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Nov. 3, 2026 general election

Austin Voter Guide 2026: Where to Vote, What’s on the Ballot, and Who We Recommend

Early voting is open now through Friday, Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. In Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop counties you can vote at any site in your county. Bring a photo ID. At the top of the ballot: U.S. Senate (Ken Paxton vs. James Talarico) and governor (Greg Abbott vs. Gina Hinojosa). Austin voters also decide Props A-J, including a $295 million parks and library bond and the Prop I audit charter amendment.

Austin is showing up: 40,777 Travis County voters cast ballots on the first day of early voting, the biggest midterm opening day this century and about 61% above 2022 (KUT). In 2022 only 52% of registered Travis voters voted at all (Texas SOS). The statewide races are polling within a few points.

Find my polling placeSee my ballot
Early voting
Oct. 19-30
Mail ballot application
Received by Oct. 23
Election Day
Tue. Nov. 3, 7am-7pm
Polling sites mapped
355

Where do I vote near me?

Enter your address or tap “use my location” to see the closest early-voting or Election Day sites, with live wait times where the county publishes them (Travis, Williamson, Hays). We mapped 90 early-voting sites and 265 Election Day sites from each county’s official list.

Your ballot, built from your address

Enter your address and we’ll show the exact races on your ballot, laid out like the real thing, with our picks pre-marked and the closest early-voting sites with live waits. Change anything, then print it or text it to yourself.

Voted? Get three friends to go too.

Close races are decided by turnout. Send this to your group chat: it finds the nearest polling place and the shortest line in seconds.

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austintexasthings.com/austin-voter-guide-2026
The ATX Things slate

Our endorsements, at a glance

Editorial opinion, labelled as such. The reasoning, the side-by-side comparisons and the record behind every pick are below, each with its source.

U.S. Senator

James Talarico

Governor

Gina Hinojosa

Lieutenant Governor

Vikki Goodwin

Attorney General

Nathan Johnson

Comptroller of Public Accounts

Sarah Eckhardt

Railroad Commissioner

Jon Rosenthal

Campaign sites: James Talarico · Gina Hinojosa · Vikki Goodwin · Nathan Johnson · Sarah Eckhardt · Jon Rosenthal

Prop A·FORProp B·FORProp C·FORProp D·AGAINSTProp E·AGAINSTProp F·FORProp G·No pickProp H·FORProp I·AGAINSTProp J·FOR

Head to head: the races at the top of the ballot

Where the candidates stand, issue by issue, and the record you should know before you vote. Every line links to its source.

U.S. Senate

Also on the ballot: Ted Brown (Libertarian)

ATX Things endorses

Democrat

James Talarico

State representative, former middle-school teacher

James’s campaign site
Opponent

Republican

Ken Paxton

Texas attorney general since 2015

Why it matters: Sen. John Cornyn lost the GOP runoff, so the seat is effectively open. Texas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988.

Polling: Talarico has led narrowly in nearly every fall poll: UH Hobby 48-46, UT/Texas Politics Project 50-47, CBS/YouGov 51-49.

Side by side

Abortion

The 19th · Texas Tribune Senate Q&A

James TalaricoRestore a federal right to abortion; voted against Texas’ ban.
Ken PaxtonMade Texas the only state blocking federal emergency-abortion (EMTALA) guidance; expected to back pressure on the FDA to pull mifepristone.

Health care

Talarico campaign: health care · FOX 7 · Texas Tribune

James TalaricoReverse ACA, Medicare and Medicaid cuts; optional Medicare buy-in for anyone; helped pass Texas’ $25 insulin cap.
Ken PaxtonLed the 2018 multistate lawsuit to strike down the ACA; offers tax deductions instead; quiet as ~$10B in Texas hospital Medicaid payments were withheld.

Social Security & Medicare

Border Report · Texas Tribune Senate Q&A

James TalaricoProtect both; says he does not support taxing Social Security.
Ken PaxtonRecorded at a private donor event saying he would target “mandatory spending,” the category that includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Prices & taxes

Texas Tribune · Texas Tribune Senate Q&A · Border Report

James TalaricoRepeal the tariffs, suspend the federal gas tax, raise taxes on billionaires and corporations, expand the Child Tax Credit and EITC.
Ken Paxton“Fully support[s]” the tariffs; first-time-homebuyer deduction, permanent gas-tax repeal, a doubled Child Tax Credit.

Border

FOX 7 · Texas Tribune Senate Q&A

James TalaricoStrict screening plus paths to citizenship, more resources at ports of entry, ICE refocused on criminals, no wall through Big Bend.
Ken PaxtonSued the Biden administration repeatedly (Shelby Park, razor wire); backed SB 4; endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council.

