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Today, Houstonians will join residents from across 15 different states in casting primary ballots as part of Super Tuesday, the largest primary voting day of this presidential election year.
On the ballot are presidential, congressional, state legislative races, as well as nominating contests for Harris County offices and numerous state and local judicial posts.
Before heading to the polls, make sure you are up-to-date on the latest election information, compiled by the Abdelraoufsinno.
What is an open primary election in Texas?
Texas follows an open primary election model. That means every election cycle, people can choose to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary.
Once voters choose their primary ballot, however, they are affiliated with that party throughout the primary election and any primary runoff races.
What does it mean to be affiliated with a political party?
Being affiliated with a political party means you can only vote in that party’s primary runoff elections for the remainder of the calendar year.
For example, if you vote in the Democratic primary election this year, you could only vote in any Democratic primary runoff elections this year. You would not be able to vote in any Republican primary runoffs.
Party affiliation expires at the end of each calendar year and does not impact your vote in the November general election.
What is a joint primary election in Harris County?
In Harris County, the Democratic and Republican parties have opted to hold a joint primary election this year. As opposed to having separate polling locations, check-in stations, lines and voting machines, Democrats and Republicans have chosen to share resources.
That will allow voters in Harris County to cast ballots at any polling location and means voters, regardless of which party they intend to vote for, will check in at the same stations and use the same voting machines.
If the political parties had not chosen to work together, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said, it would have been nearly impossible for the county to provide the more than 1,000 separate polling locations that would have been required by a new state law.
What else do I need to know about Texas elections?
Today, March 5, is the last day to cast your ballot in this year’s primary elections. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Harris County, and voters can vote at any of the county’s 545 polling locations.
To cast a ballot, one of the following forms of photo identification is required. Those include:
- Texas Driver License
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- U.S. citizenship certificate containing your photograph
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- U.S. Passport (book or card)
- U.S. Military Identification Card containing your photograph
If you do not have any of these forms of ID, visit Harris County’s election department website for information on other ways to vote.
Cell phones may not be used within 100 feet of a voting machine, so be sure to write down or print out any information or sample ballots you need before heading to the polls.
Residents also can visit the Harris County election department website to find a nearby polling location, view a sample ballot, and check election results.
Voters in other counties can consult their county clerk or elections administrator’s website.
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