About 69,000 or 5% of Dallas County’s registered voters cast their ballots early
The polls were open but few voters took part.
About 4.8% of Dallas County’s 1.4 million registered voters cast ballots early ahead of Saturday’s elections featuring municipal and school district races, including the Dallas City Council.
Voters trickled in last week, and it seemed, at first, that this election might have the worst showing in recent memory. But the number of ballots ramped up on the last day of early voting.
After eight days of early voting, polls will open once again on May 3, the day of the election.
This year, city of Dallas voters will weigh in on four open seats and several other competitive City Council seats where unique battles over policies related to housing, neighborhood rights and public safety are playing out.
Efforts to boost voter turnout are moving through the Texas Legislature. Last November, voters approved a charter amendment that could move local elections from May to November in odd-numbered years. Advocates say moving the elections to November can cut through voter fatigue, reduce the number of funds and elections hosted in a single year and increase turnout.
But the implementation is contingent upon state approval.
Two years ago, early voting during the Dallas City Council election saw a slightly higher turnout at 5.3%. The year after, when voters were asked to weigh in on a $1.25 billion bond package, only 3% stepped out early.
In partisan state and national elections, voter turnout is almost always in double digits, and local elections have historically teetered between 6% and 10%.
Dallas’ surrounding counties saw a somewhat better turnout, according to unofficial early figures. In Collin County, 7% of the county’s nearly 750,000 voters cast their ballots early. Tarrant County fared slightly better at 5%. Denton County saw a lower turnout at 4.3%.
In North Dallas, Fretz Park Library had the highest number of voters: at 3,944, the highest among all locations in the county. The location generally attracts voters from Districts 11, 12 and 13, though voters have the flexibility of being able to vote in any county voting location.
The Disciple Central Community Church in DeSoto was next with 3,457 voters and Irving City Hall came in third with 2,926 voters. Meanwhile, several locations in southern Dallas had fewer than 200 voters casting their ballots.
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