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 a Dec. 31 deadline.
However, even 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, without having to change their city charters, but they would have to act by the end of the year.
Supporters, led by Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who said she only learned about the opportunity last month, point to potential cost savings and the possibility of higher voter turnout by moving to a more familiar month for elections.
“This is all based on the very simple premise — the more voters, the more neighbors that we hear from, the better our democracy works‚" Jones told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting.
Others on the council, though, worry about the effect on local school districts that are also on the May election cycle, the quick turnaround to make the decision 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.
Only three council members on Wednesday said they supported moving the election date: Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), Phyllis Viagran (D3), and Edward Mungia (D4).
“I know my community, and I know the public. And right now, we’re putting out a survey, and it’s, ‘Yes, no, it doesn’t matter.’ And that’s where we’re at,” Viagran said.
“If we decide on the 18th we want to take this further, then we’ll take it further. But we need to have this conversation. This makes sense."
Asked how confident she was about gaining a majority by next week, Jones told KSAT “We’ll keep working it.”
In the lead up to Wednesday’s meeting, Jones had said moving the election to November could save $800,000 to $1 million. She attributed that estimate to City Manager Erik Walsh, who made it sound much less firm on Wednesday.
“It’s what I said that day is that my guess was $800 (thousand) to a million based on what we budgeted, but it depends on who’s on the ballot,” he said.
Numbers presented by city staff Wednesday also showed the city spent $1.3 million on a November 2024 charter elections, compared to $634,000 in the May 2023 election or $470,000 in the May 2025 election.
Jones has pointed to the low turnout in that May 2025 election as an example of why the city’s elections needs to move.
“I think we all know that, you know, when it comes to Fiesta or voting, Fiesta always wins, right?” she said.
But odd-year November elections are not well-attended either in Bexar County.
Unlike even-numbered years when the November ballot is filled with high-profile races for president, governor, senate, or congress, the November ballot in odd-numbered years is dominated by state constitutional amendments, smaller cities and school districts.
Since 2015, the number of voters from across the entirety of Bexar County who vote in odd-year November elections has typically been about the same or less than those who vote in San Antonio’s mayoral elections in May.
The notable exception was this November, when funding for a Spurs arena drove people to the polls.
Still, supporters say there’s more attention and awareness of November as an election date and believe a shift to the fall would boost turnout.
Dallas will hold its first odd-numbered year election in 2027. Houston also has November elections in odd-years, and Austin has them in even-years.
Rice University Political Science Prof. Melissa Marschall, whom Jones invited to speak at the meeting, said switching dates could put San Antonio’s turnout above Houston’s.
Though allies for the idea on the dais are sparse, Jones’ proposal attracted support from numerous activist and voter rights groups, including the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, COPS/Metro, the Texas Organizing Project, and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project.
Five previous mayors have also backed the changed: Ron Nirenberg, Julián Castro, Phil Hardberger, Nelson Wolff, and Henry Cisneros.
Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, whom Nirenberg is challenging in the Democratic primary, also said he supports “any measure to help increase voter participation in our elections.”
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