Time to make history: Head to the polls when early voting starts Tuesday

Texans will make history Tuesday.

That's when some will head to the polls — on the first day of early voting — to cast ballots in the country's first primary election this year.

At stake are a number of contested races ranging from fights for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to the battle for the Texas Legislature. and local courthouses.

"We strongly encourage all Texans who are registered to vote to head to the polls during the early voting period," Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos said. "Early voting is a convenient option for Texans with busy schedules because no matter where they live, they can vote at any polling location in their county of registration.

"Texas voters should take full advantage of this important opportunity to fulfill their civic duties by heading to the polls during the early voting period."

Early voting for the March 6 primary runs from Tuesday through March 2.

This comes as a record number of voters — 15.2 million Texans, including nearly 1.1 million in Tarrant County — are registered to vote.

Anyone who wants to vote before election day should just head to any early voting site, show an accepted ID and choose which primary — Republican or Democrat — to vote in this year. Then make your choices and turn in your ballot to officials.

In 2014, the most recent midterm election, more than 592,000 Texans in the 15 largest counties cast ballots early, including 52,719 Republicans and 22,621 Democrats in Tarrant County, state records show.

To vote in Texas, a person must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 by election day, mentally sound and not a convicted felon unless the sentence has been completed, including parole or probation. For new residents in the state, there’s no requirement stipulating how long someone must live here before registering to vote.

"If you want to vote early because you don't know your schedule and don't know if you can be there on election day, then vote early," said Karen Lawrence, Tarrant County's assistant elections administrator. "This is about a preference of voters and what's going on in their lives."

Don't forget

Election officials suggest voters read over sample ballots that are available online at the Tarrant County elections website (access.tarrantcounty.com/en/elections.html) before heading to the polls.

And they remind Texans to bring their voter registration card and photo ID to the polls with them.

The seven state-approved photo IDs: Texas driver’s license, Texas election identification certificate, Texas personal identification card, Texas license to carry a concealed handgun, U.S. military ID card with photo, U.S. citizenship certificate with photo, and U.S. passport.

Anyone who doesn’t have one of those IDs and can’t get one before voting may still vote after showing another form of identification and filling out a “reasonable impediment declaration.”

For information about early voting sites, or questions about early voting, contact the Tarrant County Elections Center at 817-831-8683. Feb. 23 is the last day to apply for a ballot by mail.

Early voting for the March 6 general election starts Tuesday and runs through March 2: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday; 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday; 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 26-March 2.

Locations

Tarrant County Elections Center, 2700 Premier St., Fort Worth. This is the main early voting site. Emergency and limited ballots are available there.

All Saints Catholic Church Parish Hall, 200 N.W. 20th St., Fort Worth

Arlington Subcourthouse, 700 E. Abram St.

Asia Times Square, 2615 W. Pioneer Parkway, Grand Prairie

Bedford Public Library, 2424 Forest Ridge Drive

Benbrook Community Center, 228 San Angelo Ave.

B.J. Clark Annex, Room 4, 603 Southeast Parkway, Azle

Bob Duncan Center, 2800 S. Center St., Arlington

Center for Community Service Junior League of Arlington, 4002 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington

Colleyville City Hall, 100 Main St.

Crowley Recreation Center, 405 S. Oak St.

Dan Echols Center, 6801 Glenview Dr., North Richland Hills

Diamond Hill Community Center, 1701 NE 36th St., Fort Worth

Eagle Mountain-Saginaw school district Administration Building 6, Training Room, 1200 Old Decatur Road, Saginaw

Euless Public Library, 201 N. Ector Drive

Elzie Odom Athletic Center, 1601 NE Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington

Forest Hill Civic and Convention Center, 6901 Wichita St., Forest Hill

The REC of Grapevine, 1175 Municipal Way

Griffin Subcourthouse, 3212 Miller Ave., Fort Worth

Haltom City Northeast Center, 3201 Friendly Lane

Handley Church of Christ, 3029 Handley Dr., Fort Worth

Hurst Recreation Center, 700 Mary Dr.

JPS Health Center Viola M. Pitts/Como, Lower Level, Suite 100, 4701 Bryant Irvin Road N.

Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Parkway

Kennedale Community Center, 316 W. Third St.

Longhorn Activity Center, 5350 Basswood Blvd., Fort Worth

Mansfield Subcourthouse, 1100 E. Broad St.

Northeast Courthouse, 645 Grapevine Highway, Hurst

Rosemont Middle School, 1501 W. Seminary Dr., Fort Worth

Sheriff's Office North Patrol Division, 6651 Lake Worth Blvd., Lake Worth

Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main St.

South Service Center, 1100 SW Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington

Southside Community Center, 959 E. Rosedale St., Fort Worth

Southwest Community Center, 6300 Welch Ave.

Tarrant County College Southeast Campus, EMB- C Portable Building, 2100 Southeast Parkway, Arlington

Tarrant County Plaza Building, 201 Burnett St.

Villages of Woodland Springs Amenity Center, 12209 Timberland Blvd., Fort Worth

White Settlement Public Library, 8215 White Settlement Road

Worth Heights Community Center, 3551 New York Ave., Fort Worth

Temporary sites

Several temporary early voting sites have special days and hours. They are:

▪ 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday: Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Naylor Student Center, 1900 W. Boyce Ave.; Texas Wesleyan University, Brown-Lupton Student Center, 1109 South Collard St.; UNT Health Science Center, Carl E. Everett Education and Administration Building, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd.

▪ 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 27-March 1: Tarrant County College Northeast Campus, Student Center NSTU 1506, 828 Harwood Road, Hurst; Northwest Campus, WSTU 1305, 4801 Marine Creek Parkway, Fort Worth; South Campus, Student Center SSTU 1112, 5301 Campus Drive, Fort Worth.

▪ 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 26-March 1: UTA, Maverick Activities Center, 500 W. Nedderman Drive, Arlington; TCU, Brown-Lupton University Union, 2901 Stadium Drive.

This story was originally published February 16, 2018 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Time to make history: Head to the polls when early voting starts Tuesday."