The runoff is scheduled for Dec. 13, with early voting running from Dec. 1-9.
General election front-runners Celia Israel and Kirk Watson are facing off as the two finalists in the mayor's race. The three contested council races include District 3's matchup of José Velásquez and Daniela Silva, District 5's runoff between Stephanie Bazan and Ryan Alter, and Zohaib "Zo" Qadri and Linda Guerrero's face-off in District 9.
First-time voters who are Travis County residents and will be 18 years old as of the election date can complete their voter registration or apply to register online through Travis County's tax office or the Texas Secretary of State. Voters can confirm their registration status ahead of the election here.
Runoff elections between the top two vote-getters are called when no general election candidate wins more than 50% of the vote in their race. In Austin, no open-seat race saw a candidate pass that limit while council incumbents Natasha Harper-Madison and Paige Ellis both won a majority of votes in their districts to secure wins.
Watson and Israel, Silva and Velásquez, Alter and Bazan, and Guerrero and Qadri each made it through six- or eight-person fields to become finalists in their races. And in recent years, a November election night lead has been no guarantee of a December victory after the candidate field narrows to just two competitors.
Austin's last full council election in 2020 saw two races head to runoffs when first-place general election finisher Alison Alter defeated Jennifer Virden in District 10, while second-place general election finisher Mackenzie Kelly beat incumbent Jimmy Flannigan in District 6. And in 2018, November leaders Pio Renteria and Ellis won their December elections as general election runner-up Harper-Madison went on to win her runoff. Alter first won her council seat after a second-place general election finish followed by a runoff win in 2016.
