Once more into the booth: Voters to decide Harris appraisal board runoffs on Saturday

The final two elected positions on the Harris Central Appraisal District’s board of directors will be chosen by voters Saturday.

The countywide runoff elections pit business owner Kyle Scott against former Houston City Council member Melissa Noriega in the Place 2 race. Business owner Ericka McCrutcheon faces businesswoman Pelumi Adeleke in the Place 3 runoff.

The candidates advanced to the runoff on May 5 after finishing in the top two positions of a crowded field vying for each seat. Kathy Blueford-Daniels, a former Houston ISD trustee, won the election for the Place 1 seat outright.

Few people appear interested in the races. Only 18,048 early votes were cast in person over the nine days of early voting, or about .71 percent of the county’s 2.56 million registered voters.

In the May 5 elections, only about 2.1 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

Prior to this year, all of the board’s nine positions were appointed by local taxing entities. A state proposition approved by voters statewide last November created the three elected seats in hopes of making the property tax system more responsive to the public , according to the legislation’s authors.

There will be 131 voting centers open across Harris County on Saturday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Voters can find their nearest center at Harrisvotes.com .