Early voting has begun for the May 12 local elections. Registered voters who want to take advantage of early voting to cast a ballot in local elections may do so at any of the 21 Travis County polling locations, rather than just at their designated polling place as they would be required to on Election Day.

This is the first election that uses the new precinct lines established through the redistricting process. Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said the Travis County Elections office has taken steps to inform voters of the new boundaries.

"My office is mailing postcards to approximately 102,000 households in 89 precincts to inform them of Election Day polling place changes. The vast majority of those changes are due to redistricting," DeBeauvoir said in a news release.

Turnout for the 2011 May election came in at 7.4 percent of registered voters, with 14,871 ballots cast in early voting and 18,009 cast on Election Day.

A sample ballot and the early voting and Election Day polling locations are available at www.traviscountyelections.org. For more information on the Austin City Council candidates appearing on the ballot, consult Community Impact Newspaper's voting guide.