Public schools

Talarico campaign: public education · Texas Tribune Senate Q&A

James TalaricoFormer teacher who led House opposition to vouchers and fought the Ten Commandments classroom bill.
Ken PaxtonPledged to “promote school choice”; issued an AG opinion letting the comptroller bar some schools from the voucher program.

Energy & data centers

Texas Tribune

James TalaricoData centers pay for their own infrastructure, local say on permits, repeal their tax breaks, expand utility-bill aid.
Ken PaxtonNow backs ending data-center sales-tax breaks he voted for as a state senator in 2013; has sued the EPA repeatedly.

Democracy

Talarico campaign: corruption · CNBC

James TalaricoFirst bill: overturn Citizens United, ban congressional stock trading and partisan gerrymandering, term limits.
Ken PaxtonFiled the 2020 suit asking the Supreme Court to throw out four states’ presidential results (rejected for lack of standing).

Ken Paxton: the record

  1. 1

    Impeached by his own party

    The Republican-led Texas House impeached Paxton 121-23 in 2023 over allegations he used his office to help donor Nate Paul. The Senate acquitted him; only two Republican senators voted to convict. Texas Tribune

  2. 2

    Taxpayers owe $6.6 million to aides who reported him

    Four senior aides who reported Paxton to the FBI were fired. A Travis County judge ruled the office broke the Whistleblower Act; Paxton dropped his appeal and the state owes $6.6 million. Texas Tribune

  3. 3

    Securities-fraud case ended in a pretrial deal

    Indicted in 2015, he took a pretrial intervention agreement in 2024: about $271,000 in restitution, community service and ethics classes, without admitting guilt. Texas Tribune

  4. 4

    Nearly 1,000 trips with a taxpayer-paid security detail

    ProPublica and the Tribune counted about $3.3 million in DPS security costs since 2015; only 138 trips could be tied to state business. Texas Tribune / ProPublica

  5. 5

    His wife filed for divorce “on biblical grounds”

    State Sen. Angela Paxton filed in July 2025, citing “recent discoveries”; the petition alleges adultery. Texas Standard

  6. 6

    Won’t debate

    Talarico accepted multiple debate invitations, including one on Fox News. Paxton hasn’t agreed to any, even after Trump urged one. Washington Post

In fairness, critics of James Talarico point to: Talarico’s voter registration. The Tribune found he voted from his parents’ address for two years after buying a home. Paxton has a similar issue; an ethics lawyer doubted either is fraud. Texas Tribune Big outside money. Critics point to megadonor and dark-money groups backing his campaign. Texas Tribune Senate Q&A

Governor

Also on the ballot: Pat Dixon (Libertarian)

ATX Things endorses

Democrat

Gina Hinojosa

Austin state representative, civil-rights lawyer, former AISD board president

Gina’s campaign site
Opponent

Republican

Greg Abbott

Governor since 2015

Why it matters: Signs or vetoes every bill, calls special sessions, appoints thousands of officials. Abbott is seeking a record fourth term.

Polling: Within the margin of error either way: UH Hobby Abbott 49-46, UT/Texas Politics Project Hinojosa 49-48.

Side by side

Public schools

KSAT · Texas Tribune governor’s guide · Community Impact

Gina HinojosaEnd the voucher program and put the money into public schools; stop state takeovers of elected school boards (AISD faces one); replace Commissioner Mike Morath with an educator.
Greg AbbottMade vouchers his priority: a $1 billion program that drew 274,183 applications for roughly 90,000-100,000 funded slots. Signed $8.5 billion in school funding in 2025, but the basic per-student allotment rose just $55.

Your bills

E&E News · KSAT · Texas Tribune governor’s guide

Gina HinojosaFreeze residential electricity rates; a $1,500 check per household from the record Rainy Day Fund; opposes a state income tax.
Greg AbbottProposes abolishing school property taxes for homeowners and tightening appraisal caps; his campaign claims ~$3,000 a year in savings.

Abortion

Houston Chronicle · KFF

Gina HinojosaOpposed SB 8 and has spoken publicly about her own abortion.
Greg AbbottSigned SB 8 (2021) and, in 2025, HB 7 letting private citizens sue anyone who mails abortion pills to Texans for at least $100,000.

Health care

Texas Tribune governor’s guide

Gina HinojosaAccept federal Medicaid expansion to cover about 1 million Texans and shore up rural hospitals.
Greg AbbottHas not expanded Medicaid in three terms; proposes copay caps on inhalers and epinephrine.

