Dec. 12 runoff: Register by Nov. 12, vote early Nov. 30 to Dec. 8

Austin's 2026 election is not over for voters in three council districts and across Austin ISD. Three City Council seats and one Austin ISD board seat will be decided in a runoff on Saturday, Dec. 12. Early voting runs Monday, Nov. 30, through Tuesday, Dec. 8, according to the Texas Secretary of State's runoff election calendar. The Austin Chronicle reported the same dates.

The winners will fill three of the 11 seats on the council that sets the city's budget and zoning, for four-year terms.

Who gets a ballot

• District 1: Amber Goodwin or Misael Ramos, for the open seat now held by term-limited Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison. Our District 1 story
• District 3: Council Member José Velásquez or Neha Shah. Our District 3 story
• District 5: Council Member Ryan Alter or David Weinberg. Our District 5 story
• Austin ISD at-large Position 9: Pamela Mathai or Cynthia Soliz, on the ballot across the whole school district, KUT reported.

If you live in Districts 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10, you will not have a council race on Dec. 12, though you may still have the Austin ISD seat. You can look up your council district on our home page.

The dates that matter

From the Secretary of State's calendar:

• Thursday, Nov. 12: Last day to register to vote, or to change your address, for the runoff. A resident who registers by then can vote in the runoff if they live in a district on the ballot.
• Monday, Nov. 30: Early voting begins. State law would normally start it 17 days out, but that falls on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving, so it moves to the next business day.
• Tuesday, Dec. 1: The early voting clerk must receive applications to vote by mail by the close of business or noon, whichever is later. Texas limits voting by mail to certain voters, such as people 65 or older. Travis County's election site explains who qualifies.
• Tuesday, Dec. 8: Last day of early voting.
• Saturday, Dec. 12: Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mail ballots are generally due by then, with a narrow exception for some that arrive by Monday, Dec. 14.

The calendar also notes that voters who move after Nov. 12 may still be able to vote at their old precinct, or by limited ballot during early voting, depending on where they moved.

What the city still has to do

Locations and hours are not posted yet because the runoff has not been ordered yet. The Secretary of State recommends that cities order runoffs as soon as they canvass the November results. The city must post notice of the runoff on its website, and give it to the county, by Friday, Nov. 27. Our canvass explainer walks through those steps.

Check votetravis.gov for early voting sites once they are announced. Parts of the city sit in Williamson and Hays counties, which run their own polling places.

What our records add

Why there is a runoff. The council's Aug. 6 ordinance calling the election says members "shall be elected by majority vote of voters residing in each respective district." That is why a candidate with 47% or 48%, like Velásquez and Alter, did not win outright. The council passed it without objection.

Free rides are not guaranteed. CapMetro already waives fares on Election Day in even-numbered years, Community Impact reported in June. On May 28 the council asked the city manager to study fare-free voting with CapMetro and Travis County. We found no announcement of free rides for the Dec. 12 runoff. Our Election Day story explains who decides.

When the winners start. The draft 2027 council calendar lists the first regular meeting on Jan. 6. The Chronicle reported that new members will be inaugurated that day at City Hall.

What's next

• By Nov. 17: The council canvasses the Nov. 3 results.
• Nov. 12: Registration deadline.
• Nov. 30 to Dec. 8: Early voting.
• Dec. 12: Runoff Election Day.