(Guadalupe County) – Polling locations will be in action this Tuesday as voters head out to cast their ballots during the March 5th Joint Primary Election.
Setting the stage of how this election works and how it will be key to the November General Election is Lisa Hayes, Guadalupe County elections administrator.
Hayes says the idea of a Primary Election is for voters to choose their top candidate for one of the elected offices within the Democratic and Republican parties.
“Because this is a Primary Election, voters are going to have to select either a Democratic or Republican ballot if they want to vote in this election. This is different than our November Election when all of the different parties are on one ballot. This is the election where the voters are exercising their voice to tell the parties which candidate they would like to see on the November ballot for each party. Voters will need to go in prepared to choose either a Republican ballot or a Democratic ballot,” said Hayes.
The candidate who wins the majority or more than half of the votes in a race will go on to face candidates from other parties in the November General Election.
If no candidate gets a majority of voters in a race, then the top two-vote getters will head to a May 28 primary run-off election. Hayes says locally, the only contested races this March are on the Republican ballot. Hayes says a person’s ballot in March, however, does not determine that person’s party affiliation in any way. She says this is often a question that is raised during the March Primary.
“So, the answer to that is in November, there are no party ballots in that all of the parties will be on one ballot so a voter can vote whichever party Democratic or Republican now in the Primary and in November, their ballots are all going to have all the parties on them. So, this does not impact the quote unquote kind of ballot they get in November because all of the parties are represented on November’s ballot. So, this is an opportunity for the voters to help make this election for their party. Additionally, if there’s a Primary runoff, the voters cannot change parties in between. So, if they vote in one party’s primary and there is a runoff from the primary, then they would need to vote in the same party runoff if they are going to vote. Now, if they voted in neither of the primaries for either party, they could vote in either of the runoffs if there are runoffs for both parties. So, that could be a little confusing also for the voters,” said Hayes.
In Guadalupe County, there are a few contested races seeking the GOP nomination. Among those are the position of Guadalupe County Sheriff and Guadalupe County Commissioner Pct. 1. There are no contested Democratic races for these positions. This means that if voters would like to vote for sheriff or want a say in Pct. 1, then they will have to ask for a Republican ballot when they arrive at their polling site.
Seeking the position of Sheriff are Patrick Pinder and Joshua Ray. Five candidates will be seeking the Pct. 1 seat on the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court. Those candidates include James B. Ransdell; Clint Taft; Dustin Engelke, Bryan Underwood and Jacqueline “Jackie” Ott.
It’s important to note that whoever garners the most votes during Tuesday’s Primary for Sheriff will essentially assume the new position in January 2025. That’s because there is no Democratic challenger for that position.
The winner of the Commissioners Court race, however, will advance to the November election where they will face both a Democratic and Libertarian candidate.
A total of 36 Vote Centers or polling locations will be open throughout Guadalupe County on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thanks to Vote Centers, Guadlaupe County residents are no longer restricted to specific polling sites and can vote in any one of the 36 locations. Simply put by officials, if they see a “Vote Here” sign outside the building, then they can vote in that Guadalupe County polling location.
A list of voting centers is available on the Guadalupe County Elections Office webpage or at SeguinToday.com. Voters are reminded that Election Day voting will not take place at the main Elections Office in Seguin.
A sample ballot can be accessed on the Elections Office website. Hayes says the sample ballots allow voters to preview their precinct’s ballot before visiting the polls.
“We have sample ballots on our website. We have sample ballots available in our offices so if voters want to come pick up a sample ballot so they can study the sample ballot ahead of time and that way they know going into the polls who they want to vote for or which party ballot they want, they are welcome to do that. They can even mark the sample ballot and take it with them and use it as a voting guide. Those things are all okay and we even encourage that,” said Hayes.
The voter guide can also assist them as they electronically cast their ballot. The paper sample ballots can be found at www.co.guadalupe.tx.us/elections.