San Antonio City Council will discuss a proposal to move municipal elections from May to November on Wednesday.
SAN ANTONIO — City Council members are set to discuss a proposal Wednesday that would officially move San Antonio’s municipal elections from May to November.
The conversation follows a renewed push from Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones earlier this month and a local rally held Monday in support of the idea. The mayor says she’s hearing growing support both inside City Hall and from the community.
Last week, Mayor Jones sent a letter to council members outlining the proposal, which comes after a new state law signed in June paved the way for the change. Still, City Council must approve the move before the end of the year for it to take effect.
In her weekly segment with KENS 5 on Monday, Mayor Jones explained why she believes shifting elections to November would benefit voters and the city budget.
“We have a budget gap. We need to be looking for all the pennies we can save, right?” Jones said. “Most importantly, voters associate voting with November, and so moving it to November helps increase turnout.”
According to the mayor, the change could save taxpayers between $800,000 and $1 million during off-election years. She also noted it would prevent municipal races from overlapping with Fiesta and maintain nonpartisan city elections — a feature that major Texas cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston already have while holding their elections in November.
City Council will take up the proposal Wednesday afternoon. KENS 5 will continue to follow developments and provide updates as they become available.