You might not know it, but Austin is in the middle of an election. Voter turnout during early voting was only 2.2 percent!

Wait, didn’t we just have an election? What election is this?

Yes, we did just have an election. On November 8th (when the country elected a new president), Austin elected new City Council members, school board members, and a whole slate of other representatives. But in some races, no single candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, which means that they’re required to go to a runoff.

Here’s which races went to a runoff election:

• Austin City Council District 10 (in northwest Austin) – Current City Council Member Sheri Gallo vs. Alison Alter
• Austin Community College Trustee Place 4 – Sean Hassan vs. Michael J. Lewis
• Austin Community College Trustee Place 9 – Guadalupe “Lupe” Sosa vs. Julie Ann Nitsch

More on the District 10 City Council race 

Only people who live in District 10 (in northwest Austin) can vote in this election. You can figure out which City Council district you live in here.

This is the map of all 10 City Council districts in Austin. District 10 is located in the northwest part of the city.

The race for City Council is an important one. The person who is elected to serve District 10 will influence everything from transportation, to taxes, to parkland in the city. If you live in District 10, be sure to look through our District 10 Voter Guide. 

More on the ACC Trustee Elections

Unlike City Council, the ACC Board of Trustees are not elected based on geographic location. Most Austinites can vote for all ACC Trustee “places” or positions. These are known as at-large elections.

The board’s job is to establish policies that govern the school’s educational programs, as well as to provide high-level guidance/leadership to ensure that ACC meets the needs of the local community.

One important thing to remember about ACC is that even if you’re not a student of the college, your taxes help to fund it, which is why you get to decide who sits on the board. So don’t let the opportunity to vote pass you by. You can learn more about each of the ACC Board of Trustee candidates with these League of Women Voters guides from the general election (just remember that only two candidates from Place 4 and 9 remain in the race).

Okay, so how do I vote?

Election Day is Tuesday, December 13th. Polling locations on Election Day will be open from 7am to 7pm. You can find a list of polling locations in Travis County here>>

And if you want to see exactly which races you will be able to vote in, you can see a sample version of your ballot here>>