Early Voting Has Ended in Texas House District 79 and District 145 Special Elections

Early voting has concluded in two special elections for the Texas House — District 79 in El Paso County and District 145 in Harris County. As of Friday, January 25th, 1,528 voters had cast ballots in District 145, about 2.1 percent of the district’s nearly 73,000 registered voters while 2,705 voted in District 79, about 3.1 percent of the district’s 88,034 registered voters. Election Day is Tuesday, January 29th.

In District 145, 83 voters (5.4 percent) cast their ballot by mail, while 1,445 (94.6 percent) voted in person at one of the five early voting locations.

Eight candidates are on the ballot in the Texas House District 145 special election, which was called by Gov. Greg Abbott when former State Rep. Carol Alvarado won the December 2018 special election for Texas Senate District 6.

(From left to right, top: Elias De La Garza, Oscar Del Toro, Christina Morales, Melissa Noriega; bottom: Aflred Moreno, Ruben Gonsalez, Martha Fierro, Clayton Hunt) 
Texas House District 145 is located in Harris County, and runs diagonally along Interstate Highway 45 from Houston Heights to Southbelt/Ellington, picking up the Greater East End, parts of Pasadena, and the city of South Houston.
Polls are open on Tuesday, January 29th from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Information on Election Day polling locations can be found here.
In District 79, 627 voters (23 percent) cast their early ballot by mail, while 2,078 (77 percent) voted in person at one of the six early voting locations.
Three candidates are running in the Texas House District 79 special election, which was called by Gov. Greg Abbott when former State Rep. Joe Pickett stepped down due to health issues.

(From left to right: Michiel “Mike” Noe, Hans Sassenfeld, Art Fierro)
Texas House District 79 is located in central and northeast El Paso County and includes the El Paso International Airport and Fort Bliss.
Polls are open on Tuesday, January 29th from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Information on Election Day polling locations can be found here.
If no candidate in either race reaches 50 percent of the vote on January 29th, a runoff election will be held between the top two finishers, likely in mid-February 2019. The 86th regular session of the Texas Legislature began on January 8th.
Reform Austin will continue to follow and report the results of these special elections.