Austin voters can hear from candidates running for each of the five City Council seats on this year's ballot at a series of moderated panels leading up to the November election.
What's happening
The city, Ethics Review Commission and the League of Women Voters Austin Area are sponsoring the five public forums taking place around Austin in the coming weeks.
The candidate panels will be held in person in council districts 1, 3, 5, 8 and 9, which all feature contested races this fall. They'll also be streamed live on ATXN in English and Spanish and air on KAZI FM 88.7.
What you need to know
Panels include:
District 1, Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Asian American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Road, Austin
District 3, Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Learning and Research Center, 5202 E. Ben White Blvd., Ste. 500, Austin
District 5, Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the South Austin Senior Activity Center, 3911 Menchaca Road, Austin
District 8, Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hampton Branch at Oak Hill, 5125 Convict Hill Road, Austin
Runoff elections are required if no candidate wins at least 50% of the vote in their race, and would be held in December if needed. Additional candidate panels for any runoff elections will be held Nov. 23 starting at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall.
Austinites can submit questions for panel moderators to ask the candidates by emailing [email protected] or calling 512-451-6710. Voters can also request interpretation services for any panel by reaching out via 3-1-1 ahead of the events.
More information about the Nov. 3 election is available from the city online. The League of Women Voters also offers election information including a voter guide.
What else?
In addition to the geographic council contests, voters citywide will also weigh in on two bond propositions and multiple amendments to the city charter.
The voter registration deadline is Oct. 5, and early voting will run Oct. 19-30. The last day for eligible voters to apply for a ballot by mail is Oct. 23, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
