Voter Turnout Nears 12 percent

Mayoral race heads to runoff after just more than 97,500 ballots cast

BY KATHLEEN PETTY


ILLUSTRATION BY SEBASTIEN THIBAULT

Nearly 12 percent of registered voters in Bexar County participated in the May 9 election—the highest total in a municipal race since 2005. (Turnout in the June 13 runoff election was eve higher. Read more and find out who won here.)

A total of 97,686 (or 11.89 percent) of registered voters cast a ballot in either the San Antonio municipal election, or in the mayoral and council races in their smaller Bexar County towns, such as Alamo Heights, according to data from the Bexar County Elections Office.

The last time municipal turnout was more than 10 percent was in 2009, and turnout hasn’t been higher than 12 percent since 2005 when approximately 17 percent of voters cast ballots in the race between Phil Hardberger and Julian Castro (for more history on San Antonio’s low turnout, take a look at our “Voting Power” story from the May issue).

And while the increase in turnout is encouraging, it’s hardly high—especially in comparison to other major cities like Chicago or San Francisco where turnout is routinely more than 30 percent.

Regardless of whether you voted originally, you have the chance to cast a ballot when Interim Mayor Ivy Taylor and former Sen. Leticia Van de Putte face one another in a runoff election on June 13. Van de Putte garnered 30.43 percent of the vote and Taylor 28.40 percent, making them the top two vote getters in a mayoral field of 14 candidates.

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