By Julie Tomascik
Editor

Make sure your voice is heard in the March primary elections by completing your voter registration by Jan. 31.

During the March primary, Texas voters will select the Democrat or Republican candidate for the November General Election. Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner, comptroller and railroad commission will all be on the ballot this year.

Voters will also decide which Republicans and Democrats will face off in November for the Texas Legislature, U.S. Congress, the State Board of Education and judicial seats.

If no one candidate receives a majority of the vote in the primary election, the top two candidates will compete in a primary runoff May 24. Voters may not crossover and vote in a party’s runoff if they voted in the other party’s primary election.

Voters must be registered to cast a ballot.

Check voter registration status
To check your voter registration status, visit the Texas Secretary of State’s “Am I Registered?” page. If you have moved to a new address within the same county or have changed your name, you can update your information online, as well.

Register to vote
Those who are unregistered and wish to vote will need to complete registration by Monday, Jan. 31.

Voter registration applications are available on votetexas.gov and at local election offices. If you print and mail an application, it must be postmarked by Jan. 31.

To register to vote, you must meet the following requirements:

  • be a U.S. citizen and be a resident of the county where you submitted the application
  • be 18 years old on Election Day
  • not be a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation and parole) and
  • have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.

To vote
Voters are required to have an approved form of photo identification.

The state accepts seven forms of identification:

  • Texas driver’s license
  • Texas Election Identification Certificate
  • Texas personal ID card
  • Texas handgun license
  • U.S. citizenship certificate with a photo
  • U.S. military ID card with a photo
  • U.S. passport.

Election Dates
Early voting for the primaries will take place Feb. 14-25. Election Day is March 1.

Polling times and locations vary by county. Contact your county election office for details.

For more information on voter registration, dates or election information, visit votetexas.gov.