We have too many elections in Texas.
Ours is a voting system designed to confuse and stifle voter turnout that is always among the lowest in the nation.
We should have only two elections each year: a primary and then the general election in November. If needed, runoffs could follow.
Instead, we vote in March for state and federal primary races, with runoffs after that. We return the second Saturday in May for "nonpartisan" school and city races with runoffs in June. We may return a fifth time in August or September for a school tax ratification vote. Oh, and don't forget the first-Tuesday-in-November election.
Too much.
But there's good news on this front. Four area school districts are holding their tax ratification elections (TREs) and, in one case, a bond election, on Nov. 6. A TRE is required when school officials want to make major changes to their tax rate.
In the past, districts appeared to want to hide their elections by holding them on weird dates in late August or early September. School bond votes usually happen in May.
These dates virtually guarantee a low turnout, dominated by school district employees, their family members and highly interested constituents such as members of booster clubs and PTAs.
Today, The Watchdog rises in praise of these four districts for doing the right thing and opening their elections up to more voters, especially since the law doesn't require them to do so.
Birdville ISD has a $252 million bond proposal on the Nov. 6 ballot. It could have selected May.
Frisco, Richardson and Dallas ISDs also are holding their tax ratification elections Nov. 6, with early voting starting Monday. They could have done this in late summer with a smaller turnout.
Picking November is fair and, ultimately, quite courageous. I praise the administrators and school board members who approved this.
The November election date makes it more difficult to win.
How come?
This year's heated midterm congressional elections will attract thousands of new voters who don't usually vote in off-year elections.
If these school finance elections get defeated under the weight of so many new voters, districts' long-term financial plans will crumble.
Superintendents put their careers on the line in these votes. Quite a gamble.
'Largest participation'
"We obviously want the largest participation from our Birdville community," district spokesman Mark Thomas says, describing the Nov. 6 vote. How refreshing to hear.
I've long studied how school districts essentially obscure elections from voters with strange voting dates.
Holding school tax ratification elections — required when a district wants to increase its maintenance and operations budget above the $1.04 rate — in late August or early September is allowed. But it's a waste of money when a bigger November election date isn't that far away.
One of my favorite examples is Lovejoy ISD, which two years ago held a separate tax election only 14 days after the regular May election date.
Districts are required to announce tax elections in a newspaper, on a bulletin board at the district office and on their website. They don't have to do much else. Many voters aren't aware of these strange-date elections.
This year, Azle, Lancaster, Cedar Hill, Ennis, Duncanville and Keller school districts held late-summer tax ratification elections. All were approved except in Cedar Hill. Turnout in each was predictably low.
The movement to cut down on election days is growing. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, promises to introduce a bill in the 2019 Legislature.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, a Democrat, supports such a move. A 2016 study ranked Dallas the worst major city in the nation for voter turnout in municipal elections.
Rawlings, who won re-election with only 7 percent of eligible voters casting ballots (not unusual in a Texas city election), says: "When you look at governance, I believe that [the] more people you get involved, the better."
Right on.
Doing it right
So good job to these districts for rolling the dice with a risky November vote.
Dallas ISD: Spokeswoman Robyn Harris says: "We understand it's a larger voter turnout, and we wanted to make sure we put it in front of a captive audience. That was the reasoning and rationale behind it."
Richardson ISD spokesman Chris Moore says school board members voted to change their tax election from late summer to November in deference to community members who asked for more time.
"We can reach out to more people and educate more people about what a tax ratification election is," he says.
Todd Fouche, Frisco ISD's deputy superintendent, says community members have been asking for fewer election dates "and that was a driving force."
"We said, 'You know what? We think you're right. And that's how we should do it.'"
This is true leadership. It's not the easy way. We need more of this.
SIDEBAR: Here's what school district officials are not allowed to do before elections
Until 14 years ago, districts could urge voters to support their elections. "Vote Yes" signs and district-created propaganda were common. The law forbade it, but it wasn't enforced.
Then along came Decatur watchdog H.D. Boswell. Before he died in 2005, he won a major case at the Texas Ethics Commission against his home school district. The rules tightened.
The policy now is that only factual information can be provided using district resources, which includes government-owned computers and email addresses.
Districts can give information about the election, but cannot advocate for a candidate, political party or bond or tax measure. Outside of school, employees and others have free-speech rights. They can campaign.
Districts try to work a fine line. Birdville ISD has placed signs on each campus with information about how that campus would be helped by the bond election. But a yes vote is not sought.
Slogans that promote are banned. Examples: "Put children first." "Show that you care about education." "Every child deserves a good education." These are not allowed using school resources.
School officials should not direct their online followers to websites that contain political advertising. Example: Superintendents cannot post hyperlinks to websites that promote candidates or causes.
Political advertising cannot be funded or supported by districts. This includes billboards, flyers, newsletters, posters, websites, pamphlets, circulars, bumper stickers and newspaper, radio, magazine and TV ads.
District employees cannot wear "Vote yes" buttons or T-shirts on school property or elsewhere when they are attending events, such as football games, while working on behalf of the district.
For more information, do a Web search for "Campaign Speech During Elections" by the Texas Association of School Boards.
Also read "A Short Guide to the Prohibition Against Using School District Resources for Political Advertising in Connection with an Election" by the Texas Ethics Commission.
More education stories by The Watchdog
This superintendent gets paid over $400,000 a year to run the strangest school district in Texas
How a school district uses its power to tilt a tax-increase election in its favor
Here's how a trustee says school boards violate the Texas open meetings law
Dishonor roll: Former FBI agent turned Texas public school investigator sees corruption up close
Watchdog: Texas school boards team up against change
Watchdog: Superintendent shows how school districts crush critics
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Watchdog Dave Lieber of The Dallas Morning News is the leader of Watchdog Nation, which shows Americans how to stand up for themselves and become super consumers.