Grid & data centers

E&E News · Texas Tribune

Gina HinojosaCalls out ERCOT for doubling its CEO’s pay; wants a data-center moratorium.
Greg AbbottPaused new data-center grid hookups pending an audit; raised $9 million from data-center-linked donors.

Border

Texas Tribune governor’s guide

Gina HinojosaCalls Operation Lone Star wasteful; would pursue federal reimbursement.
Greg AbbottBuilt Operation Lone Star, which the Tribune calls an $11 billion program.

Greg Abbott: the record

  1. 1

    246 Texans died when the grid failed

    The February 2021 winter storm knocked out power to millions; the state’s final count was 246 deaths. Texas Tribune

  2. 2

    Pushed a map to take five House seats

    Called 2025 special sessions at Trump’s urging to redraw congressional lines mid-decade. A lower-court panel found “substantial evidence” of racial gerrymandering before the Supreme Court let it stand. Texas Tribune

  3. 3

    Hill Country floods: “word choice for losers”

    After the July 2025 floods killed at least 135 people, including 27 at Camp Mystic, Abbott brushed off questions about who was responsible as a “word choice for losers.” Houston Chronicle

  4. 4

    The most uninsured state in America

    Texas had a 16.7% uninsured rate in 2024, double the national 8.2%, and Abbott has refused federal Medicaid expansion for three terms. U.S. Census Bureau

  5. 5

    Took away Austin’s water breaks

    Signed the 2023 “Death Star” law that strips cities’ power to set their own rules, ending Austin’s required water breaks for construction workers. Texas Public Radio

  6. 6

    Won’t debate

    Abbott debated in all three previous races. This year he has declined every invitation. FOX 7

  7. 7

    Big-donor money

    Raised $48.6 million this year, including $2.5 million from one donor and $500,000 from Elon Musk. Texas Tribune governor’s guide

In fairness, critics of Gina Hinojosa point to: Abortion isn’t her first priority. Hinojosa has said expanding abortion access “will not be my priority as governor” because it needs more than a governor. Houston Chronicle A Republican Legislature. Ending vouchers or expanding Medicaid would need lawmakers’ approval. KSAT

The latest polls

Most margins are inside the polls’ margins of error. Read them as “close,” not as a forecast. Close races are decided by who shows up.

PollDatesSenateGovernor
UH Hobby School (2,000 LV, ±2.2)Oct. 10-14Talarico 48, Paxton 46Abbott 49, Hinojosa 46
CBS News/YouGovOct. 8-16Talarico 51, Paxton 49Abbott narrowly ahead
YouGovSep. 28-Oct. 5Talarico 50, Paxton 44Hinojosa 48, Abbott 47
UT/Texas Politics Project (861 LV, ±3.3)Sep. 25-Oct. 5Talarico 50, Paxton 47Hinojosa 49, Abbott 48

The rest of the statewide ballot

Lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller and railroad commissioner shape Texas more than most voters realize. These appear on every ballot in the metro.

Lieutenant Governor

Also on the ballot: Anthony Cristo (Libertarian), Kevin McCormick (Green)

ATX Things endorses

Democrat

Vikki Goodwin

Austin state representative

Vikki’s campaign site
Opponent

Republican

Dan Patrick

Lieutenant governor since 2015

Why it matters: Runs the Texas Senate: decides which bills get a vote and who sits on which committee.

Polling: Split: UH Hobby Patrick 47-42; UT/Texas Politics Project Goodwin 49-46.

Side by side

Schools

Texas Tribune

Vikki GoodwinThe state should pay a larger share of school funding, easing local property taxes.
Dan PatrickDrove the voucher program through the Senate.

Health care

Texas Tribune

Vikki GoodwinA state health-insurance option funded by a cannabis tax.
Dan PatrickPushed the THC ban, plus the library-book and bathroom laws.

Dan Patrick: the record

  1. 1

    Took $3 million from Paxton allies, then presided over Paxton’s trial

    In June 2023 a PAC funded mainly by Tim Dunn and the Wilks family gave Patrick $1 million plus a $2 million loan. He then ran the impeachment trial that acquitted Paxton. Texas Tribune

  2. 2

    His Senate killed the warning-siren bill

    HB 13, about $500 million for emergency communications including sirens, passed the House and died in Patrick’s Senate months before the July 2025 floods killed more than 135 people. Texas Tribune

  3. 3

    The agenda behind the culture-war bills

    Patrick’s Senate priorities included the THC ban (vetoed by Abbott as “almost certainly unconstitutional”), vouchers, the library-book law and the bathroom law. Texas Tribune

Attorney General

Also on the ballot: Tom Oxford (Libertarian)

ATX Things endorses

Democrat

Nathan Johnson

Dallas state senator, attorney

Nathan’s campaign site
Opponent

Republican

Mayes Middleton

Galveston state senator, oil executive

Why it matters: Texas’ lawyer: picks which lawsuits the state files, defends state laws, and enforces consumer protection.

