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Election 2026City Council

Early voting ends with a midterm record in Travis County. What Austin decides Nov. 3, and what happens after

More than 365,000 ballots were cast by Thursday afternoon, topping 2018's in-person mark. Five council seats, two bond props and eight charter amendments are on the city ballot, and a council seat needs a majority to win outright.

By Austin Politics staffUpdated

Friday, Oct. 30, is the last day of early voting, and Travis County has already set a midterm record. More than 365,000 voters had cast ballots by Thursday afternoon, according to unofficial county figures reported by KVUE and CultureMap. That is about 38.3% of the county's 952,713 registered voters.

The previous midterm record for in-person early voting was 350,218, set in 2018, according to the Texas Secretary of State's figures cited in the same report. Counting mail ballots, the 2018 early total was 368,048. Final early numbers, including Friday's, will come from the county after polls close.

Our update from earlier this week had the count at about 360,000.

Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3

  • Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Travis County Election Day locations, according to the county's polling place list filed with the city.
  • Where: Travis County uses countywide vote centers, so registered voters can vote at any listed location in the county. The list and wait times are at votetravis.gov.
  • Parts of Austin in Williamson and Hays counties vote under those counties' systems. The council's election ordinance adopts each county's voting system and central counting station.

What's on Austin's ballot

Five council seats. Districts 1, 3, 5, 8 and 9 are up. Our race guides cover each one, with the incumbents' voting records where there is one:

The campaigns' last reports before Election Day are in our finance story.

Two bond propositions. Proposition A would authorize $260 million for parks and Proposition B $35 million for libraries. Our explainer covers what each would build and how the council split on putting them on the ballot.

Eight charter amendments, including Proposition I, the citizen-initiated amendment on outside audits. See our guide to all eight and what the committees on each side raised and spent.

What our records add: how the election was set

The council called all three city elections on Aug. 6, each by an 11-0 vote: the council election, the bond election and the charter amendment election. On Oct. 8, it amended each, 11-0, to add the final early voting schedule, polling places and election agreements (council, bonds, charter).

The council election ordinance says council members are "elected by majority vote of voters residing in each respective district," according to the draft ordinance. With six candidates in District 1 and five each in Districts 3 and 9, a winner with less than half the vote is possible. In that case the top two would go to a runoff.

What happens after Nov. 3

  • Election night: The county posts unofficial results after polls close.
  • Canvass: The council formally canvasses the results at a special meeting. Last year it canvassed the Nov. 4, 2025, election on Nov. 17.
  • Runoffs, if needed: Austin's last council runoffs were held in December. The 2024 runoff was on Dec. 14, 2024. The date for any 2026 runoff would be set after the canvass.
  • The current council keeps voting. Its next meeting is Nov. 5, two days after the election. Our agenda guide covers what is on it. The Muny golf course deal is scheduled for Nov. 19.