Communications Workers Local 6215 and the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans and their supporters are staging a “get out the vote” rally at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17 — the first day of early voting for the 2026 Primary Elections — across from the Dallas County Courthouse at 600 Commerce St., downtown Dallas.
TARA President Gene Lantz noted in an email that many voters cast their ballots at the courthouse polling location, and that candidates are invited to attend the rally.
“Early voting is even more critical this year because Republicans have made voting on Election Day much more confusing and difficult,” Lantz wrote in the email. “If voting weren’t important, then why are reactionaries trying so hard to take our voting rights away?”
Early voting for the 2026 Primaries runs through Feb. 27. Election Day is March 3. Check out the Texas Tribune’s quick primer on the primaries. Here are a few of the highlights:
• You don’t have to register with a specific political party to vote in the primaries. But you can vote in only one party’s primary, and, if there are any runoffs, you can only vote in the runoffs for the primary in which you initially voted.
• Federal races in the primary include the U.S. Senate seat currently held by John Cornyn and all U.S. representatives who are running under congressional maps as they were redrawn last year at the order of Donald Trump, gerrymandered in a blatant effort to increase Republican seats in Congress at the expense of the people of Texas.
• Statewide races in the primary include governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller of public accounts, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner, one railroad commissioner seat, four Texas Supreme Court seats, three Court of Criminal Appeals seats and three 15th Court of Appeals seats.
• District or region-based elections for state offices on the primary ballots include eight seats on the State Board of Education, 16 seats in the state Senate, all 150 state representative seats, and a variety of appellate court chief justice seats and regional courts of appeals seats.
• Lower level judicial races and county office races will also be on the ballots, depending on location.
• During early voting, voters can cast ballots at any polling location in the county where they are registered. Some counties require voters to cast their ballots at specific locations based on precincts on Election Day.
• Find early voting locations and times at the Texas Secretary of State website.
• You need one of seven types of valid photo ID to vote in Texas: A Texas DPS-issued driver’s license, a DPS-issued Texas election identification certificate, a DPS-issued Texas personal ID card, a DPS-issued license to carry a handgun, a U.S. military ID card with a personal photo, a U.S. citizenship certificate with a personal photo or a U.S. Passport.
• Cellphones, cameras, computers and other devices that can record sound or images cannot be used within 100 feet of voting stations where ballots are marked.
• Clothing publicizing candidates, political parties or issues on the ballot are not allowed within 100 feet of voting stations.
• Firearms, including handguns, are not allowed at polling places.
• If you are a registered voter but your name does not appear on the list of registered voters due to an administrative error, you have the right to cast a provisional ballot.
• Voters have the right to cast their ballots in secret and should not be subject to intimidation.
• Those with disabilities or limited English proficiency can get interpretation, assistance or other accommodations to vote.
• Texas law gives voters the right to vote during work hours without being penalized or losing pay, although these protections may not apply if polls are open either two hours before or two hours after a worker’s shift.
• Questions? Call the Secretary of State’s helpline at 1-800-252-VOTE (8683). You can also check your voter registration at through the Secretary of State website.
• A coalition of voting rights groups called TexasVoterProtection.org offers hotlines in several languages. Visit the website or call 1-866-687-8683.
• Disability Rights Texas also offers a helpline for people with disabilities at 1-888-796-VOTE (8683).
Visit the Texas Tribune website for more information and sources.
— Tammye Nash