Polling: Close: UT/Texas Politics Project Johnson 48-47; UH Hobby Middleton 47-42.

Side by side

Priorities

TPR

Nathan JohnsonConsumer protection, anti-corruption, restoring trust in the office after Paxton.
Mayes MiddletonRan as “MAGA Mayes”; wants expanded power to prosecute election crimes and would defend abortion restrictions.

Comptroller

Also on the ballot: V. Alonzo Echavarria-Garza (Libertarian), Shehla Faizi (Green)

ATX Things endorses

Democrat

Sarah Eckhardt

Austin state senator, former Travis County judge

Sarah’s campaign site
Opponent

Republican

Don Huffines

Appointed by Abbott; Dallas developer

Why it matters: Sets the revenue estimate that caps the state budget, and now runs the $1 billion voucher program.

Polling: UT/Texas Politics Project Huffines 47-46; UH Hobby Huffines 47-40.

Side by side

Vouchers & contracts

Texas Tribune

Sarah EckhardtAudit the voucher program and end no-bid contracts to donors.
Don HuffinesPromises to “DOGE” state spending and return savings as property-tax relief.

Railroad Commissioner

Also on the ballot: Arthur DiBianca (Libertarian)

ATX Things endorses

Democrat

Jon Rosenthal

Houston state representative, mechanical engineer with 20+ years in the oil field

Jon’s campaign site
Opponent

Republican

Bo French

Former Tarrant County GOP chair, energy trader

Why it matters: Regulates oil, gas and pipelines, including the gas supply that froze in 2021.

Polling: UT/Texas Politics Project Rosenthal 47-46; UH Hobby French 45-43.

Side by side

Qualifications

KERA

Jon RosenthalTwo decades as an engineer in the industry he’d regulate.
Bo FrenchCampaigned largely on culture-war issues.

Bo French: the record

  1. 1

    Accused of racist comments

    KUT reports French was accused of racist comments about UT students. KUT

Courts and other statewide offices

  • Commissioner of the General Land Office

    Benjamin Flores

    vs. Dawn Buckingham (Republican), Neill Snider (Libertarian)

    Democratic nominee. The GLO manages state lands and the Alamo, and distributes federal disaster-recovery money.

  • Commissioner of Agriculture

    Clayton Tucker

    vs. Nate Sheets (Republican), Austin R. Kelly (Libertarian)

    Democratic nominee. The office regulates farms, weights and measures, and school-meal programs.

  • Chief Justice, Supreme Court

    Maggie Ellis

    vs. Jimmy Blacklock (Republican)

    Democratic nominee. All nine seats on Texas’ highest civil court are held by Republicans.

  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2 (unexpired term)

    Chari Kelly

    vs. James P. Sullivan (Republican)

    Democratic nominee; currently a justice on Austin’s 3rd Court of Appeals.

  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 7

    Kristen Hawkins

    vs. Kyle Hawkins (Republican)

  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 8

    Gisela D. Triana

    vs. Brett Busby (Republican)

    Democratic nominee; a former Austin appellate justice.

  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3

    Okey Anyiam

    vs. Thomas Smith (Republican), Mark Ash (Libertarian)

    Democratic nominee. The CCA is Texas’ highest criminal court, including death-penalty appeals.

  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4

    Audra Riley

    vs. Kevin Patrick Yeary (Republican)

  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9

    Holly Taylor

    vs. John Messinger (Republican)

  • Chief Justice, 15th Court of Appeals

    Jerry Zimmerer

    vs. Scott Brister (Republican)

    Democratic nominee. The 15th Court, created in 2024, hears every appeal involving the state of Texas.

  • Justice, 15th Court of Appeals, Place 2

    Tom Baker

    vs. Scott K. Field (Republican)

  • Justice, 15th Court of Appeals, Place 3

    Marc M. Meyer

    vs. April Farris (Republican)

Your congressional, State Board of Education, state Senate and state House races depend on your address. Every nominee is in the ballot builder above; check which are yours on your county’s sample ballot (Travis County Voter Lookup).

The record

What Texas Republicans did with total control of state government

Republicans have held the governor’s office, the lieutenant governor’s office, the attorney general’s office and both chambers of the Legislature for years. This is what they did with it, and what the people on your ballot let happen. Every item links to the reporting behind it.

