DALLAS COUNTY, Texas — Dallas County voters have a number of big local races on their ballots this election cycle, like the city council races in the county's namesake city to a rather large bond election for Irving voters to consider—it totals about $563 million in potential city improvements.
And it's not just a number of open seats across the county that make this election interesting. There are plenty of people running for these open spots too, with many local races featuring five or more candidates each.
With so many candidates running, it's quite possible plenty of local races will head to run-off elections sometime later this summer. Some jurisdictions require candidates to reach a majority of the vote, which is more than 50%, to outright win. With so many candidates in a single race, that can be hard to do. The top two vote-getters will head into a runoff typically if no one candidate gets the majority of the vote.
Below, WFAA has compiled a list of many of the bigger local races in Dallas County and other general information voters should know before heading to polls.
Early voting starts April 19 and runs through April 27. Election Day is May 1.
How to check if you're registered
To be eligible to vote, you must be a U.S. citizen over 18 years old on Election Day. You also must have a valid Texas or federal photo ID to cast a ballot, although there are certain exemptions to that.
You must be registered in order to vote in Texas. You can check online to see if you are currently registered to vote.
Those who wish to vote by mail must submit their application for a mail-in ballot no later than April 20.
To vote by mail in Texas, you must be:
- 65 years or older
- disabled
- out of the county on Election Day and during early voting
- confined in jail
Ballots submitted by mail must be received by election workers by 7 p.m. on May 1, with a few exceptions.
Where do I vote? How to find your polling place
Voters in Dallas County can visit any early voting location in the county during early voting and they can vote at any polling location on Election Day as well.
On May 1, polling places across Texas will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
What do I need to vote?
When you head to the polls, you need one of the following forms of ID to cast your vote.
- Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
- United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States Passport (book or card)
Your driver's license does NOT need to be REAL ID compliant, according to the Secretary of State's office.
The photo ID must be current, or, for voters under the age of 70, have not expired more than four years prior to voting. Those age 70 and older can use any expired photo ID that otherwise remains correct, no matter how long it has been expired.
Your address on your photo ID does not need to match the address you used to register to vote.
Don’t have one of those? Here are supporting forms of ID.
- a government document that shows the voter's name and an address, including the voter's voter registration certificate
- a current utility bill
- a bank statement
- a government check
- a paycheck
- a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate
- a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter's identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
What's on my ballot?
Dallas County voters can find a sample ballot specific to their address by visiting the county's elections website.
Below, WFAA has compiled a look at some of the noteworthy local races happening in Dallas County this cycle. For more information about a candidate or a position, click on the hyperlink.
Place 1: Covers northeast section of the city
Place 5: Covers northwest section of the city
- Nancy Cline
- Annette W. Reese
- Shani Dellimore Barrax
Place 7: Covers southeast section of the city
Carrollton Proposition L:
The city has a number of propositions listed on the May ballot, including Proposition L, which would allow the city council to restrict liquor sales.
The wording of the proposition is as follows:
"Shall the City Charter be amended by adding Section 10.16 to provide for the prohibition of the sale of liquor in residential districts of the City if so established by the City Council by Ordinance?"
Place 1:
Place 4:
Councilmembers are elected by the city at-large and represent the entire city.
Place 2:
- Brianna Hinojosa-Smith (Incumbent)
- Raghib Majed
Place 3:
- Don Carroll
- Meghan Shoemaker
- Davin Bernstein
Place 4:
Place 6:
Many of the city's districts are somewhat unwieldly. To find what district you live in, click here.
Place 1: Covers part of central-southwest area of the city, including the Cockrell Hill neighborhood. Click here to see the districts on a map.
- Gerardo Sánchez
- Stephani A. "Skyle" Kyle
- Chad West (Incumbent)
- Giovanni "Gio" Valderas
Place 2: Covers parts of downtown Dallas, Deep Ellum and goes out northwest to Love Field. Click here to see the districts on a map.
Place 3: Covers southwest Dallas, from Mountain Creek Lake to Dallas Executive Airport. Click here to see the districts on a map.
- Casey Thomas, II (Incumbent)
- Irby Foster
Place 4: Covers central-south Dallas. Click here to see the districts on a map.
- Maxie Johnson
- Lelani Russell
- Matt Canto
- Carolyn King Arnold (Incumbent)
- Johnny Aguinaga
Place 5: Covers a southeastern portion of the city. Click here to see the districts on a map.
