A fraction of voters participate in Texas’ primaries. Here’s why experts say that should change.

The big picture

Over 18 million Texans are registered to vote, per the secretary of state. A fraction of registered voters typically turn out for the primaries—about 3.3 million Texans, or 18.4% of those registered at the time, cast ballots in the 2024 presidential primaries. In 2022, the most recent midterm election, approximately 3 million voters, or 17.6% of those registered, participated in the primary elections.

A common belief among voters is that voting is about “choosing between the Democratic candidate and the Republican candidate in November,” said Mark Strama, who leads the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas. Strama teaches civic engagement courses at UT and is a former state legislator.

“In many elections for public office, the most important vote you cast is the vote in the primary,” Strama told Community Impact. “I would think if people had a real understanding of how consequential the primaries are, they would be more likely to vote in them.”

Strama said that many of Texas’ state legislative districts are drawn to be “lopsidedly Democratic or lopsidedly Republican,” meaning that the most competitive races for those seats take place in March, not November.

By the numbers

March Matters, a group that works to get more Texans to the primary polls, found that 146 of Texas’ 150 state House races were effectively decided during the 2022 primaries, with just four competitive seats during that year’s midterm election.

“All Texans deserve to be able to choose their representatives,” said Joyce LeBombard, president of the League of Women Voters of Texas. “If the competitive races are in the primary, then if you don't vote in March, it's really a small group of people that are choosing who represents all of us.”

Data shows that primary voters tend to be older and represent the more extreme wings of their political parties:

• Sixty percent of voters in recent Texas primaries said they identified as either “strong Democrats" or “strong Republicans," according to March Matters.
• In 2022, over two-thirds of Democratic primary voters and three-fourths of Republican primary voters were age 50 or older, the political consulting company Ryan Data and Research found.

How it works

Early voting in the March primaries begins Feb. 17, and election day is March 3.

Texas has an open primary system, meaning registered voters do not need to be affiliated with a specific political party and may cast ballots in either the Republican or Democratic primary, but not both.

Texans can weigh in on a wide variety of races: one U.S. senator, all 38 Texans in Congress, 17 statewide officials, 166 state legislators and various local or regional positions are on the ballot.

Primary voters will determine which candidate moves on to the November midterm election. In crowded races such as the Republican and Democratic primaries for Texas governor, voters will choose from approximately 10 candidates each, as only one candidate from each primary can appear on the ballot in November.

In each race, the candidate who receives more than 50% of the votes will advance to the November election. If no candidate receives enough votes in a primary race, a runoff election will be held between the two top vote-getters May 26.

Third-party candidates will not be listed on the March primary ballots. Texas’ Libertarian and Green parties are scheduled to hold nominating conventions in April to determine who will represent their parties on the November ballot. Independent candidates have until June 25 to file a candidate application for the November election, according to the secretary of state.

For more details about the contested races on local ballots and over 100 Q&As with candidates, visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide.

Dates to know

• Feb. 17: early in-person voting begins
• Feb. 20: deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot
• Feb. 27: early voting ends
• March 3: primary election day

On primary election day, voters in the following counties can vote at any polling place in their county through Texas’ countywide voting program: Bastrop, Bexar, Brazoria, Collin, Comal, Dallas, Fort Bend, Galveston, Guadalupe, Harris, Hays, Tarrant, Travis and Williamson. Voters in other counties are required to visit their assigned voting precinct, which is listed on the state voter portal or a voter’s physical voter registration card.