Your body

  • An abortion ban linked to a spike in deadly sepsis

    Texas bans nearly all abortions. ProPublica found sepsis in second-trimester pregnancy-loss hospitalizations rose more than 50% after the 2021 bounty law, from 2.9% to 4.9%, and documented women who died, including Josseli Barnica and Nevaeh Crain.

    Abbott, Paxton, GOP LegislatureSource: ProPublica

  • $100,000 lawsuits over mailed abortion pills

    HB 7, signed Sept. 17, 2025, lets private citizens sue anyone who mails or provides abortion pills to a Texan, for at least $100,000.

    Abbott, GOP LegislatureSource: KFF

  • The most uninsured state in America

    16.7% of Texans had no health insurance in 2024, double the 8.2% national rate, and Texas still refuses federal Medicaid expansion money.

    Abbott, GOP LegislatureSource: U.S. Census Bureau

Your schools

  • $1 billion in vouchers, mostly for kids already out of public school

    More than 274,000 students applied for the new voucher program. 75% of applicants were already in private school or home-school the year before.

    Abbott, Patrick, GOP LegislatureSource: Texas Tribune via The 74

  • Teachers paid about $10,700 below the national average

    Average Texas teacher pay was $63,749 in 2024-25 (33rd in the nation) vs. $74,495 nationally; per-student spending ranks 46th.

    Abbott, GOP LegislatureSource: National Education Association

  • Houston ISD taken over; Austin ISD next in line

    The state replaced Houston ISD’s elected board in 2023 and extended the takeover to at least 2027. Two Austin ISD middle schools got a fifth straight F in August, which forces the state’s appointed commissioner to close them or replace AISD’s elected board.

    Education Commissioner Mike Morath (Abbott appointee)Source: Texas Tribune

  • The Ten Commandments in every classroom

    SB 10 (2025) requires a Ten Commandments poster in every public-school classroom. The full 5th Circuit upheld it 9-8 in April; a Supreme Court petition is pending.

    Abbott, Patrick, PaxtonSource: Houston Public Media

  • DEI banned on campus, then faculty power gutted

    SB 17 (2023) banned DEI offices; SB 37 (2025) handed regents control of curriculum and curbed faculty senates.

    Abbott, PatrickSource: KUT

Your vote

  • Congressional maps redrawn mid-decade, on Trump’s request

    The 2025 map was drawn to flip five seats. A three-judge panel, in an opinion by a Trump appointee, found “substantial evidence” of racial gerrymandering; the Supreme Court let the map stand anyway.

    Abbott, GOP Legislature, PaxtonSource: SCOTUSblog

  • 1 in 8 mail ballots thrown out

    SB 1 (2021) banned 24-hour and drive-thru voting and added new ID-number rules; 12.4% of mail ballots were rejected in the March 2022 primary.

    Abbott, GOP LegislatureSource: CBS News

  • Sued to overturn the 2020 election, then spoke on Jan. 6

    The Supreme Court threw out Paxton’s suit to void four states’ results. Weeks later he spoke at the Jan. 6, 2021 rally before the Capitol attack.

    PaxtonSource: JURIST

Your bills & safety

  • 246 dead in the freeze; gas suppliers got nearly two years to winterize

    The February 2021 grid failure killed 246 Texans. The rule requiring gas facilities to winterize wasn’t adopted until August 2022, and it covers only facilities designated “critical.”

    Abbott, GOP Legislature, Railroad CommissionSource: Texas Public Radio

  • A warning-siren bill died in the Senate months before the floods

    HB 13, about $500 million for emergency communications including sirens, passed the House and died in Patrick’s Senate in 2025. The July 4 floods killed more than 135 people.

    Patrick, GOP SenateSource: Texas Tribune

  • After Uvalde, no raise-the-age bill

    After 19 children and two teachers were killed in May 2022, a bill raising the rifle-purchase age to 21 died. Lawmakers mandated armed officers at every campus instead, without fully funding it.

    Abbott, GOP LegislatureSource: Texas Tribune

  • Billions in “relief,” and property-tax bills still climbed

    Total Texas property-tax levies rose from $73.5 billion in 2021 to $89.4 billion in 2025, despite school-tax cuts.

    Abbott, Patrick, GOP LegislatureSource: Reason Foundation, citing Comptroller data

  • $11 billion on a border show

    Operation Lone Star had cost about $11 billion in state money by October 2024, with $2.9 billion more sought, plus the Rio Grande buoy barrier.

    AbbottSource: Dallas Morning News

Your city

  • The “Death Star” law killed Austin’s water breaks

    HB 2127 (2023) strips cities of power to set their own rules, ending Austin’s required water breaks for construction workers in Texas heat. An appeals court upheld it in 2025.

