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The primary election in Texas is March 1. Here's what you need to know.

A sign says "vote here."
Julia Reihs
/
KUT
Early voting for the March 1 primary ends Feb. 25.

Lee esta historia en español.

Early voting in the March 1 primary elections ends Friday. A number of federal, state and local elections are on the ballot.

Texas has open primaries, so voters don’t register with a party ahead of the election. Voters choose which party’s ballot they want at the polling location. But they can’t vote in both Republican and Democratic primaries in the same election.

Here’s what you need to know.

Make sure you’re registered

Go here to verify your registration anywhere in the state.

Polling locations

You must vote at a polling location in the county where you live.

Travis County polling locations are open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Voting hours have been extended until 10 p.m. on the last day of early voting, Feb. 25, because inclement weather caused sites to open late.

Here’s a map:

See wait times at Travis County locations here.

Williamson County polling locations are open:

  • Monday, Feb. 14, through Friday, Feb. 18, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 19, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Sunday, Feb. 20 ,from 11 a.m. to  5 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 22, through Friday, Feb 25, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Find a Williamson County early voting location here.

Hays County polling locations are open:

  • Monday, Feb. 14, through Friday, Feb. 18, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 19, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Sunday, Feb. 20, from noon to 6 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 22, through Friday, Feb 25, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Find a Hays County early voting location here.

Don’t forget your ID

Make sure to bring a photo ID. The ID should be up to date or expired up to four years. Voters 70 or older can bring a photo ID that has been expired for any length of time.

If you had trouble getting an ID and can’t get one, here are some alternatives:

  • government document showing your name and an address, such as your voter registration certificate
  • current utility bill
  • bank statement
  • government check
  • paycheck
  • birth certificate

If you use one of these, you’ll have to sign a form that says you had a reasonable impediment to getting an ID.

Want to vote by mail?

The deadline to apply to vote by mail is Friday, Feb. 18. To be eligible to vote by mail, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office, you must be:

  • be 65 years or older;
  • be sick or disabled;
  • be out of the county on Election Day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance; or
  • be expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day; or
  • be confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.

To apply, download and print an application here. Fill it out, and mail it into the county clerk or elections administrator in your county. Find their address here.

Note: Thousands of voters have had their vote-by-mail applications flagged for rejection because of Texas’ new ID matching requirement. The ID voters use to apply for a mail-in ballot — their Social Security number, for example — must match the ID they used when they registered to vote. Read more about that here.

What’s on the ballot?

Read our voter guides to see which candidates are on the ballot in your county.

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