The Prospector
Less than a month away, Texas voters will be able to cast their votes on statewide, legislative and congressional seats for the Nov. 6 midterm election.
And to help students across campus fully understand about the election in El Paso and Texas, here is a breakdown of early voting facts and how to register to vote.
Who’s on the ballot?
Beyond the statewide races that are voted on by all Texans, El Pasoans get their own slate of elections that citizens will be able to vote on. Federally, Texas is divided into 36 U.S. House districts. All U.S. House and Texas House districts are up for election, while only half of the Texas Senate and State Board of Education seats are on the ballot.
For the 16th Congressional seat in the U.S. House, it will be Democratic party representative Veronica Escobar taking on Republican party representative Rick Seeberger. Earlier this year, Escobar earned the Democratic nomination from El Paso voters and if she wins the election, she will become Texas’ first Latina congresswomen. There are 436,440 eligible voters above the age of 18 in the county: 1.1 percent Asian, 4.3 percent black, 74.4 percent Hispanic and 19.0 percent white.
For the Texas House, District 78 election, incumbent Democrat representative Joe Moody will go up against Republican nominee Jeffrey Lane.
Among the larger statewide elections, Democratic party candidate Beto O’Rourke will try and unseat republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, who has held the seat since 2013. Governor Greg Abbott will seek reelection, as he faces Democratic party representative Lupe Valdez. And, both Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton will too seek reelection in this year’s midterm race, facing Democratic representatives Mike Collier and Justin Nelson, respectively.
For a full list of candidates and midterm elections, visit votesmart.org/2018/s/Texas.
Dates to know
The last day to register is Tuesday, Oct. 9, and there are still ways to find out whether or not you are registered to vote. One may visit the Texas secretary of state’s website by providing your Texas driver’s license number and date of birth, providing first and last name and county, or by providing your date of birth and Voter Unique Identifier (VUID), which is located on voter registration certificates.
In order to register to vote, residents must fill out an application at their county voter registrar’s office, in libraries across town or in most post offices. The form is also available online or by request through the mail. All mailed applications must be postmarked on or before the Oct. 9 deadline.
For those that will not be in town, there is an option to submit a ballot by mail. Residents that will not be in the county on Nov. 6 (Election Day) and not in the county during the early voting period are eligible to do this. If you are sick or disabled, over 65 years of age, confined in jail but not convicted of a felony, Texans may vote by mailing in their ballot via an application, which is due by Oct. 26.
Early voting begins Oct. 22 and runs through Nov. 2. Voting locations will be set up across the city, including a voting booth at UTEP. For early voting, voters are allowed to vote at any polling location in El Paso.
Anyone that is registered to vote is eligible for early voting but must do so in person.
On Election Day, there will only be designated locations to vote, so early voting is encouraged.
Adrian Broaddus may be reached at [email protected].
