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Am I allowed to vote in the Texas primary runoffs this month? Yes, you are!

A person walks between signs that say "Vote Here."
Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT
Several candidates in Texas did not get enough votes in the primaries to secure their parties' nomination for the general election this fall. A runoff election is May 24.

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A bunch of races from the March primary in Texas went to runoffs — which means no candidate running for their party’s nomination for elected office got more than 50% of the vote. So now, the top two candidates in those races are on the ballot again this month. These races will determine who runs in the general election in November.

Early voting in the runoffs starts Monday and runs through May 20. Election Day is May 24.

In Texas, you don’t register as a member of a political party, so primaries are open to anyone, regardless of your personal party preference. You can vote in only ONE party’s primary in a year, though. That means if you voted in the Republican primary in March, you have to vote in the Republican runoff.

But less than 20% of Texas voters turned out for the March primaries. So what about all those other voters? Can they still vote in the runoffs?

Yes! If you didn’t vote in a March primary, you can vote in EITHER party’s primary runoff.

(Pro tip: Because runoffs tend to attract even fewer voters than the original election, your vote can have an outsized influence in a runoff. So if you feel strongly about a race, but didn’t vote in March for one reason or another, now’s your chance to make a difference!)

There are some congressional and legislative runoffs that vary depending on where you live, but voters across the state will have at least a few races to make a choice in, depending on which party’s primary they vote in.

Here are the races every Texas voter will see on runoff ballots:

Republican Ballot

Texas Attorney General

  • Ken Paxton (incumbent)
  • George P. Bush

Land Commissioner

  • Dawn Buckingham
  • Tim Westley

Railroad Commissioner (oil and gas regulator)

  • Wayne Christian (incumbent)
  • Sarah Stogner

Democratic Ballot

Texas Attorney General

  • Rochelle Garza
  • Joe Jaworski

Lieutenant Governor

  • Michelle Beckley
  • Mike Collier

Land Commissioner

  • Jay Kleberg
  • Sandragrace Martinez

Comptroller

  • Janet T. Dudding
  • Angel Luis Vega
Matt Largey is the Projects Editor at KUT. That means doing a little bit of everything: editing reporters, producing podcasts, reporting, training, producing live events and always being on the lookout for things that make his ears perk up. Got a tip? Email him at mlargey@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @mattlargey.
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