Virden voters 'wild card' in Austin mayoral race, early voting starts next week

Austin voters are being asked to head back to the polls Dec. 1 to again vote for the next mayor of the city. Three city council seats are also still undecided.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin voters are being asked to head back to the polls Dec. 1 to again vote for the next mayor of the city. Three city council seats are also still undecided.

"It is a scramble for votes, the runoff, it's very different from the general election which is easier to predict in terms of turnout," Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward's University, said.

That's why in the race for Austin mayor, Smith says, candidates are likely to be targeting precincts they won last go around. In November, voters were divided between the two candidates centrally almost right down MoPac Expressway.

Senator Kirk Watson, who came in behind Representative Celia Israel in the electorate, has to cover more ground, Smith said.

"And the wild card in the race of course is the Virden voters. They were 18% of the electorate. Are they going to stay home? Are they going to coalesce around one of the candidates?"

Virden claimed more votes in the precincts west of MoPac, which is also where Watson claimed most of his precinct victories.

If you did not vote in the November election, you can still vote in the runoff. In 2021, Austin voters approved moving mayoral races to the same year as presidential elections. Because of that, the mayor elected on Dec. 13 will only serve for two years. Voters will return to the polls and decide on the mayor again in 2024.

Austin City Council District 3

Six candidates ran for this position initially, and José Velásquez and Daniela Silva will head to the December runoff election. Velásquez captured 36% of the vote, while Silva got 34% of the vote in the November election.

Austin City Council District 5

Six people also ran for this position. Stephanie Bazan and Ryan Alter will head to the runoff election. In November, Bazan gathered 29% of the vote, while Alter got 24%.

Austin City Council District 9

Eight people ran in this district to earn a spot on Austin City Council. Zohaib “Zo” Qadri and Linda Guerrero advanced to the runoff election, with Qadri securing 30% of the vote and Guerrero getting 22% in November.