Travis County has a packed ballot this election. Residents can weigh in on several tax propositions that will impact child care costs, local schools and City Council seats. Depending on where you live, you might also see several disannexation propositions.
We’re here to help you make a plan to vote and sort through the biggest items on the list. You can find your sample ballot on the Travis County website.
(If you live in Williamson County, view this guide. If you live in Hays County, view this guide.)
What’s on my ballot?
Travis County Proposition A
Travis County is asking voters to approve a 2.5 cent per $100 valuation tax rate increase to expand affordable child care options in the county. This comes as child care costs in Texas have become the highest in the state. If this measure passes, it’ll come at a cost to taxpayers, adding about $126 to the average Travis County homeowner’s annual property tax bill. You can read more about Prop A from previous KUT reporting.
Travis County District Attorney
Incumbent District Attorney José Garza, a Democrat, will face Republican criminal defense attorney Daniel Betts. Garza claimed victory against Jeremy Sylestine in the March primary.
The Travis County district attorney prosecutes major crimes and felonies.
Austin Mayoral Race
Five people are running to be Austin’s next mayor. They are:
- Kirk Watson, the incumbent
- Kathie Tovo, a former City Council member
- Doug Greco, former director of Central Texas Interfaith
- Carmen Llanes Pulido, an East Austin community organizer
- Jeffrey Bowen, the owner of a small construction company and member of the Austin Neighborhood Association
KUT has a guide on where these candidates stand on transportation, public safety and housing. You can also watch a full forum with each candidate’s vision. KUT fact-checked their statements during the event on housing.
Austin City Council seats
Seventeen candidates are running for City Council seats in districts 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10. All the candidates were invited to talk with KUT about where they stand on homelessness, transit and housing. You can watch their video responses.
Austin ISD and Manor ISD voter approval tax ratification election
Austin ISD Proposition A
The Austin ISD school board is asking voters to approve a higher school district property tax rate to help reduce its $119 million budget deficit and cover the cost of raises for about 6,500 employees. If voters approve the proposed 9.1 cent increase per $100 of a property's taxable valuable, the average homeowner's property tax bill will increase by about $412 per year.
The new tax rate would generate $171 million in new revenue for Austin ISD. The district would keep $41 million of that, while the remaining $130 million would go to the state because of recapture — a decades-old system in Texas that redistributes money from property wealthy districts to those with lower property values.
Manor ISD Proposition A
The Manor ISD school board is asking voters to approve a new tax rate that will generate $4.8 million in new revenue for the district. None of that funding is subject to recapture, meaning it will all remain within the district. Manor ISD plans to use the funds for school safety, reducing its nearly $21 million deficit and covering the cost of an additional 2% raise for employees. Trustees already approved a 1% raise as part of the 2024-25 budget.
If Manor ISD voters approve Prop A, the tax rate will drop from $1.0861 per $100 of a property's taxable value to $1.0814. The average homeowner would see their Manor ISD property taxes decrease by about $10 per year.
You can view the ballot language for Austin ISD Proposition A and Manor ISD Proposition A on this Travis County sample ballot.
Austin ISD School Board Election
Four of the nine seats on the Austin ISD school board are up for election. The two incumbents seeking reelection are running unopposed. Ofelia Zapata, who represents District 2, and Noelita Lugo, who is an at-large trustee, are not seeking reelection. Trustee At-Large Position 8 will be elected by all voters who live within Austin ISD's boundaries.
Trustee District 2:
Trustee At-Large Position 8:
Manor ISD, Del Valle ISD, Lago Vista ISD, Leander ISD and Round Rock ISD also have school board elections.
Pflugerville sales tax cut
Pflugerville residents will vote on whether they should remove a 0.5 cent sales tax from Emergency Services District 2, also known as the Pflugerville Fire Department.
Opponents of the sales tax cut say it would cut 40% of the department's budget, causing over 80 firefighters to be laid off, three fire stations to close and response times to double.
Supporters say it would save taxpayer dollars that are currently being wasted on a system that doesn’t provide adequate emergency services.
More than 600,000 Travis County voters are expected to cast ballots this election and around 200,000 of those will be on Election Day. Here's what you need to know before heading to the polls.
Am I registered to vote?
You can verify your voter registration in Travis County using the Texas Secretary of State's My Voter Portal. The deadline to register for this election was Oct. 7.
When and where can I vote?
Travis County polling locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. As long as you're in line by the time polls close, you can cast your ballot.
Travis County residents are able to vote at any polling location within the county.
You can also check the map below for live wait times. (If the map doesn't appear correctly, try refreshing the page or clicking here.)
Don't forget your ID
Everyone who votes will need photo identification. Here are the accepted forms of ID:
- Texas driver's license
- Texas election identification certificate
- Texas personal identification card
- Texas handgun license
- U.S. military identification card that includes the person’s photograph
- U.S. citizenship certificate that includes the person’s photograph
- U.S. passport
Voters' IDs should be up to date, but they can be expired for up to four years. Voters 70 or older can bring a photo ID that has been expired for any length of time.
If you don’t have an updated ID one, there are several alternatives:
- government document showing your name and an address, such as your voter registration certificate
- current utility bill
- bank statement
- government check
- paycheck
- certified domestic birth certificate or court admissible birth document
All of these documents can be either a copy or the original. If you use one of these, you’ll have to sign a form that says you had a reasonable impediment to getting an ID.
What if I want to vote by mail?
The deadline to apply to vote by mail was Oct. 25.
Registered voters in Texas can vote by mail if they:
- will be away from their county on Election Day and during early voting;
- are sick or disabled;
- are 65 or older on Election Day;
- are confined in jail, but eligible to vote; or
- are expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day.
You can print and complete an application here in English and here in Spanish.
Once you get your mail-in ballot, there are some extra deadlines you should keep in mind to make sure your ballot is received on time:
- Postmarked: Nov. 5 by 7 p.m.
- Post received: Nov. 6 by 5 p.m.
- In-person received: Nov. 5 by 7 p.m.
If you hand deliver your mail-in ballot to the county elections office, you will need to show a photo ID.
You can track the status of your mail-in ballot using Travis County's ballot tracker.
The Austin-area League of Women Voters put together a guide of additional tips for filling out your application to vote by mail and the overall process.