    Abbott, then-Rep. Dustin Burrows (now House Speaker)Source: Texas Public Radio

  • A bathroom law with fines up to $125,000 a day

    SB 8 (2025) restricts restrooms in government buildings, schools and universities, fining institutions up to $125,000 per day, with a Paxton tip line.

    Abbott, Patrick, PaxtonSource: Texas Tribune

Their ethics

  • Patrick took $3 million from Paxton allies, then ran Paxton’s trial

    In June 2023 a PAC funded mainly by Tim Dunn and the Wilks family gave Patrick $1 million and a $2 million loan. He then presided over Paxton’s impeachment trial, which ended in acquittal.

    Patrick, PaxtonSource: Texas Tribune

  • Governing by executive order when their own party can’t agree

    Patrick pushed a total THC ban; Abbott vetoed it as “almost certainly unconstitutional,” two special sessions deadlocked, and Abbott imposed rules by executive order.

    Patrick, AbbottSource: KUT

Austin Props A-J: what they do and what’s underneath them

Two bonds and eight charter amendments, for voters inside Austin city limits. Ballot language is quoted exactly from the county ballot. For a shorter overview, see Austin Props A-J explained.

Prop A: $260M parks bond

FOR

Borrows $260 million for park buildings, pools (Garrison Pool is named), Zilker Park, new parks and trails. Austin’s first parks bond in eight years. Roughly $65 million each goes to park buildings, parkland improvements and pools, plus $35 million for new parkland in park-poor areas. KUT puts the cost for an average $495,000 home at about $40 a year for Props A and B together; other outlets estimate $42.

Case for

  • Parks budget mostly covers upkeep, leaving little for new investment (Austin Parks Foundation).
  • Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Travis County have each approved close to $300M in recent bonds.

Case against

  • City staff recommended waiting two years; Mayor Kirk Watson asked whether this is the right time. Council voted 8-3 to call the election.
  • Comes a year after voters rejected the Prop Q tax increase, with unspent money from earlier bonds still on the books.
Exact ballot language

THIS IS A TAX INCREASE; the issuance of bonds in the amount of $260,000,000 for citywide park, recreation, aquatic, and open space improvements, and the levy of taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds.

ATX Things: vote FOR. About $40 a year buys pools, trails and park repairs a growing city has put off for eight years, and bonds are the only realistic way to pay for them. The timing concern is fair; the need is real.

KUT: Austin’s $295 million parks and library bond package · Community Impact: what Austin voters need to know about 10 propositions · Austin Chronicle endorsements, Nov. 3, 2026

Prop B: $35M library bond

FOR

Renovates and expands the busy Hampton Branch at Oak Hill and builds a new branch in Colony Park, Northeast Austin. (Reported splits between the two vary; KUT says $20 million and $15 million.)

Case for

  • The library system hasn’t kept up with growth (Austin Public Library Foundation).
  • Colony Park has no branch of its own.

Case against

  • Same timing and cost concerns as Prop A.
Exact ballot language

THIS IS A TAX INCREASE; the issuance of bonds in the amount of $35,000,000 for library facilities and the levy of taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds.

ATX Things: vote FOR. A small bond with specific projects, including a first library for Colony Park.

KUT: Austin’s $295 million parks and library bond package · Travis County consolidated ballot

Prop C: Redistricting commission independence

FOR

Writes down that the citizen commission that draws council districts is independent of the council, and fixes how it fills vacancies, seats student members, and reviews maps after annexations.

Case for

  • Protects citizen-drawn districts from council interference.

Case against

  • No organized opposition reported.
Exact ballot language

Shall the City Charter be amended to clarify that the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) is independent of City Council control, allow the ICRC to review City districts after changes to the City’s boundary lines, create voter registration and residency duration exceptions for student members, provide an effective date for the redistricting plan adopted by the ICRC, increase the potential appointees to the ICRC, clarify the method and timing of filling vacancies on the ICRC, and allow City staff to communicate with the ICRC outside of meeting as long as such communication is in compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act?

ATX Things: vote FOR. Strengthens the citizen-drawn district system that ended at-large council elections.

KUT: What Austin voters should know about Prop I and the other propositions · Travis County consolidated ballot

Prop D: Drop the weekly-meeting requirement

AGAINST

The charter says council meets weekly. In practice it meets about every other week and cancels roughly half its scheduled meetings. This deletes the rule.

Case for

  • Matches how council has long operated (Council Member Chito Vela).

Case against

  • Removes a floor on how often residents can address council in public.
Exact ballot language

Shall the City Charter be amended to delete language providing that the City Council shall meet at least once each week?

