Friday ·
Last day of early voting: 41.98%.
Good morning, Austin.
The Briefing
Last day of early voting: 41.98%.
Through Thursday, Oct. 29, 398,190 people had voted, 41.98% of the county's 948,575 registered voters, according to the county's unofficial daily totals. That count is 379,696 in-person early votes, 2,313 limited ballots and 16,181 mail ballots received. Thursday brought 37,831 voters, the most of any day this week.
Friday, Oct. 30, is the last day of early voting, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at any county site, with seven sites open until 10 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and you can vote at any polling site in Travis County. Vote Travis election page.
What's next: Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Sources: Travis County unofficial early voting totals through Oct. 29 (PDF), Vote Travis election page
City Desk
Public safety & courts
Nov. 5: try a drunk-driving simulator at City Hall.
Austin Municipal Court marks Municipal Court Week, Nov. 2-6, with a traffic safety event Thursday, Nov. 5, run with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's Watch UR BAC program. The court is also starting a series of short videos on its services.
Visitors can meet court staff, get traffic safety tips and try an intoxicated-driving simulator at Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second St., from 8 to 11:30 a.m., and at the court's main location, 6800 Burleson Road, Building 310, Suite 175, from 12:30 to 4:45 p.m. Questions: 512-974-4800.
City of Austin releaseGrowth & infrastructure
7,091 grass carp go into Lake Austin to eat hydrilla.
Austin Watershed Protection released 7,091 sterile grass carp into Lake Austin on Thursday, Oct. 29, near Jessica Hollis Park, Walsh Boat Ramp and Bull Creek, where hydrilla, a non-native water plant, is thickest. A Texas Parks and Wildlife survey in mid-September estimated 575 acres of hydrilla, and the city says coverage has held steady since June. The stocking number comes from a new city model built on 15 years of Lake Austin data.
Oct 29 The city asks boaters to clean, drain and dry boats, trailers and gear, and asks lakeside residents to cut back on fertilizer.
Austin Watershed Protection releaseCity Hall & county
87%: this week's in-person turnout trails last week's.
Monday through Thursday of this week, 137,656 people voted in person at county sites, 87% of the 158,400 who voted on the same four days of the first week, Oct. 19-22.
Oct 30 Limited ballots went the other way: 1,580 this Monday through Thursday, up from 332 in the first four days, and Thursday's 583 were the most of any day so far. Ben Hur Shrine Center has drawn the most in-person voters of any site, 16,116, followed by Bee Cave City Hall at 15,427. The seven sites open until 10 p.m. Friday are Ben Hur Shrine Center, Lakeway Activity Center, Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex, PfISD Rock Gym, Randalls Brodie, the Travis County Clerk's office on Airport Boulevard and the UT Texas Union.
Bulletin calculation from the county's daily totals through Oct. 29 (PDF) Vote Travis election page; hours from the county's early-voting site list (PDF)
Travis County Vote Travis election pageThe Back Page
Friday, Oct. 30, is the last day of early voting.
One Good Thing: Austin Watershed Protection released 7,091 sterile grass carp into Lake Austin. Austin Watershed Protection release