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Houston Mayor

Houston Mayoral Candidates Cast Ballots As Early Voting Gets Underway

Monday marked the first day of early voting across Texas.

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  • La votación anticipada en el condado de Harris comienza el lunes 23 de octubre. Foto de Florian Martin | Houston Public Media (Photo Credit: Florian Martin)
    La votación anticipada en el condado de Harris comienza el lunes 23 de octubre. Foto de Florian Martin | Houston Public Media (Photo Credit: Florian Martin)
  • Early voters cast their ballots at Acres Homes Multi-Service Center. (Photo Credit: Florian Martin)
    Early voters cast their ballots at Acres Homes Multi-Service Center. (Photo Credit: Florian Martin)
  • Houston mayoral candidate Sylvester Turner gets ready to vote for himself at the Acres Homes Multi-Service Center.
    Houston mayoral candidate Sylvester Turner gets ready to vote for himself at the Acres Homes Multi-Service Center.
  • Houston mayoral candidate Adrian Garcia talks to reporters before voting at the Moody Park Community Center.
    Houston mayoral candidate Adrian Garcia talks to reporters before voting at the Moody Park Community Center.

At least two candidates for Houston mayor used the first day of early voting to get it over with. And they left no doubt about who they think should win.

"I'm leaning towards this guy named Adrian Garcia," said Garcia.

"For mayor, I voted for Sylvester Turner – S-Y-L-V-E-S-T-E-R – because he's the best person for the job," said Turner.

To be fair, there are at least four other major candidates in the race for mayor: Bill King, Chris Bell, Steve Costello and Ben Hall.

No word on whether they voted Monday.

Also up for a vote in Houston are city council members, controller and school board members. And then there are several state, county and city referendums.

Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart says convenience is one reason to vote early.

"There (are) 41 early voting locations. And during early voting you can vote at any of those locations of your choice," Stanart says.

On Election Day, you can only vote in your precinct.

Stanart says the majority of voters choose not to vote early, but the gap is narrowing.

In the last city election two years ago, 54 percent of voters cast their ballot on Election Day, down from 65 percent in 2009.

"The potential is with that trend, we'll have less than half the people vote on Election Day," Stanart says.

The early voting period ends on Oct. 30 and Election Day is Nov. 3.

For more voting information, including voting locations and to see a sample ballot, go to our special election page.