Early voting for March 4 primary election begins Feb. 18

Early voting locations are open Feb. 18–28 for the March 4 Republican and Democratic joint primary elections for several local and statewide races, including governor.

Texas is a semi-open primary state, meaning that voters must declare which party's election they would like to vote in when they cast their ballots, according to the Travis County Elections Division. The Democratic and Republican parties put forth the candidates they would like to see run in the general election Nov. 4.

In Hays, Travis and Williamson counties, residents may cast their ballots at any polling location during early voting. Residents should check their county elections website for hours of operation in Hays County, Travis County or Williamson County.

On election day, voters in Hays and Williamson counties must vote in their assigned precinct. Travis County uses vote centers, which allow residents to vote at any polling location in the county. Voters may look up their precinct through a sample ballot search in Williamson County or by a voting precinct map in Hays County.

All voters must bring some form of photo identification before they may cast their ballots. A full list of acceptable forms of ID is available at the Texas Secretary of State's website.

Hays County Election Administrator Joyce A. Cowan said that if a voter's name on the voter registration card is not an exact match to his or her name on the photo ID, the person may still vote by initialing an affidavit to vote by similar name.

Any race in which one candidate does not receive at least 50 percent of the vote will result in a runoff election between the two candidates with the most votes in that race. Runoff elections will occur May 27.

Visit Community Impact Newspaper's Vote 2014 page for election night coverage on local races and to find primary elections guides.