Election Day for the first-ever Joint Primary Elections in Harris County is tomorrow, March 5. More than 500 vote centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for voters to cast their ballots. Voters can cast their ballots at any vote center in Harris County under the countywide polling place program. For a list of vote centers and wait times, go to www.HarrisVotes.com.
“Over 211,000 votes were cast during the 11-day Early Voting period,” said Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, the county’s chief election official. “It is always exciting to witness voters embracing the early voting option. For those who have not voted yet, they still have [today].”
Political parties conduct primary elections to select candidates for the November general election. While this is a presidential election year, voters will vote for candidates vying for federal, state, and local positions. In Harris County, the Democratic Primary has 119 races, and the Republican Primary has 122. However, voters will only see from 56 to 65 contests on their ballots, depending on where they are registered and the primary election they are voting in. Click here to view and print a sample ballot.
“Thanks to the collaborative efforts of everyone involved, we have reached this historic moment. The hard work of both the Republican and Democratic parties, along with my incredible team, has prepared us for our inaugural joint primary elections,” added Clerk Hudspeth.
Election Day Tips:
– You can take your printed sample ballot or any written materials with you into the voting booth
– The use of phones or cameras is NOT allowed within 100 ft. of the voting area
– The following forms of photo ID are acceptable when voting in person:
- Texas Driver’s 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)
Voters who do not possess and cannot obtain one of these forms of photo ID may fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration (RID) at a vote center and present another supporting form of ID, such as a utility bill, bank statement, government check, or voter registration certificate.
Unofficial election results will be posted at www.HarrisVotes.com as they come in on election night, starting after 7 p.m. with early voting and ballot-by-mail results. Official results will be posted after the canvass is completed.
Stay connected on social media at @HarrisVotes for news and updates.
You can find a map of vote centers here and an alphabetical list of them here. There are 545 centers, you can vote at any of them, and for the most part they’re pretty close together so if for whatever the reason you don’t like one, there are plenty of other options. There are plenty of stories out there about early voting turnout, none of which seem to account for the fact that how much voting is done early can vary greatly. Happy voting if you haven’t done it already, and I’ll be back tomorrow with results.