El Paso Matters – Make a voting plan for the 2024 primary elections. Here’s how.

El Pasoans will start going to the polls on Tuesday for the Democratic and Republican primary elections to determine the parties’ nominees for the November general election. Early voting continues through Friday, March 1, and Election Day is Tuesday, March 5.

El Paso is unlikely to have long lines for the election, and for most voters, casting a ballot likely will take only a few minutes. But you can speed the process, and feel more confident, if you create a voting plan ahead of time.

Here’s what you need to make your voting plan.

Make sure you’re registered to vote

To participate in an election in Texas, you have to be registered at least 30 days before Election Day. So if you registered to vote before Feb. 5, you can cast a ballot in the primary.

You can click here to check to see if you’re registered. If you’re still unsure, call the El Paso County Elections Department at 915-546-2154.

Choose a party

The Democratic and Republican parties are holding primary elections for a variety of federal, state and local offices. 

Unlike many other states, Texas voters don’t declare a party affiliation when they register. Instead, voters pick one party or the other when they go to vote in primaries. You can choose to vote in either party’s primary, but not both.

Because most Texas primary races require a candidate to get a majority of votes to be nominated, it’s likely that some races with three or more candidates, a May runoff may be required between the top two finishers. If you vote in a party primary, you can only vote in the runoff of the same party. If you are a registered voter and you don’t vote in either primary, you can choose to vote in either party’s runoff, but not both.

Know what will be on your ballot

When you go to vote, you’ll be given a ballot that will have candidates in a number of races. You don’t have to wait until you vote to know what your ballot will look like.

You can click here to create a personalized sample ballot. 

You are allowed to print out the sample ballot, mark it with your choices, and take it to the polls with you to help you remember how you want to vote. The sample ballot is not an official ballot, so you’ll still need to enter your choices on an official ballot.

Learn about the candidates

You may have gotten information in the mail from candidates that give you a little information about them. Or you may have had a candidate or one of their supporters come to your door to talk. Those are good ways to learn at least a little bit about the candidates.

Voter guides can offer you more information about candidates. For local races, El Paso Matters has a thorough voter guide in which all candidates were asked to answer five questions about key issues in their races. Most candidates responded.

You can see the digital version of the El Paso Matters Voter Guide by clicking here.

Print versions of this voter guide are available in both English and Spanish at El Paso Public Library branches.

For statewide races, including the U.S. Senate, the Texas League of Women Voters has voter guides in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese that you can access by clicking here.

Decide how to cast your ballot

Texas voters have three means of voting – absentee voting by mail, in-person early voting, and in-person Election Day voting. In El Paso, most voters choose in-person early voting.

Absentee voting by mail is more restricted in Texas than in most other states. Only these people are eligible to vote by mail:

65 years of age or older on Election Day.

Sick or disabled.

Expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day.

Absent from the county of registration during the early voting period and on Election Day.

Civilly committed under Chapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.

Confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.

If you are eligible for a mail ballot, you must request it by Feb. 23. More information is available by clicking here.

All registered voters who are eligible to vote in the primary elections can vote in-person either during the early voting period Feb. 20-March 1, or on Election Day, March 5.

You can cast your ballot at an early voting site or Election Day voting center. You can find voting sites for early voting and Election Day by clicking here.

Casting your vote

For in-person early voting or Election Day voting, you’ll need to check in with an election official. 

They will ask you to present an ID. Texas requires one of seven forms of identification, most commonly a driver’s license. If you don’t have one of those seven forms of ID, you can provide supporting documents, such as your voter registration card or a utility bill with your name and address.

Election workers learn about accepting identifications from voters during a training by the El Paso County Elections Department ahead of the March 5 primary, Monday, Feb. 12. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)

If you go to a polling place without an acceptable ID or adequate supporting documents, you can request a provisional ballot. You then have six days to provide the El Paso County Elections Department with proper identification, or your provisional ballot will be rejected. 

After verifying your identification, election workers will ask you what party’s primary you choose, and give you a paper ballot that you will insert into a voting machine.

If you have a question about the voting process at any stage, it’s OK to ask an election worker for help.

At the voting machine, you’ll see instructions on inserting your ballot form.  You can choose English or Spanish instructions on the screen.

Remember, you can bring in a printed sample ballot or other written notes to help you remember which candidates you support. You cannot use a phone or other electronic device for notes. And definitely no selfies in the polling place..

You’ll see a number of races on the screen, and be asked to select one candidate in each race. You can skip individual races if you want. After going through each of the races, you’ll get a summary of your choices on the screen. Review the summary carefully to make sure it accurately shows your choices. If you see a mistake, you can go back to that race and make a correction.

The post Make a voting plan for the 2024 primary elections. Here’s how. appeared first on El Paso Matters.

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