Early voting begins for May elections: Here’s what Houston-area voters need to know

As Harris County residents dust themselves off from Thursday’s storm, early voting for the May 28 Democratic and Republican primary runoff elections began Monday and will proceed this week as scheduled, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said in a statement.

Voters across the Houston area are being asked to weigh in on March 5 elections that required a runoff because neither candidate received more than half of the vote in March. The primary races include congressional races, state legislative seats, county positions and judicial posts.

“Our hearts are with everyone affected by the storm,” Hudspeth wrote. “Although our office was also impacted, we have worked tirelessly around the clock to ensure that the May 28 Primary Runoff Elections proceed as planned.”

Six previously planned voting centers in Harris County were knocked offline by Thursday’s storm, Hudspeth said. There are still 44 voting centers countywide that will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. this week.

The locations that will not open for early voting are:

• BakerRipley Middle School – 4414 Navigation Boulevard, Houston, TX 77011
• Hardy Street Senior Citizens Center – 11901 West Hardy Road, Houston, TX 77076
• Richard and Meg Weekley community Center – 0440 Greenhouse Road. Cypress, TX 77435
• North Channel Branch Library – 15741 Wallisville Road, Houston, TX 77049
• Lone Star College Victory Center – 4141 Victory Drive, Houston, TX 77088
• First Congregational Church – 10840 Beinhorn Road, Houston, TX 77024

Residents can cast a ballot at any of the remaining 44 early voting centers in Harris County. The election is a primary runoff, meaning if a resident cast a ballot in either the Democratic or Republican primary elections on March 5, they must vote in that same parties’ runoff election for their vote to count.

The winners of these races will advance to the general election on Nov. 5.

In Harris County, Democratic voters will decide three hotly contested legislative races, including House District 146 in south Houston , Senate District 15 across a swath of west and north Houston and House District 139 in northwest Houston. Incumbent Judge Jerry Zimmerer also faces a runoff in the 14th Court of Appeals Place 3 election.

On the Republican side, voters are being asked to choose a longshot Republican nominee in the two deep blue seats held by Democrats: Congressional District 7 represented by Lizzie Fletcher and Congressional District 29 represented by Sylvia Garcia.

Congressional District 7 also includes parts of east Fort Bend county in its boundaries.

Voters can view a sample ballot for their address at HarrisVotes.com before heading to the polls.

Residents of Houston’s surrounding counties will also see congressional, legislative and countywide races on their ballot.

Where to vote

• Voters in Fort Bend County can find voting locations and sample ballots here .
• Galveston County voters can find sample ballots and voting locations at galvestonvotes.org .
• For voting locations and sample ballots in Montgomery County, click here .
• Brazoria County voters can find sample ballots and voting locations at the county clerk’s website .
• Waller County residents can find election information and sample ballots here .
• In Chambers County, voters can find sample ballots on the county’s election page .
• For Liberty County residents, sample ballots and poll locations can be found here .

Under Texas law, voters must present one of seven types of photo identification to enter a polling place. Acceptable forms of ID include a Texas driver’s license, a Texas personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety, a United States citizenship certificate containing a photo, aTexas handgun license issued by DPS, a Texas election identification certificate issued by DPS, a U.S. passport or a U.S. military ID containing a photo.

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