TEXAS, USA — Super Tuesday, March 3, is right around the corner, and many Central Texas residents are fixing to cast their vote in the 2020 primary election.
Before you head to the polls, here are a few things you need to know.
Are you registered?
In order to vote in Texas, you must be registered to vote. You can check online to see if you are currently registered.
New Voting Machines
Travis County rolled out new voting machines in November 2019. Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir shared some tips on how they work:
- Select: At check-in, you will receive your ballot card that will have a notch in the top right corner. Insert your ballot card in the ballot marking device and make your selections on the touch screen.
- Verify: Review your selections on the summary screen. If satisfied, touch “PRINT,” and then verify your selections on the printed ballot card.
- Vote: Insert your ballot card into the scanner. It will be safely stored as a hard copy backup.
If you run into any issues with the machines at the polling locations, let KVUE know by tagging us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or by emailing news@kvue.com.
When and where you can vote
You will want to see if the county you live in participates in the Countywide Polling Place Program (CWPP). If your county does participate in CWPP, you can vote at any polling place in the county. If your county does not participate in CWPP, you can only vote at the polling place assigned to you.
On March 3, polling places across Texas will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. As long as you get in line before 7 p.m. you will still be able to vote.
What you need to bring to vote
When you head to the polls, you need to bring a valid form of identification. Here is a list of acceptable forms of identification:
- Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
- United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States Passport (book or card)
If you don't have one of the IDs listed above, you can bring one of the following in order to execute a "Reasonable Impediment Declaration":
- Copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate
- Copy of or original current utility bill
- Copy of or original bank statement
- Copy of or original government check
- Copy of or original paycheck
- Copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
What's on your ballot?
Each party will choose its candidate for U.S. president, U.S. Senate, congressional offices, legislative offices, the State Board of Education, the Railroad Commission and judicial seats.
All Texans will have the opportunity to vote for candidates in statewide races, but other contests will depend on where you live.
For the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas has 36 different congressional districts. At the state level, Texas is divided into 150 House districts, 31 Senate districts and 15 State Board of Education districts.
All U.S. and Texas House districts will have an election this year, as well as one U.S. Senate office – incumbent John Cornyn’s seat – several Texas Senate seats and eight State Board of Education seats.
Since March 3 is a primary election, ballots will be different for Democratic and Republican contests. The parties will also have propositions on the ballot, which in a primary election function more as opinion polls to gauge voter sentiment, not policy referendums.
If none of the candidates in each contest win 50% or more of the vote on March 3, the top two finishers will advance to a May 26 runoff election.
To find your statewide candidates, enter your address into the primary guide on the Texas Tribune website.
Your personal sample ballot with all local contests can be found on the voter website for the county you live in.
Travis County voters can visit the Vote Travis website, enter their details and click on “view my ballot.”
Williamson County voters can find their sample ballots on the Vote WilCo website by searching their details and clicking on their name.
Other counties’ websites can be found on the list maintained by the Texas secretary of state’s office.
How to get the latest elections news and results
Be sure to bookmark kvue.com/elections in order to get live results once the polling sites around Central Texas close. You can download the KVUE mobile app to get the election results straight to your phone. Once the app is downloaded, be sure to select topics you want to receive notifications about, including "Vote Texas" and "politics."
MORE VOTING COVERAGE:
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- Primary election 2020: Where do Texas's Democratic U.S. Senate candidates stand on marijuana?
- Highlights from KVUE's U.S. Senate Democratic primary debate
- MJ Hegar leads the Democratic U.S. Senate candidates, UT, TT Poll finds
- Voters react to first Travis County election with new voting equipment