What voters need to know ahead of Austin's District 4 special election
Seven candidates will vie for Austin City Council Member Greg Casar's seat, after Casar announced Nov. 4 his run for Congress.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Voters in Austin's District 4 will decide on the next representative to join Austin City Council this January.
Early voting begins Monday and runs through Friday, Jan. 21; however, early voting polling sites will be closed Jan. 17 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Early voting polling locations will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Election Day is Jan. 25.
Here's what you need to know before casting a ballot.
Who's running for District 4?
Seven candidates will vie for Austin City Council Member Greg Casar's vacated seat. Casar announced Nov. 4 his run for the newly-drawn 35th congressional district, which includes most of Travis County east of Interstate 35 before trailing down into Hays, Comal and Bexar counties.
The following candidates will be included on the special election ballot, in order of place:
What you need to vote
All District 4 voters will need to bring one of the following forms of identification to the ballot box:
- Texas Driver License issued by Texas DPS
- Texas Election Identification Certificate (EIC) issued by DPS
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Concealed Handgun License issued by DPS
- U.S. Military ID Card containing the person’s photograph
- U.S. Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
- U.S. Passport
If you don't have access to one of these forms of I.D., the following constitute along with a "reasonable impediment declaration" explaining why you can't provide one of the seven I.D. forms:
- Certified domestic birth certificate or court admissible birth document
- Current utility bill
- Bank statement
- Government check
- Paycheck
- Government document with your name, address included in your voter registration certificate
Where you can vote
The following locations will serve as early voting sites:
- City of Austin Permitting and Development Center: 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, Austin
- Gus Garcia Recreation Center: 1201 E. Rundberg Lane, Austin
- Chinatown Center: 10901 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin
Mail-in voting
The Texas Secretary of State's website outlines people who meet one of the following criteria are eligible to receive a mail-in ballot:
- Be 65 years old or older
- Be sick or disabled
- Be out of the country on Election Day or during early voting
- Be confined in jail but still eligible to vote
The first day to apply for a ballot by mail was Jan. 1, while the last day to apply is Friday, Jan. 14.
Those looking to vote by mail can request a mail-in ballot application online or through printing the form. Once filled out, the form must be mailed to the early voting clerk in Travis County, which is the same as the Travis County election office. The early voting clerk would be the elections administrator or county clerk.