Vote Early Starts Today; Avoid The Christmas Rush

​You know what you can do today that you couldn't do last week? Vote in the runoff.

Early voting in the blistering mayoral race between Annise Parker and Gene Locke began this morning and continues until December 8.

If you don't vote early, you're going to have to head to the polls on Saturday, December 12, and absolutely no one is going to want to head to the polls on a prime Christmas-season shopping day. They're going to want to be like everyone else, huddled at home staying far away from traffic and grouchy consumers. No one wants to be in a SUV with a Christmas tree tied on top, filled with hungry kids and whatever hard-won sales item you were able to pry from some grandma in Target, and all of a sudden realize you haven't voted yet in possibly the most important election taking place in Houston this year.

So don't put it off; get it done now and get it over with. Here's a list of the 21 early-voting locations.