Place 6: Covers the west-northwest portion of Dallas. Click here to see the districts on a map.
- Earl D. Thomas
- Tony Carrillo
- Omar Narvaez (Incumbent)
- Mónica R. Alonzo
- Wendi Macon
Place 7: Covers central-southeastern portion of the city, from Fair Park to the Texas Horse Park and out to just north of R. L. Thornton Freeway. Click here to see the districts on a map.
Place 8: Covers much of the southern border of the city, from Duncanville to Balch Springs. Runs roughly along the LBJ Freeway. Click here to see the districts on a map.
- Tennell Atkins (Incumbent)
- Subrina Lynn Brenham
- Davante "Shawt" Peters
- Lakolya London
Place 9: Covers a circuitous route around White Rock Lake and then out to Lake Ray Hubbard. Click here to see the districts on a map.
- Paula Blackmon (Incumbent)
- Judy Kumar
- John Botefuhr
Place 10: Covers northeast corner of the city, from White Rock Lake Park up to Richland College. Click here to see the districts on a map.
- B. Adam McGough (Incumbent, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem)
- Sirrano Keith Baldeo
Place 11: Covers central northern section of Dallas that runs along White Rock Creek between U.S. 75 and Dallas North Tollway. Click here to see the districts on a map.
Place 12: Covers very northern portion of the city that lies along Denton, Dallas and Collin Counties near the Dallas North Tollway. Click here to see the districts on a map.
- Elva Curl
- Cara Mendelsohn (Incumbent)
Place 13: Covers central-northern section of the city, from University Park to Farmers Branch. Click here to see the districts on a map.
Place 14: Covers part of downtown Dallas, Uptown, Lower Greenville and up to Northwest Highway. Click here to see the districts on a map.
- Paul E. Ridley
- David Blewett (Incumbent)
- Elizabeth Viney
Councilmembers are elected by the city at-large and represent the entire city.
Place 6:
- Versie Murchison
- Crystal Chism
- Entaune Tyson
Place 7:
- Kenzie Moore III
- Letitia Hughes (Incumbent)
District 1: Covers the northern portion of the city along the President George Bush Turnpike. Click here to see the district on a map.
District 3: Covers the southeastern portion of the city along Lake Ray Hubbard. Click here to see the district on a map.
District 6: Covers areas north and south of Joe Pool Lake. Click here to see the district on a map.
- Elizabeth Salazar Flores
- Kurt G. Johnson
- Jeff Wooldridge (Incumbent)
Place 8: Elected by the city at-large and represents the entire city
- Chelsea Pavey
- Tai Sawalha
- Ada French-Goring
- Greg Giessner (Incumbent)
- Steve "Junior" Ezeonu
- Marina Mishelle Talavera
District 4: Covers the southern section of the city. Click here to see a map.
- Sunil Mosa
- Phil Riddle (Incumbent)
District 8: Elected by the city at-large and represents the entire city
- David Palmer (Incumbent, Mayor Pro Tem)
- Dennis Webb
Irving Special Bond Election: Total of ~$563 million
Irving has 12 bond propositions up for a vote as a part of its special bond election. Below are brief explanations of how much each proposition within the referendum will cost and what they are for. For a more detailed look at the city's proposals, click here.
Proposition A: $207.8 million in bonds for street improvements
Proposition B: $9.2 million in bonds for existing city facilities at the city hall campus
Proposition C: $10.2 million in bonds for improving general government facilities consisting of field operations, fleet maintenance and central warehousing facilities
Proposition D: $1.3 million in bonds for Human Services offices and facilities
Proposition E: $29.93 million in bonds for police facilities
Proposition F: $5.77 million in bonds for existing animal care campus
Proposition G: $34.3 million in bonds for firefighting facilities
Proposition H: $78.3 million in bonds for park, open space and recreation facilities
Proposition I: $10.7 million in bonds for city information technology infrastructure
Proposition J: $20.2 million in bonds for library facilities
Proposition K: $3 million in bonds for the Irving Arts Center
Proposition L: $152.7 million in bonds for a joint public safety campus and other facilities
- Tiffanie Fowler
- Delia Parker-Mims
- TJ Gilmore
- Timothy M. Friebel, Jr.
Councilmembers are elected by the city at-large and represent the entire city.
Place 3:
Councilmembers are elected by the city at-large and represent the entire city.
Place 4:
Place 6:
