First Primaries of 2022 Election Cycle to Take Place in Texas 

SAN ANTONIO — Texas Secretary of State John Scott’s office released information on the state’s primary election day taking place on Tuesday, the first in the country of this year’s election cycle.

While over 1.6 million early voters have already cast their ballots, official tallies will begin reporting Tuesday night, according to the secretary of state’s office. Local Democratic and Republican party officials will preside over polling locations in each of Texas’ 254 counties from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST, and residents are encouraged to consult their local county elections office for questions regarding voting locations.

This will be the state’s first election convened under new election rules passed during last year’s legislative session. Texas’ new voting law makes it illegal for election officials and volunteers to solicit vote-by-mail applications and institutes new ID requirements for mail-in voting.

Qualifying voters who intend to cast their ballot by mail are required to provide either their driver’s license number, Texas ID number or a partial Social Security number that matches up with the one listed on their voter registration record. Despite both forms of registration being valid under new requirements, voters who previously registered using one number must use the same number in new applications, meaning a voter who previously registered with their Social Security number must also use that identifier in subsequent voting applications.

Voters will be rejected if their identification doesn’t match what was listed previously in their registration record, even if both forms of identification are up to date and valid. Already, thousands of mail-in ballots and applications have been flagged for rejection due to a complete lack of matching identification numbers, leaving the voters just six days after the March 1 primary to show their proper ID in person to their county elections office in order for their vote to count.

Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria said missing information on carrier envelopes resulted in around 40% of mail-in ballots received as of last week to be flagged for in-person correction, according to Houston Public Media. Rampant confusion over the rejected mail-in ballots and applications led Harris County officials to request the Department of Justice to intervene in the matter.

For the votes to count, they must be postmarked by March 1 and received by the county by the next day. As previously reported by The Well News, numerous civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas, filed a federal complaint in February against the secretary of state’s office for refusing to share documents related to a voter registration list maintenance program mandated by the new election law.

Voters who had their registration canceled under the maintenance process are eligible for reinstatement if they submit proof of legal citizenship to their local election office or polling place. However, because federal law mandates the suspension of voter roll purges within 90 days of an election, eligible voters who received a cancellation notice prior to the March 1 primary will have until then to submit their proof of citizenship.

Voters wishing to cast their ballots in person on Election Day can visit the Texas Secretary of State’s voter portal, which lists all operating voting sites. Residents of counties that participate in the Countywide Polling Place Program may vote at any of the listed polling locations within those counties.

Acceptable forms of ID that may be presented at the polls when voting in person include:  

• Texas Driver’s Licenses issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. 
• Texas Election Identification Certificates issued by DPS. 
• Texas Personal Identification Cards issued by DPS. 
• Texas Handgun Licenses issued by DPS. 
• Military Identification Cards containing the person’s photograph. 
• Citizenship Certificates containing the person’s photograph. 
• United States Passports. 

Individuals who do not possess and cannot reasonably obtain any of the ID forms listed will be able to fill out a reasonable impediment declaration form at the voting location. At that point, the voter can present an alternative form of ID, which includes: 

• Government documents that show the voter’s name and address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate. 
• Current utility bills. 
• Bank statements. 
• Government checks. 
• Paychecks. 
• Certified domestic birth certificates or a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law that establishes the voter’s identity. 

Once polls close, counties will begin reporting early vote totals through the Secretary of State’s Election Night Returns portal before reporting the results from Election Day until all results have been tallied. Individuals with questions or comments about Texas’ voting process are urged to visit VoteTexas.gov or call 1-800-252-VOTE. 

Reece can be reached at [email protected]