The Primary Election begins tomorrow, March 5. To be eligible to vote in this election, voters must have been registered before February 5. Anyone not able to vote in this Primary election cycle still has time to register for the November general election. Here are a few things you’ll need to know before heading to the polls.
The Primary elections are where voters pick which candidate will represent their party in the upcoming November elections.
According to Paul Gottemoller, Associate Professor of Political Science, the primaries are the biggest fight because it directly influences the outcome of the November election. “It’s like a playoff game,” Gottemoller said. “It is a battle between candidates trying to keep hold of their current offices, and those hoping to gain new ones.”
Texas has an open primary system, meaning that you do not have to be registered with any political party in order to vote in their primary. According to Gottemoller, while the primary may be “Technically open, it is in some ways closed.”
By voting in either the Democratic or Republican primary, “You declare party allegiance when you take that parties ballot,” Gottemoller said. ”If you want to participate in any of the other parties’ activities, you are barred from doing so.” This means that if you vote in one party primary and there was a runoff election, you would have to vote in that same party for the runoff election.
Youth voter turnout in 2022 elections in Texas was 21.5%, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. According to Gottemoller, with such a low turnout for young voters, politicians won’t be as inclined to appeal to their demographic. “You not participating means that they can continue to ignore you,” Gottemoller says. “Once they realize they need to win young people to win elections, then they stare to care about what you think”
It is also important to know what’s on your ballot, in order to make informed decisions. You can view sample ballots for your county on the votetexas.gov website or the Nueces county website, nuecesco.com, under the Elections Department tab.
Del Mar College will host three polling locations for this election. At the Oso Creek campus in the Culinary Building Foyer, the Heritage Campus in the Heldenfels Admin Building, and the Del Mar Center for Economic Development. Each of these polling locations will be open from.7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
A valid form of identification is needed to be allowed to vote. A Texas Drivers License, Election Identification Certificate, or a United States Passport for example. For voters 18-69 all forms of identification must be current, or have expired no more than 4 years prior to voting. Voters over the age of 70 can use any valid form of identification, despite its expiry date.
For more info on polling locations and to view sample ballots, visit the Nueces County website at www.nuecesco.com and navigate to the “Elections Department” tab.
