Early Voting Opens Wednesday for Houston City Council District C Special Election

Six early voting locations across Harris County are already open in the race to fill Abbie Kamin's vacant Houston City Council District C seat, with voting underway since Wednesday and running through March 31.

Kamin resigned her District C seat to run for Harris County Attorney, triggering a special election that covers 35 square miles and 215,000 residents in some of Houston's most politically engaged neighborhoods, including Montrose, the Heights, and Meyerland. Seven candidates, four women and three men, are competing for the position. Whoever wins will serve the remainder of Kamin's term, ending January 1, 2028.

Nancy Sims, a political science lecturer at the University of Houston, told ABC13 the field stands out from typical municipal contests. "I would call this one of the most grassroots campaigns I've seen in years," Sims said. "The candidates in the race are just real neighborhood-oriented people. They span the cross-section of the district in that they are from different communities."

Sims framed the stakes in concrete, daily terms: "So, this is for the person who gets your street fixed, your potholes filled, your trash picked up, you know, a day-to-day working city council member."

The six early vote centers are open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 7 p.m. through March 31. On Election Day, Saturday, April 4, Harris County will expand to 20 vote centers, all open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Voters who prefer to cast their ballot by mail must submit their application to the Harris County Clerk's Office no later than March 24. The application must be printed and mailed to the Harris County Clerk's Office Elections Department at 15600 Morales Road, Houston, TX 77032. The office can also be reached by phone at (713) 755-6965.

Voters uncertain about which contests appear on their ballot can use the "What's on my Ballot?" tool on the Harris County Clerk's website by entering a name or address. Handwritten notes and printed sample ballots are permitted inside the voting booth. Election materials and official notices are available for download in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese through the City of Houston's District C special election page.