Important Election Dates
- Early Voting: Tuesday, February 20 – Friday, March 2
- Primary Election Day: Tuesday, March 6
- Early Voting for Uniform Election Day: Monday, April 23 – Friday, May 1
- Uniform Election Day: Saturday, May 5 (Conroe, Pearland, Sugar Land)
- Primary Run-off Election Day: Tuesday, May 22
- Election Day: Tuesday, November 6
As we prepare our members for the first of three rounds in this year’s Midterm election cycle, be assured that REALTORS® are involved in the candidate interviews and recommendation process all the way, educating candidates about the issues that matter to REALTORS®, taxes, mortgage finance, and flood insurance, to name a few.
In this first round of voting, voters will choose either the Democratic or Republican voting ballot at their polling location. The second round of voting will occur in the May 22 Runoff election, where voters will return to the polls and choose to cast their vote between the top two vote-getters from the March 6 Primary election. The third round of voting will be a face-off between the major parties candidates on November 6.
REALTOR® volunteers serving on the HAR Political Affairs Advisory Group and the Bay Area, Fort Bend, and Montgomery County Political Affairs Advisory Leadership participate in the candidate interviews, recommendation, and get-out-the-vote process. They serve as our eyes and ears because they are in touch with their communities’ wants and needs.
With so many candidates running for office in both the Democratic and Republican primary election, I highly recommend reviewing your ballot before going to the polls. You can do that by visiting the Texas Secretary of State’s website: votetexas.gov. Even more importantly, the Texas Association of REALTORS® recommended candidate list can be found here: texasrealtorssupport.com.
Of the 36 Texas members of the U. S. House of Representatives, eight are not seeking re-election, Joe Barton, Blake Farenthold, Jeb Hensarling, Sam Johnson, Beto O’Rourke, Lamar Smith, and Houston’s own Gene Green and Ted Poe. I don’t remember this many open seats up for grabs in Texas and so many candidates jockeying to win them.
Twenty women are running for the eight open congressional seats. If they are successful, they would join U. S. Representatives Sheila Jackson-Lee, Kay Granger, and Eddie Bernice Johnson.
In the last gubernatorial primary election in 2014, just 14 percent of registered voters in Texas cast a ballot. We know we can do better by taking a few minutes to do our homework and preparing ourselves.
Before going to the polls, check your voter registration status at votetexas.gov.
Bring one of these seven forms of identification with you to the polls:
1. Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
2. Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
3. Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
4. Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
5. United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
6. United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
7. United States Passport (book or card)
If you have questions about how to cast a ballot in upcoming elections, call 1-800-252-VOTE. Your HAR Governmental Affairs staff is here to help you, too. Please call Amber Burton, Lisa Hunter, or me at (713) 629-1900. We appreciate having the opportunity to serve you and move you closer to the political process.
![Senator John Whitmire (center), Dean of the Texas Senate, received a warm welcome from his Senate District 15 constituents, TREPAC Trustees, and members serving on the Political Affairs Advisory Group. Senator Whitmire, an attorney, chairs the Criminal Justice committee and serves on the Business and Commerce and Finance committees.](https://www.harconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2018/02/john_whitmire/1972678849.jpg)
![Sam Harless (center), HAR’s recommended candidate for House District 126 in Northwest Harris County, was a special guest at the January 25 Great Northwest Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors® meeting where he received a warm welcome from Bret Nordquist, Chapter President.](https://www.harconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2018/02/sam_harless/1896709979.jpg)
![Realtors® show their enthusiastic support for re-electing Representative Sarah Davis to serve House District 134 in the Tuesday, March 6, Primary election. Representative Davis, an attorney, serves on the Appropriations, Calendars, and Corrections committees and chairs the General Investigating and Ethics committee.](https://www.harconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2018/02/sarah_davis/3314741856.jpg)
![Representative Shawn Thierry (center) is greeted by HAR staff, Karen Driscoll, Aracely Arrazolo, Lisa Hunter, and Dana Kervin, in the HAR lobby. Representative Thierry, an attorney, serves on the County Affairs and Juvenile Justice and Family Issues committees.](https://www.harconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2018/02/shawn_thiery/1526160348.jpg)
![State Representative Jarvis Johnson (center) visited with members serving on the Political Affairs Advisory Group chaired by John Nichols. Representative Johnson serves on the Homeland Security and Public Safety and the Urban Affairs Committees.](https://www.harconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2018/02/jarvis_johnson/1299860581.jpg)