Dallas County Elections Administrator Expects "Dismal" Turnout for Tomorrow's Elections

By Robert Wilonsky Mon., Nov. 2 2009 at 3:44 PM

Categories: Politics

You are aware that are there elections tomorrow, right? Probably not, unless you're in a district of the Dallas Independent School District with a seat on the board of trustees that's ripe for the takin'. (What constitutional amendments?) Hence Bruce Sherbet's prediction that no more than 3 percent of Dallas County will have cast their lots by 7 p.m. Tuesday. "And probably 40 percent of that has voted early," the county's elections administrator tells Unfair Park today, pointing to the 14,750 tallied by Friday's end. "That's nothing to write home about," Sherbet says.

Two years ago Dallas managed to get 14 percent of its registered voters to the polls -- but that was when the Trinity River Toll Road was on the ballot, luring an impressive 37,237 to the polls during early voting. Tomorrow, as Sherbet puts it, is just a "standard, low-profile constitutional election." The only drawing card is the DISD races, and Sherbet expects all of them are likely to wind up in runoffs. (Which is bad news for my neighborhood, where Edwin Flores and Kyle Renard supporters, many of whom are good friends, have turned on each other with surprising and unfortunate vitriol.)

"It's possible with a low turnout, it'll be hard to eke out 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a runoff," Sherbetsays. On the good-news front: No lines, and Sherbet figures the results should be in 'round 9 p.m., which is when we'll post our results. Maybe.

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