San Antonio City Council appears hesitant to move elections to November

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The San Antonio City Council will consider a resolution that would move city elections from May to November in odd years.

A change to state law is allowing the move; however, the council only has until the end of the month to decide. They will then consider the resolution on Thurs. Dec. 18, giving the public little time to weigh in on the issue — which has some members of the council concerned about the hasty approach.

The Texas Legislature approved SB1494 this year, allowing cities with elections in May to move their elections to November of odd years, but giving only until Dec. 31 to make the decision via a resolution. The move would bypass the San Antonio City Charter and restrict the city from changing its election date back to May in the future unless it seeks legislative approval.

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones supports the shift saying it could consolidate elections and increase turnout. “You’ve got many more forces helping to turn out folks in a November election, even if it’s an odd year in a November election, because people associate voting with November,” she said.

San Antonio is the last major city to hold elections in May. The push now comes just after San Antonio voters approved extending council terms from two to four years with a maximum of eight years in office last year.

That means the next city council election would be in 2029, and if council passes the resolution next week, that would extend the time in office an extra six months for councilmembers in order to allow for the election date transition to take place. Currently with elections in May, council members are installed in June, unless a runoff takes place.

Under the new proposal, elections held in November would see councilmembers installed by the first of December.

At least three council members were openly in favor of the move; seven others, including District 10 Councilmember Marc White—while ostensibly supportive— wanted more time.

“I think we need to talk with the citizens of San Antonio and then decide, and we are not being held at gunpoint to make this decision,” Whyte said.

The adjustment wouldn’t come without consequences to other jurisdictions. Several school districts that hold their elections in May would need to potentially adjust their election schedules to align with the city and access the larger voter turnout.

Here’s how each of the other council members felt:

• District 1 – Sukh Kaur:  “Everyone that has called me has said, we need less elections. And I agree, no one would disagree that we need less elections, but by us moving us unilaterally, would we not just the [School Districts] that stay, that are in our boundaries, that stay in May? Won’t we be cannibalizing their voter base?

• District 2 – Jalen McKee Rodriguez: “ This decision has nothing to do with us, whether or not more Democrats or Republicans show up, any of that. My constituents have been asking for fewer elections. And many of the organizations and leaders I respect who do this work are supportive, and I’m with it. All that being said, I’ll likely support this next week, unless my constituency changes their minds.”

• District 3 – Phyllis Viagran: “This would be my vote if we had taken this along the charter … last year/ This would be my vote here, and in the future, if we’re moving forward,”

• District 4 – Edward Mungia: “I think that we do owe it to residents to consolidate and try our best to get as many people to vote as possible. This is a good, better, best situation. It’s not the ultimate best situation for us to get our voters. Obviously, we know even (year) November is the highest turnout, but this is a step in the right direction. “

• District 5 – Terri Castillo: No doubt, elections are the bedrock of our democracy, and this is a conversation that I don’t take lightly, nor do I believe it should be one that we have an expiration date on. And I’m hopeful beyond this conversation, we continue to talk about what voter engagement looks like and how we continue to educate the public to ensure that we have well informed voters going to the polls, whether it’s a May or November election.

• District 6 – Ric Galvan: “We know very clearly presidential and midterm elections bring out the most folks, and again, the state law is very restricted … and doesn’t allow us to even talk about general and midterm elections. But I think we owe that conversation a bit, because it’s worthwhile. It’s worth thinking about how we actually increase this turnout. And I still don’t feel that this one’s going to do it.”

• District 7 – Marina Alderete Gavito: “I’m not necessarily opposed to May or November, but I do want to make sure that we assess the pros and cons. … I want to make sure that if we were to change that we do it right so that we can strengthen democracy. I also do want to note that we did receive several emails from residents, and I think that information is just not clear, because when they were emailing in support of it, they were thinking that they were emailing in support of November of even number years.”

• District 8 – Ivalis Meza Gonzalez: “I’m concerned that this is not necessarily a bad idea, but it’s a rushed idea, and it’s an idea that deserves input from stakeholders who are the most affected, and those are [School Districts].

• District 9: Misty Spears: I think ultimately, we need a vote from our residents before we move any elections around. I want maximum voter registration, voter participation, and … moving to an even year, we’ll see that the numbers are just exponentially higher in an even year, it would eliminate potential voter confusion. I think an odd November election is just a May election with colder weather.”