Austin Mayor

Watson beat his opponent, Celia Israel, by fewer than 1,000 votes.

Polls have closed in the races for mayor and three seats on the Austin City Council. Here are the results.

In 2014, the last time Austin had a runoff election for mayor, just 15% of voters participated.

No single candidate in the races for mayor and three seats on the City Council garnered a majority of votes in November, so they were sent to a runoff election. Polls close at 7 p.m.

Last year, voters passed a proposition saying they want ranked-choice voting in local elections — which would make runoff elections unnecessary. The city hasn't implemented this form of voting, though, because it says state law won't allow it.

The polls have closed for the Nov. 8 election, but some races still won't be decided for another month. Austin's mayoral race and three City Council races are heading to a runoff.

More than half of Austin voters could not agree on one candidate, so voters will return to the polls next month to determine the winner.

Last year, two-thirds of voters supported Proposition D, which moves the city’s mayoral elections to the same year as presidential elections.

The mayor elected in this cycle will serve a two-year term, as opposed to four years. A ballot measure passed in May 2021 moved Austin's mayoral race to align with presidential elections in an effort to increase voter turnout.

Key races on the ballot include the governor's race between Greg Abbott and Beto O'Rourke, and a matchup between incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rochelle Garza. If you live in Austin, you'll also be voting for mayor.