City staff briefed a council committee on the logistics and trade-offs of aligning Dallas municipal general elections with the November uniform election in odd-numbered years, saying the council must adopt a resolution by Dec. 31, 2025, if it wishes to make the change.

The presentation recalled that Dallas voters approved Proposition D in November 2024, which removed a charter requirement that general elections must be held in May, and that the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 1494, signed June 20, 2025, giving cities the option to move their general elections to the November uniform date in odd-numbered years. Staff said the council’s policy decision — adoption of a resolution — is separate from implementation tasks that will be handled operationally by the city secretary’s office and Dallas County Elections.

Staff outlined concrete consequences if the council adopts the resolution. The new council term would begin on the third Monday in December (staff used Dec. 20, 2027, as the example inauguration date for the first affected cycle). Current council members would serve in a holdover capacity until new members are sworn; duties, pay and attendance rules remain in effect during holdover, but that holdover time would not be counted toward the incumbent’s term length for seniority/term-calculation purposes. Filing periods would shift from the current mid‑January–February window for May elections to a mid‑July–mid‑August window for November elections. Runoff elections under the new schedule would be held in December on a Saturday designated by the secretary of state, staff said.

Staff also warned of practical shifts in appointment authority. Because board and commission appointments have traditionally been completed between August and year-end in odd-numbered years, moving elections to November would mean more appointments happen before incoming members take office, giving outgoing councils majority appointment power unless the charter is realigned later. Staff noted that Proposition J (2024) gives council the authority to remove and replace board members at any time, which offers a remedy but can be awkward in practice.

Another operational change is that Dallas County, not the city, would determine polling locations and election judges for November general elections. Staff contrasted the city’s typical May election footprint (about 274 Dallas locations) with the county’s November program (about 452 locations) and said the county’s involvement reduces the city’s direct control over site selection and judges. Staff added that the county’s November administration generally offers more early‑voting hours and voting centers, which can raise turnout, but that turnout varies with ballot content and cannot be guaranteed.

On costs, staff said moving a general election from May to November should reduce the city’s share of general‑election costs because Dallas County already operates the November ballot; staff estimated potential savings of roughly $432,000 per general-election cycle, while noting runoffs could remain expensive if Dallas is the only municipality in a December runoff. The city secretary also presented recent final numbers from the county for the May 2025 election (see related consent-item article) to illustrate contract and audit practices.

The committee did not take a vote during the briefing. Staff said the matter is scheduled on the full council agenda for Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, and that adopting a resolution to move the date would require a simple majority vote. If adopted, staff will coordinate immediately with the Dallas County Elections Department to implement transitions.

Speakers quoted or cited in this article are those present in the committee briefing. Direct quotes in committee discussion were limited to the transcript; attribution in the body above is to the city secretary’s office and council members who raised questions and comments during the briefing.

What’s next: the council will see an agenda item on Nov. 12, 2025; if council adopts the resolution, staff will begin implementation work with Dallas County and return to council on any required charter realignment, officer-term decisions and board‑appointment timing.