Are you planning to vote early in the Texas primary election? Here are the dates you need to keep in mind.
Voters will head to the polls soon for the March 1 Texas primary election. Early voting starts on Feb. 14 and will run for two weeks until Feb. 25.
Local election officials told NBC 5 Monday the in-person voting experience will be very similar to what they are used to.
“You are going to see the normal locations still being used. Inside the polling place you are going to see the procedures being probably close to identical to what they were last year or the year before,” said Collin County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet.
For larger counties, early voting locations must be open for nine hours on weekdays during the first week, 12 open hours on Saturday, and six open hours on Sunday. During the second week of early voting, 12 open hours are required each day. Specific hours are set by the counties.
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You can cast an early ballot at any location in your county.
The Tarrant County elections administrator strongly suggests voting early and taking a look at a sample ballot before you go (see below). Things may have changed due to redistricting.
Who is on Your Ballot?
See March 1 Primary Ballots, by county and party, below.
Democrat: Collin | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
Republican: Collin | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant | Party Propositions
“After redistricting some people are going to be in a different precinct, in a different senate district, house district, JP district, whatever might have changed. So it’s very important that you don't assume that you are voting for the same representative you might have had in the past or the same district,” said Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia.
The same identification requirements that have been in place in the past will also be in place for this election. However, some voters have noticed changes in the mail-in ballot application. A driver’s license number or a state-issued ID number or a social security number is now required.
“We can’t say enough please include both because those numbers have to match up what we have on file, so if you include your social security but on file is your driver’s license it could get rejected,” said Nick Solorzano, Dallas County Elections Department Communications Director.
Applications for mail-in ballots must be received, not postmarked, by Feb. 18.
The Texas Secretary of State's Website has more information; you can find it here. You can also check with your local county.
