The 2024 Austin mayoral election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the next mayor of Austin, Texas.[1] The election was nonpartisan; the candidates' party affiliations did not appear on the ballot. Incumbent mayor Kirk Watson was running for re-election, after returning to the position of mayor following the 2022 election.[2] On November 15, over a week after election day, Watson was declared the apparent winner of the race after securing 50.0041% of the vote. In the final tally, Watson was a mere 13 votes over the cutoff to avoid a runoff with Carmen Llanes Pulido.[3]
Following election day, unofficial results from Travis, Williamson and Hays County, with 100% of the precincts reporting, showed incumbent mayor Kirk Watson with 50.01% of the vote and 31 raw votes over the 50% plus one threshold to avoid a runoff with Pulido.[12] At the time, there remained some outstanding ballots yet to be processed, including overseas and military ballots, provisional ballots, and mail-in ballots received the day after election day. On November 13, over a week after election day, the election had still not been called, with an estimated 3,200 provisional ballots yet to be reviewed.[13][14]
On November 15, KXAN declared Watson the apparent winner of the race after the uncertified final tally showed him with 50.0041% of the vote and 14 raw votes over the threshold to avoid a runoff. Subsequently, Watson declared victory in the race, while Pulido refused to concede saying the race remained too close to call. Travis County and Williamson County did a canvas on November 15 and November 19, respectively, while Hays County's results were official by November 15. On November 18, a final batch of 20 provisional ballots were added from Travis County, with Watson 13 votes above the threshold.[15] The deadline, according to the Texas Secretary of State, for the posts to be finalized was November 19.[16][17]
On November 21, Pulido requested a recount of 11 specific precincts in Williamson County, but her request was refused because state law demands the recount to be of the entire jurisdiction rather than select parts.[18] On November 22, Pulido conceded the race and said she would not be pursuing a recount or any further actions challenging the outcome.[19]
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