Democracy depends on voting, even in city races

At the state level, the question is whether voting access for Texans, especially people of color, will be diminished due to so-called “election integrity” bills. At the local level, the question is, will this municipal election be like so many others?

Will we see a lack of civic engagement reflected in yet another paltry voter turnout in San Antonio? Will it be like the 2019 municipal election, when 13 percent of 784,245 registered San Antonio voters voted? That turnout was “high” by San Antonio standards.

Voting has been an embattled function of democracy — an instrument of change, but one often blunted through restrictions, especially in Texas. We are at a moment when voting rights are again threatened and the call to engage, to vote, is blaring.

Perhaps what has transpired since the record-setting presidential election — an unprecedented assault on our democracy fueled by the lie of widespread voter fraud — will energize more people to vote.

Our country has witnessed the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and a swell of recent violence, and it continues to endure a pandemic. At the local and state levels, we experienced a deadly loss of power during February’s winter storm.

If you think voting is sacred, then casting a ballot in local elections is just as important as casting a ballot in national elections. There is much to consider: San Antonio mayor, City Council members, two propositions and a host of school boards positions.

Proposition A could give the city authority to use bonds for much-needed affordable housing. Proposition B could remove San Antonio police officers’ right to bargain collectively with the city in an effort to reform policing.

A number of Bexar County school districts are holding board elections. Aside from council races, four small cities also have special propositions or proposed charter amendments on the ballot.

Who votes — and who doesn’t — shapes policy. As Walter Clark Wilson, an associate professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, told us, typical voters are whiter, older and better educated than the city’s population.

This brings us to the attack on voting rights in our country and state — found in HB 6 and SB 7 — as Texas Republican lawmakers respond to baseless claims of election fraud with legislation that would make voting more difficult, especially for people of color.

An antidote: the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which seeks to strengthen federal voting rights. Julián Castro, a former San Antonio mayor, former federal housing secretary and 2020 presidential hopeful, has been advocating for its passage, saying, “In Texas there is an all-out assault on the right to vote.”

In testimony Thursday to a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee on civil rights, Castro said: “This legislation is one of the best ways that we can ensure that everybody in our country, regardless of the color of their skin or their background, who is eligible to vote has access.”

Castro shared that nearly 50 years ago, his mother, Rosie Castro, a Mexican American civil rights activist in the 1970s, helped do research for testimony the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund gave before the Judiciary Committee for the reauthorization of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

We hope San Antonians answer the call this election. We have seen a slight improvement, compared with two years ago: On the first day of early voting, 7,070 Bexar County voters cast ballots compared with 6,561 voters on the first day of voting in 2019. And mail-in ballots were also up, with 10,000 requests this year compared with about 7,700 requests in 2019.

Local elections officials are expecting a voter turnout of only about 10 to 12 percent, typical with spring elections. If anything, this is exactly why local elections should be moved to coincide with national elections.

Our elections and democracy are maintained and bolstered by a collective faith in our democratic processes and engaged citizens, and by ensuring voting is accessible for all.

Early voting continues through Tuesday. Election day is Saturday. Don’t sit this one out. Vote like democracy depends on it — because it does.