Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones unveiled a set of nine recommendations Wednesday designed to improve San Antonio’s civic engagement and boost flagging voter turnout numbers.
The Mayor’s Commission on Voting, an informal task force Jones convened this spring, issued the recommendations, which include turning an existing city communication office into a dedicated office of civic participation, setting annual civic participation goals and establishing a roundtable so the city can better coordinate with nonprofits working to increase voter turnout.
Beyond issuing the recommendations, the 12-member commission of advocates, experts and residents found that San Antonio’s voter turnout of just 9.26% in the most recent municipal election ranked as the fifth-lowest among Texas’ six largest cities.
“People have to feel vested in what’s happening, and so a much more concerted effort around public engagement and civic engagement is what is needed,” Jones said at a Wednesday morning press conference in front of City Hall. “Of course, that doesn’t just happen. Infrastructure is needed.”
Some of the recommendations would require city funding and approval by City Council. However, others wouldn’t.
Members of the task force pointed out that civic engagement is more than casting ballots.
“The commission’s recommendations presented today are ambitious, but they’re also achievable. They recognize that civic participation is far more than Election Day,” commission facilitator and longtime voter-mobilization advocate Drew Galloway said. “It’s about year-round, nonpartisan voter registration, voter education, voter turnout, public engagement and meaningful dialogue between residents and their government.”
While a consequential midterm election is approaching in November, Jones said there’s no guarantee the city will be able to approve and implement the task force’s recommendations by then.
In the meantime, she encouraged residents to offer feedback on the report by the end of July, which they can do online at the mayor’s website. City Council is expected to review the recommendations this fall.
Though a budget deficit still looms large at City Hall, Jones said she supports using city funds to make the recommendations a reality.
“There’s a lot of things that I’m looking at in the budget that I have my own questions about the appropriateness of using taxpayer dollars to fund,” Jones said. “But I would argue that civic participation infrastructure should be a priority for this community, and it’s something that ultimately pays for itself.”
Jones convened the task force after members of city council voted 9-2 in April to postpone her plan to create a more formal commission charged with exploring how San Antonio can improve its voter turnout.
Some of the other recommendations include expanding polling location availability during municipal, bond and local ballot initiative elections, establishing a city-managed voting information hub and standardizing dormitory addresses so it’s easier to register voters attending local colleges and universities.
Jill Tolbert, a task force member and president of the nonprofit, nonpartisan League of Women Voters, said San Antonio now must choose whether it wants to bolster civic participation or continue with the status quo.
“Instead of racing to the bottom among major cities in Texas, we can remove the barriers that make voting difficult or impossible. We can provide information and resources to everyone so that they have the knowledge and confidence to vote,” Tolbert said. “The choice is ours to make.”
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
