It's time to vote for the next Houston mayor

Election Day is finally here.

Why it matters: Houstonians will be voting for a new mayor after incumbent Mayor Sylvester Turner reached his term limit.

• Plus, the city controller, all of the City Council district and at-large positions, a pair of city charter amendments, a county hospital proposition, and state propositions are also on the ballot.

State of play: This is the first time since 2020 that an election in Harris County is being run by the county clerk.

• Earlier this year, Republican legislators abolished the Harris County Elections Administrator's Office after the 2022 election experienced machines malfunctioning and other issues.

What we're watching: Unless state Sen. John Whitmire or U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee can surpass the expectations reflected in the recent University of Houston polls, the two front-runners in the mayoral race are likely headed for a December runoff.

Details: Polls are open from 7am to 7pm Tuesday.

• Check your county election office website to locate polling locations.
• View your sample ballot: Austin County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, Harris County, Montgomery County, Waller County.
• Make sure to bring your ID.
• Metro will provide free rides to Houston-area polling locations.

The bottom line: If you're registered, go vote.

Go deeper: Here are our quick local and state voting guides.

Charted: Early-voting numbers

Despite the influx of new residents and Houston's larger electorate, early voting has remained at approximately the same level since 2015, when Turner was elected.

By the numbers: About 9.3% of the 2.57 million registered voters in Harris County voted early this year, according to the unofficial early-voting numbers from the Harris County Clerk's Election Department.

• While the number of voters increased from 2015, the percentage was flat — 9.4% of the 2.1 million registered voters in 2015 voted early.

The intrigue: Mail-in ballots returned in this election were half the number returned in 2015, with nearly 15,000 ballots this year compared to 30,000 eight years ago.

• The drop came after the passage of new laws imposing restrictions on mail-in ballots, including a 2020 state law that limited Texas counties to only one location for dropping off mail-in ballots as well as a 2021 law that made the application process for mail-in ballots more complicated.