SAN ANTONIO – Most of the San Antonio City Council appears reluctant to move the city’s elections from May to November in odd-numbered years before an end-of-year deadline.
If the idea is shot down during a vote on Dec. 18, a shift could still happen before the next city election in 2029.
A change in state law, which took effect in June, was aimed at allowing the City of Dallas to shift its election date. San Antonio and other cities could take advantage of it, too. However, they have to act by Dec. 31.
Supporters, led by Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, point to potential cost savings and the possibility of higher voter turnout by moving to a more familiar month for elections.
Others on the council, though, worry about the effect on local school districts if they stay on the May election cycle, the quick turnaround and the fact that the change would not get voter approval first.
“Why would we not take the next year or two to talk about this with the residents of San Antonio? Maybe we put it on a ballot here for our residents to weigh in just like they got to do in Dallas,” said District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte, who suggested the city could also get the state legislature to pave the way for an election shift later on.
Council members have been hosting meetings and surveying their residents for feedback ahead of the expected vote, but only a few showed outward support.
“We’ll keep working it,” Jones said when KSAT asked about her confidence in the idea passing next week.
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