Ready to head to the polls? Early voting for Texas’ July 14 election starts Monday.
Early voting begins Monday for the primary runoffs and city of Fort Worth’s half-cent sales tax for the Crime Control and Prevention District.
The election was pushed out of May and into July because of the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus.
“Its rescheduling has taken it off of some voters’ radars, and some potential voters, particularly older voters who vote normally at relatively high rates, might be suppressed a bit by fear of getting out during the pandemic,” said Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at TCU.
“And runoff primaries, because there are many fewer races at stake, always attract much lower turnout than the regular primary.”
Less than 300,000 of the more than 1.1 million registered Tarrant voters turned out to vote in the March 3 primary. Of those, 158,046 were Democrats; 128,316 were Republicans.
If you voted in either primary, you are eligible to vote in that party’s runoff. Registered voters who didn’t vote in the primary can vote in either party’s runoff.
Heider Garcia, Tarrant County’s election administrator, said voters might not have to stand in much of a line the first week of early voting. Early voting runs through July 10.
On the ballot
Here’s what will be on the July 14 runoff and local election ballot in Tarrant County.
▪ Democrats will choose between Mary “MJ” Hegar and Royce West for U.S. Senate; Kim Olson and Candace Valenzuela for U.S. Rep. District 24; Roberto R. “Beto” Alonzo and Chrysta Castañeda for railroad commissioner; and John Wright and Pedro “Pete” Munoz for County Constable Precinct 5.
▪ Republicans will choose between Elizabeth Beach and Brian Walker for the 2nd Court of Appeals District Place 7 and Jonathan Grummer and John Brieger for Precinct Chair 3990.
▪ Fort Worth residents will vote whether to continue a half-cent sales tax for police for 10 years.
Voting tips
To vote in Texas, a person must be a U.S. citizen, at least 17 years and 10 months old (and 18 by Election Day), mentally sound and not a convicted felon unless the sentence has been completed, including parole or probation.
Voters will find new voting equipment. Bring a photo ID to the polls. The seven state-approved photo IDs: Texas driver’s license, Texas election identification certificate, Texas personal identification card, Texas license to carry a handgun, U.S. military ID card with photo, U.S. citizenship certificate with photo, and U.S. passport.
Voters who don’t have one of those forms of ID, and can’t reasonably obtain one of them, may fill out a Reasonable Impediment form and show a different form of ID, which will still let them cast a ballot.
To look at a sample ballot, visit tarrantcounty.com/elections.
For information about voting, call the Tarrant County Elections Center at 817-831-8683 or visit VoteTexas.gov.
WHERE TO VOTE
Early voting runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 6-10. There will be no voting on July 3 or July 4.
Locations
▪ Tarrant County Elections Center, 2700 Premier 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
▪City of Arlington South Service Center, 1100 SW Green Oaks Blvd., 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-Jarvis Library, 1300 NE 35th St., Fort Worth
▪Eagle Mountain-Saginaw school administration building, 6-Training Room, 1200 N. Old Decatur Road, Saginaw
▪Euless Family Life Senior Center, 300 W. Midway Dr.
▪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-Poly Subcourthouse, 3212 Miller Ave., Fort Worth
▪Handley-Meadowbrook Community Center, 6201 Beaty St.
▪Hurst Recreation Center, 700 Mary Dr.
▪James Avenue Service Center, 5001 James Ave.
▪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.
▪Mansfield Subcourthouse, 1100 E. Broad St.
▪Northeast Courthouse, 645 Grapevine Highway, Hurst
▪Northside Community Center, 1100 NW 18th St.
▪Sheriff’s Office North Patrol Division, 6651 Lake Worth Blvd., Lake Worth
▪Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main St.
▪Southside Community Center, 959 E. Rosedale St., Fort Worth
▪Southwest Community Center, 6300 Welch Ave.
▪Southwest Subcourthouse, 6551 Granbury Road, Fort Worth
▪Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Naylor Student Center, 1900 W. Boyce Ave.
▪Tarrant County College Northwest Campus, WFSC 1403A, 4801 Marine Creek Parkway, Fort Worth
▪TCC Northeast Campus, Student Center NSTU — The Galley, 828 W. Harwood Road, Hurst
▪TCC South Campus, Student Center SSTU 1112, 5301 Campus Drive, Fort Worth
▪TCC Trinity River Campus, 300 Trinity Campus Circle
▪ Tarrant County College Southeast Campus, EMB-C Portable Building, 2100 Southeast Parkway, Arlington
▪ Tarrant County Plaza Building, 201 Burnett St.
▪ TCU, Brown-Lupton University Union, 2901 Stadium Drive
▪ Texas Wesleyan University, Baker Building, 3021 E. Rosedale St.
▪ UNT Health Science Center, IREB 1st floor lobby, 3430 Camp Bowie Boulevard
▪ UTA, Maverick Activities Center, 500 W. Nedderman Drive, Arlington
▪ Villages of Woodland Springs Amenity Center, 12209 Timberland Blvd., Fort Worth
▪ White Settlement Public Library, 8215 White Settlement Road
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
