August 31, 2023 — The Dallas Morning News published an op-ed in the Opinion section Thursday by partner William A. Brewer III and Marie Brewer calling for the elimination of off-cycle May local elections in Texas and moving elections on-cycle to November to improve voter participation. The article reflects the Brewer Storefront’s continued dedication to enforcing and promoting the Voting Rights Act in Texas communities. The Storefront is the firm’s community-service legal affiliate.
The commentary follows:
In Texas, discriminatory voting practices that depress minority voter participation remain the norm. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Allen vs. Milligan, upholding Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, could spark legal challenges to our state’s local and state election systems going forward.
In our state, the Election Code mandates that general and special elections be held on one of the uniform election dates: the first Saturday in May, or the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Although the code allows for elections to be held “on-cycle” (when state and federal elections occur), many local school board and city council elections are still held in May rather than November.
The timing of elections significantly impacts voter turnout. Experts, like political scientist Sarah F. Anzia, argue that the date of an election is the single greatest factor impacting voter turnout and composition. Other states recognize this and have adjusted their local elections accordingly. New York recently joined California, Arizona and Nevada in moving off-cycle local elections to coincide with statewide and national elections. These states point to increasing voter turnout and opportunity, specifically minority turnout, as the reason for the shift.
Fewer than 25% of Americans vote in elections for their local mayor and city council members, and turnout in off-cycle local elections averages over 30% lower than local elections held during presidential elections. In Texas, the situation is even more alarming. This past May, several major counties could not even reach 10% voter turnout.
All voting systems should aim to increase voter participation, and off-cycle elections especially warrant particular attention due to their disproportionate impact on minority voters. When off-cycle elections are moved on-cycle, minority groups increase their share of the electorate by up to 10 percentage points. Moreover, when local elections coincide with presidential elections, a larger share of voters come from families earning under $30,000 annually, while the share of voters earning more than $100,000 decreases.
When local elections are synchronized with national or statewide elections, the election date garners greater attention and accessibility across all voter groups. Conversely, off-cycle elections result in lower participation by large portions of eligible voters, and minority groups are disproportionately affected.
The past decade of social science research establishes that off-cycle elections undeniably affect voter participation and the makeup of voters who turn up at the ballot box, producing a voter pool that is not representative of the entire community.
As the courts have recognized, factors such as homeownership, education and income are strongly associated with voter turnout. Racial disparities in those factors can therefore contribute to racial disparities in political participation as well.
Although there may have been legitimate concerns in the 1800s and early 1900s that prompted off-cycle elections, such as the desire to separate local races from corrupt and partisan elections held at the federal and state level, there were also more problematic reasons aimed at discouraging voter participation from certain demographics.
Many local Texas communities, with a long history of racial discrimination, still experience disparities in wealth, education and homeownership. It is evident that under the totality of circumstances, off-cycle elections violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This was not a direct argument in Allen vs. Mulligan, but the case is instructive on many levels: It fosters the belief that voting rights should be protected and any barriers to equal opportunity should be eliminated. And with such a viable alternative of switching to on-cycle elections, there is no reason for this practice to persist where minority groups already struggle to make their voices heard.
Our institutions work best when they are welcoming and inclusive. Texas should embrace the learnings of the recent Supreme Court decision — and awaken to the many ways in which the Voting Rights Act can be used to foster political opportunity.