Voting News

Early voting for mayor and city council has begun around Dallas-Fort Worth

Early voting begins on April 24 and runs through May 2.

Courtesy photo

Early voting begins on April 24 for the upcoming May 6 election in Dallas and cities across North Texas.

Registered voters can vote at any early voting location in their county and early voting runs through May 2. Voters must present an approved photo identification card.

A directory of early voting locations and hours by county can be found here:

Mayors
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is running for a second term. His only challenger is a write-in candidate, Kendal Richardson.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker is up for re-election to a second term, with four opponents: Ken Bowens Jr, Jennifer Castillo, Alyson Kennedy, and Adrian Smith.

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross is up for re-election to a second term and faces newcomer Amy Cearnal.

Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney has two opponents: Frisco's former fire chief Mark Piland, and Jonathan Spencer.

Other races
The Dallas City Council is up for a vote with nearly 40 candidates running for 14 council seats.

The Fort Worth City Council will expand to 10 districts after redistricting, which adds two new council members.

Schedule
The schedule is as follows:

April 24: Early voting begins.
April 25: Last day to apply for a ballot by mail.
April 30: Polling locations are closed on Sunday.
May 2: Early voting ends.
May 6: Election Day.

You can check your registration status on the Texas Secretary of State's website or the Dallas County Election Department's website.

Scooter News

Scooters for rent are back on the streets of Dallas, with restrictions

Stewart Slocum

Scooters in downtown Dallas.

Yay, the scooters are back: Electric scooters are back on the streets of Dallas.

Just three companies are being allowed to offer scooters for rent: Bird, Lime, and Superpedestrian, who all loaded a fleet late Tuesday night for their official debut on Wednesday, May 24.

This marks their return after their initial introduction in 2018. They were banned in September 2020, when Dallas people pretty much freaked out over their use.

This time, the city has placed limitations on not only who can provide them but how many and how they can be deployed.

Each vendor can have 500 scooters for a total of 1,500.

They can be rented from 5 am-9 pm only, and only to users who are 16 and older.

There's also a 20 mph speed limit, and only 10 mph in six inner-city zones: Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts District, West End, Dallas Farmers Market, Victory Park, and Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge.

They're officially not allowed on sidewalks, in public parks, or on roads where the speed limit is higher than 35 mph.

If all goes well and the response is positive, the vendors will be allowed to add 250 more scooters, to a maximum of 1,250 scooters each.

A spokesperson for Bird said that their scooters can now be found at the following locations, with others available and shown via the Bird app: Klyde Warren Park, American Airlines Center, McKinney Avenue, and Uptown.

Bird's Community Pricing Program is offering a 50 percent discount to low-income riders, Pell grant recipients, certain nonprofit and community organizations, veterans, and senior citizens.

Lime Operations coordinator Kelly Pierce says that the company is excited to return, stating that "we expect this new and improved e-scooter sharing program to be a huge success for riders and the entire city."