And now for some completely different election news: A seemingly innocuous Texas Senate bill, passed and awaiting the governor’s signature, may drastically affect Austin’s local elections, even extending the terms of the mayor and three City Council members by six months.
Senate Bill 100, legislation from San Antonio Dem Leticia Van de Putte, was drafted to bring the state in line with federal law requiring that federal ballots be delivered to military and overseas voters at least 45 days before an election. It preserves Texas’ current March primary date, while postponing potential primary run-offs to the fourth Tuesday in May, so as to meet the 45-day requirement.
But the measure could be difficult to enact for those Texas cities, Austin included, that hold city council elections in May. Many doubt the Travis County Clerk’s Office has the budget and resources to stage a federal party primary, a run-off, and a city election within such a tight a time period – as could happen in 2012’s mayoral election.
The Texas Municipal League warns about SB 100’s consequences on its website: “A county elections administrator who finds the task of reprogramming and calibrating electronic voting machines in the spring of even-numbered years too onerous may refuse to provide machines or otherwise assist with the city election on that date. Realistically, this means that many cities may still have to move their elections to the November date under the amended version of S.B. 100.”
Full Article: So Many Elections, So Little Time – News – The Austin Chronicle.