ATX Things: vote AGAINST. A weekly meeting is a guaranteed chance for residents to speak to council. Keep the floor in the charter. The Austin Chronicle also recommends No.

KUT: What Austin voters should know about Prop I and the other propositions · Travis County consolidated ballot

Prop E: Council rules by resolution, not ordinance

AGAINST

Lets council change its own procedures, such as public-comment time and agenda order, without passing an ordinance.

Case for

  • More flexibility to fix procedures quickly.

Case against

  • Makes it easier to change public-comment rules with less process.
Exact ballot language

Shall the City Charter be amended to delete language requiring the City Council to determine its rules and order of business by ordinance?

ATX Things: vote AGAINST. Setting rules by ordinance means changes to public comment go through a full public vote. Keep it. The Austin Chronicle also recommends No.

KUT: What Austin voters should know about Prop I and the other propositions · Travis County consolidated ballot

Prop F: Campaign-limit timing

FOR

Updates Austin’s campaign contribution limits every Jan. 1 instead of in August, and clarifies which elections they apply to.

Case for

  • Candidates know the limits for the whole calendar year.

Case against

  • No organized opposition reported.
Exact ballot language

Shall the City Charter be amended to clarify the meaning of the term “election” and to provide that the campaign contribution and expenditure limits shall be modified each year by January 1st instead of with the adoption of the budget?

ATX Things: vote FOR. Clearer campaign-finance rules.

KUT: What Austin voters should know about Prop I and the other propositions · Travis County consolidated ballot

Prop G: Petition elections only in even-year Novembers

No pick

Citizen petitions would go to voters only in even-year November elections, when turnout is highest, instead of the next May or November.

Case for

  • Big decisions get made by the largest electorate, not low-turnout May or odd-year elections.

Case against

  • A petition could wait up to two years to reach the ballot.
Exact ballot language

Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that initiative elections and petitioned charter amendment elections must be held on the next available November election date that occurs in an even-numbered year and that allows sufficient time to comply with other requirements of law?

ATX Things: no pick. A real trade-off: higher turnout versus slower citizen initiatives. Even the Austin Chronicle’s board split on this one. We don’t make a pick.

KUT: What Austin voters should know about Prop I and the other propositions · Travis County consolidated ballot

Prop H: Council hires the city attorney

FOR

Moves the power to hire and fire the city attorney from the unelected city manager to the elected council.

Case for

  • Brings Austin in line with other large Texas cities and adds accountability (Council Member Vanessa Fuentes).

Case against

  • A similar change failed 51%-49% in 2012.
Exact ballot language

Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that the City Council appoints and removes the City Attorney?

ATX Things: vote FOR. The city’s lawyer should answer to the people voters elect.

KUT: What Austin voters should know about Prop I and the other propositions · Travis County consolidated ballot

Prop I: Mandatory outside “efficiency” audit

AGAINST

Requires an outside audit every five years and before any tax-rate election, and the contractor must find savings larger than its own fee. Written into the charter, so only another public vote could change it. Put on the ballot by petition from Save Austin Now, the PAC co-founded by former Travis County GOP chair Matt Mackowiak; the city counted 20,051 valid signatures against 20,000 required. The city already hired Public Works LLC this summer for a $5.23 million, three-year efficiency audit, which hasn’t released findings yet.

Case for

  • Independent review of city spending before any tax-rate election (Save Austin Now, Bill Aleshire).
  • Aleshire points to Houston’s 2024 Ernst & Young audit, which cost $580,000 and identified more than $100 million in potential savings.

Case against

  • The contractor is paid only if it finds cuts, so it has a built-in incentive to recommend cutting services (Council Member Vanessa Fuentes).
  • For-profit consultants “make more profit off of the more cuts that they offer” (U.S. Rep. Greg Casar).
  • The city estimates Prop I could cost more than $9 million in a single year, versus about $1 million a year for the audit already under way (Community Impact).
  • Comes a year after voters rejected the Prop Q tax increase by roughly 63% to 37%; Prop I would put a paid audit in front of every future tax-rate election.
Exact ballot language

Shall the City Charter be amended to require an Independent Affordability and Efficiency Initiative on a regular basis and before any tax rate increase election and requiring the independent contractor to identify annual and multi-year savings that exceed the cost of the contractor’s service?

ATX Things: vote AGAINST. Austin already pays for an outside efficiency audit that has barely started. This locks a second, cuts-for-pay contract into the charter, where only another election can change it. The Austin Chronicle and the Statesman editorial board both oppose it. Vote against.

