20 Additional Ballots Confirm Watson’s Lead in Austin Mayoral Race

After KXAN initially declared Austin Mayor Kirk Watson the apparent winner of the mayoral race last week, a new batch of provisional ballots was added to the Travis County election totals on Monday night, just before the official results were set to be posted.

With the updated numbers, Watson now holds a lead of 13 votes above the runoff threshold. Although Watson has a commanding lead of over 100,000 votes ahead of the next candidate, Texas law requires a candidate to secure more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff.

On Tuesday, the Austin City Council officially canvassed and certified the final results, confirming Watson’s victory in the race.

A spokesperson for the Travis County Tax Assessor explained that the provisional ballot process was in its final stages last Friday, November 15, when election staff discovered that 75 provisional ballots had not been fully processed. These ballots were reviewed, and the necessary steps were taken to ensure their accuracy. The spokesperson emphasized that the issue was caught through the system’s routine checks and was rectified accordingly. The public was reassured that all eligible votes had been counted.

Now, attention turns to whether second-place candidate Carmen Llanes Pulido will request a recount. While KXAN has reached out for comment, Llanes Pulido has not yet indicated whether she plans to make that request.

Under Texas law, Llanes Pulido has until 2 p.m. Thursday to file for a recount. If she chooses to move forward, she will need to submit a deposit for the cost of the recount. Should the result remain unchanged, she would be responsible for covering the cost.

In a previous report, KXAN highlighted that Llanes Pulido’s campaign finance report for the final month of the election showed she had just $5,000 left to spend. No additional information about her plans for a recount has been provided by the Travis County Clerk’s Office at this time.

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