Term Limits on Mayor, City Council Result In Lower Voter Turnout, Particularly Among Hispanics
With San Antonians set to elect a new mayor and City Council members this Saturday, a University of Texas at San Antonio report shows term limits imposed on these political seats a decade ago could contribute to what political experts predict will be another low voter turnout.
According to data analyzed by UTSA’s Metropolitan Research and Policy
Institute (MRPI), voter participation in municipal elections has declined
significantly since the maximum two-term limit became effective in 1991, despite
an increase in the number of registered voters over the same period of time.
During the 1980s, voter participation in municipal elections averaged 29 percent,
peaking at 43 percent in 1981—the year Henry Cisneros was first elected
mayor—levels that approximate voting rates for state and federal elections.
Since term limits were imposed, voter turnout in city elections has dropped
steadily except in 1991, which saw 32 percent of voters come out to the polls.
This was also the last year in which an incumbent Latina council member competed
against six other candidates in an open election for mayor.
The average since then is 19 percent, only 1percentage point greater than
br> the 18 percent low mark for the entire previous decade. In fact, the city
experienced its all-time low voter turnout in 1999, with only 7 percent of
registered San Antonians going to the poles.
"The relatively competitive nature of City Council and mayoral races
in the 1980s called for a greater mobilization of voter effort," said
Arturo Vega, UTSA associate professor of political science and a co-author
of the report. "The resulting ‘get out and vote’ campaigns
helped to spur voter enthusiasm.
"With the coming of terms limits, the city has seen fewer aggressive
voter-mobilization campaigns. There is generally less interest in the elections,"
he said.
The lower voter rates are particularly evident in the inner-city council districts,
according to the data analyzed by the UTSA researchers. On the other hand,
participation in districts 8, 9 and 10 is high.
And while voter registration overall has increased, the registration rate
for Hispanics has remained relatively consistent, despite the fact that the
number of Hispanics eligible to vote has nearly doubled in the city.
Term limits have also had one unanticipated consequence since their implementation:
three City Council members—Juan Solis, Rick Vasquez and Jose Melendez—resigned
their council seats before the end of their second terms to pursue the next
phase of their careers.
"It’s not hard to imagine that both outgoing council members and
mayors may be distracted in the later months of their last terms as they look
to line up other opportunities," said Vega.
Information for the UTSA study was obtained from the Secretary of State’s
office, city election returns and UTSA’s annual San Antonio Surveys.
UTSA's Metropolitan Research and Policy Institute is a multi-disciplinary
research unit established to coordinate the University's resources in addressing
issues and problems confronting the San Antonio metropolitan area. Research
areas include metropolitan governance, economic development, justice policies,
cultural studies, environmental issues and educational issues. For more information,
call (210) 458-2650 or visit the Web site: http://mrpi.UTSA.edu.