KUT: What Austin voters should know about Prop I and the other propositions · Community Impact: what Austin voters need to know about 10 propositions · City of Austin Auditor: Austin’s efficiency assessment (Public Works LLC) · Daily Texan: Austin voters reject Prop Q tax increase (Nov. 2025) · Austin Chronicle endorsements, Nov. 3, 2026

Prop J: Charter cleanup

FOR

Fixes typos and removes language already overridden by state law or courts.

Case for

  • A charter that says what the law actually is.

Case against

  • No organized opposition reported.
Exact ballot language

Shall the City Charter be amended to make non-substantive corrections of typographical errors, punctuation, and sentence structure, and to change or remove language that is moot or unenforceable because it has been superseded by state law or by a final court order?

ATX Things: vote FOR. Pure cleanup.

KUT: What Austin voters should know about Prop I and the other propositions · Travis County consolidated ballot

Before you go: a checklist

  • Bring a photo ID. Texas driver license, election ID certificate, personal ID card, handgun license, military ID, citizenship certificate or passport. It can be expired up to four years (any length of time if you’re 70 or older). No ID? You can still vote by signing a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and showing a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or voter registration card.
  • Bring your notes, not your phone. Printed or written notes are fine (keep them out of sight as you walk in). Phones can’t be used in the room where voting is taking place.
  • Check the line before you leave. Travis, Williamson and Hays publish live wait times, which our map shows.
  • Need help? Every site offers curbside voting for voters who can’t stand in line or enter the building, and you can bring someone to help you (not your employer or union rep).
  • Your boss has to let you vote. Texas law bars employers from refusing time off to vote, during early voting or on Election Day, or docking pay for it, unless the polls are open two straight hours outside your shift.
  • Moved recently? Moved within your county: sign a statement of residence at the polls. Moved here from another Texas county and missed the deadline: you may be able to cast a limited ballot during early voting only, at your county’s main early-voting site.
  • In line at 7 p.m.? Stay. Anyone in line when polls close can still vote.
  • Voting by mail? Your application had to be received by Oct. 23. Include your Texas driver license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number on both the application and the ballot envelope.

Questions Austin voters are asking

When is early voting in Austin for the Nov. 3, 2026 election?

Early voting runs Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. In Travis County every early-voting site is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and several stay open until 10 p.m. on Oct. 29 and 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; anyone in line at 7 p.m. can still vote.

Can I vote at any polling place in Travis County?

Yes. Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop counties all use countywide vote centers, so you can vote at any site in your own county during early voting and on Election Day. Caldwell County is the exception: on Election Day you must vote at the site assigned to your precinct.

What ID do I need to vote in Texas?

Bring one of the seven accepted photo IDs: a Texas driver license, Texas election identification certificate, Texas personal ID card, Texas handgun license, U.S. military ID with photo, U.S. citizenship certificate with photo, or U.S. passport. If you don’t have one and can’t reasonably get one, you can still vote by signing a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and showing a supporting document such as a utility bill or voter registration certificate.

Can I bring notes or this ballot plan into the voting booth?

Yes. Texas law lets you use printed or handwritten notes while you vote; just don’t display them as campaigning inside the 100-foot zone. You can’t use a phone or other wireless device in the room where voting is taking place, so print your plan or write it down before you go.

Can my employer stop me from taking time off to vote?

No. Texas Election Code §276.004 bars employers from refusing to let you vote on Election Day or during early voting, or docking your pay for it, unless the polls are open for two consecutive hours outside your working hours.

Is turnout high in Travis County this year?

Yes. 40,777 people voted in person in Travis County on the first day of early voting, Oct. 19, 2026, the highest first-day midterm turnout this century and about 61% above the first day in 2022, according to the Travis County Clerk as reported by KUT.

What is Austin Proposition I?

Prop I would amend the city charter to require an outside “affordability and efficiency” audit every five years and before any tax-rate election, with the contractor required to find savings larger than its own fee. It reached the ballot by a petition from Save Austin Now. Most of the City Council, Mayor Kirk Watson and U.S. Rep. Greg Casar oppose it; ATX Things recommends voting against.

How much would the Austin parks and library bonds cost me?

KUT reports that Props A ($260 million for parks) and B ($35 million for libraries) together would add about $40 a year to the property-tax bill on an average $495,000 Austin home.

How we built this. Polling sites are transcribed from each county’s official list (Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, Caldwell) and geocoded. Wait times are read live from the counties’ own dashboards. Candidate names and ballot wording come from the Travis County consolidated ballot. Sites and hours can change; confirm with your county before you go. Recommendations are ATX Things’ editorial opinion and are labelled wherever they appear.