Texans will head to the polls beginning Tuesday to cast their ballots in the 2024 Republican and Democratic primaries.
Texas is one of 15 “Super Tuesday” states — and the U.S. territory of American Samoa — holding primaries March 5.
The state’s primaries are open, which means voters can choose to cast a ballot in either party’s primary — but not both. And if you vote in the Democratic primary, for example, you cannot vote in the Republican primary runoff election.
Primary winners will face off against each other and any third-party candidates in the Nov. 5 general election. If no primary candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a May 28 runoff.
At the top of the March 5 ballot are presidential candidates, but several candidates who qualified to appear on the Texas ballot have already suspended their campaigns.
One who hasn’t, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, visited San Antonio Feb. 16 in support of her uphill fight for the Republican nomination. “We need you to go tell 10 people to get out and vote,” she said. “… Texas knows how to fight for freedom. Texas knows how to fight for America. And Texas knows that no one tells Texans what to do.”
The other key federal race is for the state’s junior U.S. Senate seat, held by Ted Cruz. Nine Democrats, including San Antonio state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, are vying for the chance to face the incumbent in November’s general election.
What else is on the ballot?
Plenty — Congressional primaries, a state Railroad Commission primary, State Board of Education nominees, and Texas House and Senate nominees. In county government, voters in Precincts 1 and 3 will choose nominees for Commissioners Court seats and all four precincts are electing county constables. Elections for Bexar County sheriff nominees also are on the ballot.
In addition, voters will decide nominees for places on the Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, 4th Court of Appeals and District Court.
Races for Bexar County political party chairs and precinct chairs are at the bottom of the ballot.
Click here to see a sample Democratic ballot and here to see a sample Republican ballot. To learn more about the candidates, visit the San Antonio Report’s primary voter guide.
When is early voting?
Early voting starts Tuesday, Feb. 20, and continues through Friday, March 1, with 42 voting locations open across Bexar County. Voters can cast their ballot at any voting center. Voting hours vary during the early voting period, with polls opening at 8 a.m. daily except for Sunday, Feb. 25, when they open at noon. Click here to see where and when you can vote early.
When is Super Tuesday?
Tuesday, March 5, is primary election day in Texas and 14 other states. On that day, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There are more than 250 voting centers across Bexar County and you can cast a ballot at any one of them. For more information, visit the Bexar County Elections Department’s homepage.
How do I know if I’m eligible to vote?
You are eligible to vote if you registered by the Feb. 5 deadline and are:
- a U.S. citizen.
- a resident of the county where you submit your voter registration application
- at least 18 years old on Election Day.
- not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation and parole).
- not declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
How can I determine if I’m registered to vote?
You can check your voter registration status here. You’ll need either:
- your Voter Unique Identifier, or VUID, and your date of birth,
- your Texas driver’s license number and date of birth, or
- your full name, county, date of birth and zip code.
What about voting by mail?
You must request an application from the Bexar County Elections Department to vote by mail. In Texas, you are eligible to vote by mail only if you:
- are 65 years or older on Election Day.
- are disabled.
- expect to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day.
- will be absent from the county you’re registered in during early voting and on Election Day.
- are in jail but otherwise eligible to vote.
On your application to vote by mail, you must include an ID number, either your Texas Driver’s License number, your Personal ID number or the last four digits of your Social Security Number. The law requires that one of the numbers must match a number on your voter registration record.
Is it too late to apply to vote by mail?
The deadline for Bexar County to receive your application to vote by mail was Feb. 23.
What do I need to bring with me to vote?
You need to provide one of the following seven forms of identification:
- 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
- U.S. military identification card containing your photograph
- U.S. citizenship certificate containing your photograph
- U.S. passport (book or card)
If you don’t have one of the seven forms of identification listed above and can’t reasonably get one, you can fill out a form declaring a “reasonable impediment” and bring one of these:
- A copy or original of a government document that shows your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
- A current utility bill
- A bank statement
- A government check
- A paycheck
- A 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 that establishes your identity, which may include a foreign birth document
If I’m registered to vote but haven’t received my voter registration card, can I still vote?
Yes. You aren’t required to show your registration certificate to vote in person. Just be sure to bring one of seven approved forms of photo ID for voting, and know what forms of ID you can bring if you don’t possess and can’t reasonably obtain one.
