Houston Landing

Countdown to the runoff

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What's next?

Since no mayoral candidate received more than 50 percent of the total vote, the top two finishers, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire, move to a runoff election, scheduled to take place Saturday, Dec. 9.

(Mark Mulligan for Houston Landing)

Runoff election

The runoff will take place Saturday, Dec. 9, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Why a runoff?

Since no mayoral candidate received more than 50 percent of the total vote, the top two finishers, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire, will now compete head-to-head in a second election for the city's top job.

Why Dec. 9?

Under a state law passed this year, the runoff must be scheduled on a Saturday between 30 and 45 days after Election Day.

The runoff date creates a small, two-day buffer for Jackson Lee and Whitmire to file for reelection to their current respective offices, depending on the outcome of the mayor’s race, before the statewide Dec. 11 deadline to file for the Democratic primary next March.

Neither Jackson Lee nor Whitmire has indicated whether they would run again for their current positions.

After the runoff

Once a winner is declared after the Dec. 9 runoff election, Houston’s next mayor will be sworn in at midnight on Jan. 1, followed by a ceremonial inauguration early in the new year.

The winner of the runoff will be sworn in at midnight Jan. 1, followed by a ceremonial inauguration with City Council early in the new year.

Find your polling place

Harris County uses countywide voting, which means you can cast your ballot at any of more than 700 locations. You can find a voting center at the link below.

Find your voting location

What to know before you go

Documents

In order to vote, you need to bring one of the following forms of ID:

  • Texas Driver License
  • Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
  • U.S. citizenship certificate containing your photograph
  • Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
  • Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
  • U.S. Passport (book or card)
  • U.S. Military Identification Card containing your photograph

*If you don’t have any of these forms of ID, visit www.harrisvotes.com/Voter/ID for more information.

No cell phones in the voting booth

Cell phones, digital phones, cameras, phone cameras and sound recorders are not allowed to be used within 100 feet of voting stations.

What’s on my ballot

Download and fill out Harris County’s sample ballot to prepare for the polls. You are allowed to bring a completed sample ballot to the polls.

Download a Sample Ballot

Questions?

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