Early voting for Dec. 13 runoff ends

Predictably, just a month after Travis County experienced record early voting participation in the 2016 presidential contest, the Dec. 13 runoff for local races brought the turnout cratering back down to earth. A whopping 2.8 percent of registered voters turned up over the course of nine early voting days. That’s 17,269 total voters, with the best and most consistent turnout at the Old Quarry Branch Public Library in Northwest Austin. That location isn’t much of a surprise, as the highest profile of the three races on the ballot is the showdown between City Council incumbent Sheri Gallo and challenger Alison Alter in the race for Northwest Austin’s District 10. The other two are Austin Community College board of trustees Place 4 (Michael J. Lewis vs. Sean Hassan) and Place 9 (Guadalupe “Lupe” Sosa vs. Julie Ann Nitsch). There’s still one more chance to weigh in, this Tue., Dec. 13. Find out more at www.traviscountyclerk.org.