The polls opened Tuesday. Are Texans voting?
Everything may be bigger in Texas, but not voter turnout.
Not yet, anyway.
On the first day of early voting Tuesday — the first chance Texans have had to weigh in on races that stretch from the U.S. Capitol to the local courthouse — less than half of 1 percent of voters cast ballots.
Locally, 4,523 votes were cast: 2,737 in the Republican primary and 1,786 in the Democratic primary.
That's 45 fewer votes than were logged in Tarrant County than on the first day of early voting for the last midterm primary election, in 2014. That year, 3,040 votes were cast in the GOP primary and 1,528 in the Democratic primary, election records show.
But statewide, Texas, which traditionally sees low voter turnout, actually had more voters — 51,249 — Tuesday than four years ago, when 38,441 ballots were cast on the first day.
That total is still less than 1 percent of registered voters.
Political watchers say there's still plenty of time for voters to weigh in on the March 6 primary.
"I would not read too much into these early-voter numbers," said Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, who heads the political science department at the University of North Texas.
Particularly since Texans, Republicans and Democrats alike, have said they've been more politically engaged since President Donald Trump was elected in 2016.
The statewide total might "suggest that people are slightly more engaged, which may be due to the salience of the Trump administration, either for or against," Eshbaugh-Soha said.
GOP or Dem?
More Republicans than Democrats voted in Tarrant County both on Tuesday and on the first day of voting in 2014, but the gap has narrowed. This year, 303 fewer Republicans and 258 more Democrats headed to the polls on the first day.
Statewide, more Democrats headed to the polls than Republicans — 28,475 to 22,774 — this year.
That, too, has plenty of time to change in this reliably red state.
"Texas Republicans have been dominant in statewide races as well as many local areas," said Robert Lowry, a political science professor at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Early voting for the March 6 primary election runs through March 2.
On the first day of early voting here this year, four sites drew the largest turnout: the JPS Health Center, Keller Town Hall, the South Service Center in Arlington and The REC of Grapevine, local records show.
Across the state, 15.2 million Texans, including nearly 1.1 million in Tarrant County, are registered to vote.
Anyone who wants to vote before election day can head to any early voting site, show an accepted ID and choose which primary to vote in this year.
In 2014,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.
Voting tips
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.
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 accepted: 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. Friday is the last day to apply for a ballot by mail.
Early voting sites
Early voting for the March 6 general election 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 NW 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 Drive, 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 Drive, Fort Worth
Hurst Recreation Center, 700 Mary Drive
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 Drive, 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 21, 2018 at 4:09 PM with the headline "The polls opened Tuesday. Are Texans voting?."