until 2027 — 10 incumbents held onto their council seats and they will be joined by four new members in June.
The city council holds significant power in Dallas. From approving the city’s nearly $5 billion budget, setting the property tax rate, funding services for public safety, and attracting business to the area — city council members can directly impact resident’s lives.
That’s why lawmakers are seeking to up voter turnout in local elections.
Several state senators and representatives, including three from Dallas, have filed bills that move local elections to November — a time when more people head to the ballot box to vote in state and federal races.
Sens. Nathan Johnson and Royce West, both Dallas Democrats, proposed Senate Bill 1494, which allows local elections to be moved from May to November in odd years. The bill passed the Texas Senate in April and is pending with a House committee.
“People are unfortunately fatigued with all the elections,” West said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News. “We need to reduce the number of elections that we are having and make them more meaningful when we have them.”
Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) authored a companion measure in the House, House Bill 3097. The House Elections Committee discussed the bill during a May 8 hearing.
Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) proposed SB 1209, which requires most elections to be held in November and on Tuesdays, and give cities the option of staging elections in odd- or even-numbered years. His bill passed the Texas Senate in April and is under consideration in the House.
Nonprofit voting advocacy groups oppose Hughes’ bill, the Texas Tribune reports, raising concerns that prohibiting elections on Saturdays could disenfranchise people who work during the week.
In November, Dallas passed Proposition D with 65% of votes. The prop amends the city charter to delete the requirement that city council elections be held in May “and instead be held according to state law and as designated by city resolution or ordinance.” But to actually move the elections to November, state lawmakers must also approve any change.
“Essentially, Prop D would authorize Dallas to collaborate with the Texas Legislature to move city elections to November of odd-numbered years,” Anchia wrote in an op-ed for the Dallas Morning News in October. “Let’s face it, voter turnout in our May city elections is pathetically low, averaging single digits during the last six cycles. After standing in 12 local and state elections, I learned that when you hold an election significantly affects turnout.”
