AUSTIN (KXAN) — Almost 350,000 votes have been tabulated in Austin’s mayoral election. With unofficial results fully reported, KXAN is still unable to make a projection in this race — and we want you to know why.
According to the Travis County Clerk’s Office, there are three types of ballots still outstanding:
- Mail-in ballots that were postmarked by 7 p.m. on Tuesday and received by 5 p.m. Wednesday
- Overseas and military mail-in ballots that arrive by Tuesday, Nov. 12
- Provisional ballots that have not yet been processed
Incumbent Mayor Kirk Watson currently has 50.01% of the vote. A candidate must receive more than 50% to avoid a runoff. There are still ballots left to be counted, which means Watson could win outright or be forced into a runoff with second-place Carmen Llanes Pulido.
It’s unclear how many ballots remain to be counted. KXAN has reached out to the clerk’s office for an update. Late-arriving ballots are also possible in Williamson and Hays County, but those totals are expected to be much lower than in Travis County.
Watson released a statement Wednesday, acknowledging the race is “not quite over.” Watson wrote he’d received 50.1% of the vote, as of Wednesday morning. KXAN’s numbers show Watson currently has 50.01% of the vote.
What we do know – and knew from the beginning – is that with five candidates in our race, it would be extraordinary to win without a run-off. We also know that our campaign did great, earning over 100,000 more votes than the second-place finisher. That’s more votes than were cast in all of Travis County on Election Day – a huge margin.
But, it’s not over until it’s over – and it’s not quite over. We’re obviously hopeful that the final tally will keep us on top of 50%, but if it turns out we have a run-off race, you can be sure that we’re 100% ready to go. We’ll let you know as soon as we do.
Watson statement
KXAN has reached out to Llanes Pulido who said she was also working on a statement. It will be added to this story.
The official results must be released by Nov. 19 and the runoff election would need to be confirmed no later than Nov. 24, according to the Texas Secretary of State.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
