Today marks the start of early voting for the May 4 election, and if history is any indicator, very few of the city’s registered voters will make it to the polls.
Last May, when all 14 city council seats and the mayor’s seat were on the ballot, roughly 6.6 percent of the city’s 650,607 voters visited the polls. Portland State University’s Who Votes for Mayor site gives further insight as to who is voting in May elections in Dallas: last year, the average voter was 62 years old. The median age in Dallas is 33.
This election may not have mayors and council members to vote for, but it is still no exception when it comes to important items on the ballot. Ten propositions for a $1.25 billion bond will attempt to address the most urgent of what city staffers say is $17 billion worth of unmet needs. We’ll provide a straightforward explainer on the bond tomorrow.
There are also three new Dallas Central Appraisal District board seats to vote for—Ekambar Kumar Singrikonda and P. Wylie Burge will vie for place 1, while Kendall Scudder and Alexandra Stewart are running unopposed for places two and three. In its second special session last summer, the Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 2, which created three new at-large elected appraisal board seats in every county with a population of 75,000 or greater.
For some, there will be Dallas ISD school board seats on the ballot. In District 1 (Northwest Dallas and some of Far North Dallas), attorney Lance Currie, software engineer Christopher Roberts, and non-profit field director (and former Dallas Department of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization assistant director) Maureen Milligan have filed. In District 9 (which includes South Dallas, parts of downtown Dallas, and Pleasant Grove), teacher Da’On Boulanger-Chatman (who ran for Dallas City Council District 13 in 2021), insurance broker Edward Turner (who ran for the seat in 2018), Dallas ISD parent instructor/liaison Oralia Alonso, and community organizer LaKashia Wallace have filed.
There are also Dallas College board seats up for grabs in districts 1 (northern Dallas County) and 7 (southern Dallas County). Outgoing Dallas ISD school board member Edwin Flores will run in District 1 against incumbent Catalina Garcia, while District 7 drew four challengers: DeSoto ISD school board member DeAndra Fleming, real estate developer Jasmond Anderson, Leadership ISD regional director Joey Rodriguez, and pharmacist Kesha Nicholas O’Reilly.
Early voting continues through April 30, and Election Day is May 4. There are 65 early voting locations across the county, and you can find them (and see how busy they are) here. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 22 and 26; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 27, 29, and 30; and noon to 6 p.m. on April 28.
To cast a ballot, a voter will need a photo ID—either a Texas driver’s license or identification card, a state handgun license, a U.S. passport, a U.S. citizenship certification, or a U.S. military ID.
If a voter doesn’t have any of those and can’t reasonably get one, the state does accept other forms of identification. Present one of those, along with a “Reasonable Impediment Declaration” form, to the election workers when you vote.
Applications to request a mail-in ballot are due April 23, and the ballots must be postmarked by 7 p.m. May 4. To qualify for a mail-in ballot, a voter must be either 65 years of age or older, sick or disabled, out of the county on election day and the early voting period, due to give birth within three weeks before or after election day, or be in jail but otherwise eligible to vote.
Curbside voting is also available for people who cannot enter the building. In Dallas County, signage will show how to request an election worker to come to your car. If you’re sick or cannot make it in to vote, you may be able to apply for a late ballot if the deadline to submit an application to vote by mail has passed. You can apply for a late ballot by filling out a form and sending a representative to the elections department after early voting has ended. The deadline to file a late ballot is 5 p.m. on election day.
Find more details about early, absentee, curbside, and late voting here.
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