By Camille Cox | Staff Writer
With large state positions such as lieutenant governor, attorney general, U.S. representatives and governor up for election in 2022, Texas will hold its state primary election on March 1, with the last day to register to vote on Jan. 31.
Along with statewide primaries, Texas voters can vote for seats and state representatives in their districts. Voters in the primary elections will choose either a Democratic or Republican ballot to cast their vote.
Jared Goldsmith, elections administrator for McLennan County Elections, said the primary election in March allows voters to decide who they want to represent the party in the November general election.
“In late May, there will be a primary runoff election,” Goldsmith said. “During the primary election in March, those who do not get at least 50% of the vote in their contest will go to a runoff.”
According to the Texas Tribune, Texas has redrawn its voting districts, which can be found on its website. This will affect who can vote for who in the primary elections in March.
Texas Rising, a nonpartisan progressive organization at Baylor, works on campus and throughout the community to improve civil engagement through volunteer work, voter drives and grassroots campaigns. Co-presidents Katy senior Samira Alam and Houston senior Ayla Dodson-Hestand both said students should register to vote in McLennan County if possible.
“It’s important to be civically engaged in local elections because you can see the change happen,” Alam said. “I think it’s super important to be registered by that deadline because civic engagement is most definitely a privilege.”
Dodson-Hestand said students can vote within McLennan County and have a positive impact in their community.
“I think it’s important that we vote here and we really make our voices known and can help make positive change for the city and for the people who live here year-round,” Dodson-Hestand said.
Goldsmith said people looking to register to vote or check their registration status can do so through mclennanvotes.com or through VoteTexas.gov.
“There’s a link on there that has voter registration information that will take them to the state website from there and fill out a voter registration application,” Goldsmith said. “If they do that, they’ll need to print it out and sign it and make sure the original gets to us.”
Additionally, Goldsmith said McLennan County Elections will soon have sample ballots available for voters to prepare for the upcoming election. The Texas Tribune has created a voter guide that Texans can use specific to their location.
“We will have sample ballots on our website at mclennanvotes.com, and they can look up their voting precinct number,” Goldsmith said.
Dodson-Hestand said both herself and Alam are certified to register people to vote in McLennan County.
“There’s a lot of people to ask, but definitely DM us on Instagram, or if you see one of us on campus, you can ask and we will definitely help you, whether that’s us doing it or us finding someone that can help you,” Dodson-Hestand said.
