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Election Day in Metroplex | What To Know

Election Day
Election Day | Image by Rob Crandall/Shutterstock

Municipal elections are being held across the metroplex on May 6, giving voters the opportunity to choose city council members, mayors, and school district trustees in addition to voting on ballot propositions.

Voters who did not cast their ballot during early voting will have from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. to do so today.

Dallas County residents can vote at any of the 366 polling locations, which can be found on the Election Day Location Finder.

Participation in local elections is notoriously low, with only 9.63% of eligible voters casting a ballot in 2021 in Dallas County, 9.88% in 2019, 7.78% in 2017, and 6.76% in 2015.

So far this cycle, 66,797 people had voted across Dallas County by the time early voting ended on May 2 and 1,834 mail ballots had been received, according to data retrieved from the Dallas County Elections Department.

This only represents 4.93% out of the county’s 1,392,119 registered voters.

In Dallas, voters will weigh in on 13 of the City Council seats, with Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) being the only incumbent to run unopposed.

Incumbent Eric Johnson will also be the only candidate on the ballot for mayor. Others attempted to register for the race but were disqualified by the City Secretary, as reported by The Dallas Express.

One would-be challenger, Jrmar Jefferson, has sued the City Secretary for rejecting his candidacy, while another, Kendal Richardson, will be a write-in candidate.

The Dallas Police Officer’s Political Action Committee (DPOPAC) backed several City Council challengers over the incumbents this cycle. The group officially endorsed Jamie Smith over Carolyn King Arnold for District 4, Mónica Alonzo over Omar Narvaez for District 6, and Amanda Schulz over Paul Ridley for District 14, as reported by The Dallas Express.

Incumbents who did earn the police associations recommendation included Chad West (District 1), Jesse Moreno (District 2), Jamie Resendez (District 5), Tennell Atkins (District 8), Paula Blackmon (District 9), Cara Mendelsohn (District 12), and Gay Donnell Willis (District 13).

The DPOPAC also endorsed Kathy Stewart to replace term-limited Adam McGough in District 10. Stewart faces three other hopefuls for McGough’s place at the horseshoe.

“Businesses do not come to cities that aren’t safe,” president Mike Mata explained to The Dallas Express. “We don’t need council members who are going to look at cutting the police budget.”

District 11 incumbent Jaynie Schultz is facing a challenge from Candace Evans, who previously ran for the seat in 2017 and 2019. Schultz has received criticism recently for an investigative report that alleged the council member was culpable of “exceeding her authority and exerting improper influence to subvert this investigation.”

Schultz has defended her record on the council, saying in a candidates forum attended by The Dallas Express, “I promised reduced property tax rates and increased public safety budgets. … Both of those were achieved.”

Council Member Casey Thomas (District 3) has also reached his term limit, and five people will contend for the open seat.

In addition to the City Council elections, two school board seats are up for grabs in Dallas ISD this election cycle.

Three candidates running for District 2 after the district’s current trustee, Dustin Marshall, opted not to seek reelection.

Voters will decide between education advocate and real estate investor Jimmy Tran, former Dallas Morning News columnist Kevin Malonson, and education advocate and former chief strategy officer for United to Learn Sarah Weinberg.

In District 6, incumbent Joyce Foreman will look to keep her seat, defending it against challenger Stephen Poole, a lifelong educator and labor union member. District 8 would also be on the ballot, but no candidate put themselves forward to challenge incumbent Joe Carreón.

In the neighboring city of Irving, two City Council seats will be on the ballot, with a total of eight candidates in the running.

Five candidates are running for Irving’s District 5, including Mark Cronenwett, who received the endorsement of the PAC Families for Irving. Other candidates include Heather Stroup, Jessee Koehler, Anthony Stanford, and Matt Varble, who faced criticism from some members of the HOA he leads during the campaign.

District 3’s race has been noticeably quieter, with incumbent Mark Zeske facing off against Abdul Khabeer and Families for Irving-backed Paul Bertanzetti, who has advocated for more emphasis on single-family developments instead of apartments, as reported by The Dallas Express.

Results will begin to be released once polls close at 7:00 p.m. If no candidate for a given office receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held in June between the top two candidates.

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