Early voting for the high-profile runoff election for the Texas Senate opens Wednesday.
Texas Senate District 9 covers most of Tarrant County and sees candidates Taylor Rehmet, a Fort Worth Democrat, and Leigh Wambsganss, a Southlake Republican, vying for the seat. Election Day for the runoff is Jan. 31.
Here’s what you need to know.
Early voting is Jan. 21-27 at the following times:
- 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 21-23
- 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 24
- 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 25
- 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 26-27
Early voting locations can be found here.
Tarrant County residents can check if they live in Senate District 9 here. Voter registration status and sample ballots can be found on this page.
On Election Day, voting runs 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at these locations.
The runoff election was triggered after neither Rehmet nor Wambsganss claimed over 50% of the vote in a three-way November race.
That election saw record-high turnout for an odd-numbered year election — a trend political experts attributed greatly to the Senate race.
Rehmet took the lead and came about 2-percentage points shy of winning outright, while Wambsganss split the GOP vote with her Republican opponent.
The winner on Jan. 31 will serve the remainder of now-acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock’s term, which runs through the end of the year. Candidates have already filed for a prospective rematch for a full four-year term in the Legislature in the March primaries.
In order to cast a ballot, voters must present one of seven valid photo IDs:
- Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety
- Texas election identification certificate issued by DPS
- Texas personal identification card issued by DPS
- Texas handgun license issued by DPS
- U.S. military identification card containing the person’s photograph
- U.S. citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph
- U.S. passport (book or card)
If a voter doesn’t have an acceptable photo ID and cannot reasonably obtain one, they must fill out a reasonable impediment declaration form and present a copy or original of one of the following:
- A government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate
- Current utility bill
- Bank statement
- Government check
- Paycheck
- A certified U.S. birth certificate or a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity, which may include a foreign birth document
Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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