Those looking to cast their ballots in the March 1 primary elections need to make sure they’re registered by Jan. 31.
“Your voice counts, and your choices in the March 1st Primary Election will determine who appears on your General Election ballot in November,” said Texas Secretary of State John Scott in reminding Texans to register.
There are also several local races in the Republican primary for which no democratic candidates have filed so the winners of those primary races will win those positions. These contested races include County Judge; Justice of the Peace Precinct 2; Justice of the Peace Precinct1,3,and 4; and County Treasurer.
Early voting in the March 1 primary elections will be held from Feb. 14-Feb. 25
Below is an overview of information and guidance Texas voters should keep in mind regarding registering to vote, voting in person during the early voting period, and voting by mail.
Registering to Vote
To be eligible to vote in Texas, you must be:
• A United States citizen;
• A resident of the county where you submit the application;
• At least 17 years and 10 months old on the date your voter registration application is submitted, and 18 years of age on Election Day.
• Not finally convicted of a felony (you may be eligible to vote once you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole); and
• Not declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
You can check to verify your registration status ahead of the January 31st deadline by visiting the ‘Am I Registered?’ tool on the Texas Secretary of State’s My Voter Portal.
If you recently moved or changed your name, you can now update all your information on your voter registration record through our portal on Texas.gov.
To update your voter registration, you will need your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID) to log in to the Texas.gov portal. You can find your VUID by visiting the Texas SOS My Voter Portal (https://teamrv-mvp. sos.texas.gov/MVP/mvp. do), in which you can enter your Name, County, Date of Birth and ZIP code to display your voter registration information.
Erath County residents registering to vote in Texas for the first time can complete a voter registration application and return it to Voter Registrar Lana Stevens at least 30 days before the upcoming election date. To complete an application, you may:
• Complete an application using the Texas Secretary of State’s online voter registration application module (https://vrapp.sos. state.tx.us/index.asp). Simply fill in the required information, print, sign and mail the completed application directly to your county election office;
• Request a printed application. The Texas Secretary of State’s office will mail a postage-paid voter registration application to the address provided; OR
• Contact or visit the county registrar to complete the voter registration process. (For more information, call 254-965- 8990 or visit https://www. co.erath.tx.us/185/Voter-Registration)
—Citizen staff report