SAN ANTONIO — After 19 years of administering elections in Bexar County, Jacque Callanen is leaving the role.
According to a press release from county officials, Callanen submitted her resignation letter Friday, following a busy spring that saw voters heading to the polls four times. The head of the county elections department will remain in her position until after the November election.
"Jacque has served Bexar County tirelessly for the past two decades," Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai is quoted as saying in the release. "She has been a beacon of integrity amid an extremely challenging political environment.
The county will embark on "a national search" to find her successor.
Callanen's resignation fulfills a bipartisan desire to have her replaced. Voting rights advocates on local and state levels have called for it to happen, citing incidents at the polls, a desire to make voting more accessible and an effort to shepherd a local elections office focused on "getting the community mobilized to go and vote."
Just under 185,000 residents cast a ballot in the primary elections this March, the fewest in a presidential-election year since 2012.
In January, the Bexar County Elections Commission convened to discuss the idea of a replacement for Callanen, but conducted that conversation behind closed doors.
"I don't know why it was held in executive session, other than an effort to muzzle those that might speak out," Jeff McManus, chair of the Republican Party of Bexar County, told KENS 5 in March.
McManus, a member of the Bexar County Elections Commission, said at the time that he supported replacing Callanen.
"The management level that I perceived at the Primary Election needs to be improved," said McManus. "Her ability to control the judges and have them do what they're supposed to do at their facilities is just not there."
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