HOUSTON — Early voting for the May 4 elections in Harris County is set to begin April 22 with a special election as the contest with the highest profile.
"We want voters to know that your vote should be kept up," Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said Thursday. "Keep going, keep going into the polls to cast your ballot and prepare as we get to the big show in November."
Early voting for elections on May 4 goes from April 22 through April 30. While the announcement from the county clerk focused on May 4, Hudspeth and election workers already have preparations going for the May 28 elections.
"In terms of logistical, we are running two elections simultaneously at the same time," Hudspeth said.
The candidates looking to take over Mayor John Whitmire’s old Senate seat are also having to juggle two contests at once. Jarvis Johnson and Molly Cook are both vying to be the first person other than Whitmire to represent Texas Senate District 15 in 40 years when Whitmire first won the seat.
The two Democrats will have to face each other twice in a month: once on May 4 for the special election to determine who will finish out Whitmire’s term for the rest of the year and then again on May 28 for the Democratic primary runoff election with the winner having the chance to win an entire term in November’s general election. The winner of the May 28 race will face Republican Joseph Trahan.
KHOU 11 spoke with both Democratic candidates ahead of the start of early voting for the May 4 special election.
"This is an exciting time," Johnson said when asked about the historical nature of a new state senator set to be elected to represent the district for the first time in four decades.
"It’s so exciting," Cook said. "No matter what, we’re about to make history."
District 15 encompasses large swathes of Houston and parts of Harris County. Each candidate highlighted different aspects of their resume as to what sets them apart.
"I will continue to say over and over again, when you have somebody with experience that knows how to get the job done, we can go on the first day of the Senate, the first day of the session, and know exactly what we're doing," Jarvis said referring to his time as a state representative in the Texas Legislature. "It's not a learning curve."
Cook is an ER nurse and said her work would bring a unique perspective to Austin.
"I am a medical professional with a master's in public health policy," Cook said. "And I'm trained to think in systems and understand research and that sets me apart in this race."
Both candidates acknowledge the tricky task of educating voters about the two elections in May and motivating them to head to the polls.
"We will be reaching out to them over and over to make sure that folks know how to make their voices heard in these elections," Cook said.
"No matter what and how relevant it may be to you, every election is important," Jarvis said.
Other May 4 election information
On top of the special election for Texas Senate District 15, voters in Harris County will also be voting for three seats on the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) Board of Directors. This is the first time voters will be electing members of HCAD, who were previously appointed.
The following forms of photo ID are acceptable when voting in person:
- Texas Driver's License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
- United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States Passport (book or card)
- More information can be found at HarrisVotes.com