Low voter turnout decides major North Texas bond and transit outcomes

A small fraction of eligible voters shaped several high-stakes decisions across North Texas on Saturday as Dallas ISD’s record $6.2 billion bond package passed easily and Fort Worth residents approved the city’s full $845 million bond program.

Despite turnout of just 8.68 percent in Dallas County, Dallas Independent School District voters backed all four bond propositions by more than 70 percent each. The largest school bond in Texas history will pay for 26 new replacement schools, campus renovations, safety and security upgrades, technology improvements and the removal of hundreds of portable classrooms. The package is expected to add roughly one cent to the property tax rate.

In Fort Worth, roughly 4 percent of registered voters approved all six propositions in the $845 million package, directing money to street repairs, park upgrades, library improvements, public safety facilities, affordable housing and a new animal shelter.

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Arlington Mayor Jim Ross secured a third and final term, winning with exactly 50.04 percent of the vote and clearing the majority threshold by a slim margin in the crowded nonpartisan race.

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit system saw a split result. Voters in Addison and University Park chose to remain in the agency, while Highland Park became the first member city in decades to vote to exit. DART will end all bus and paratransit service inside Highland Park on May 14 after official canvassing.

The outcomes underscore how low participation can drive major infrastructure and service changes affecting hundreds of thousands of residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

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