How Texas’ Primary Election System Works

Texas uses an open primary system, meaning voters do not register with a political party in advance. When voting in a primary election, voters choose either a Democratic or Republican ballot at the polling place and may only participate in that party’s primary for that election cycle.

While voters are free to choose either party’s ballot in a primary election, they cannot vote in one party’s primary and then participate in another party’s runoff election during the same cycle. Texas primaries determine each party’s nominees for offices such as U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, statewide offices, and state and local positions.

If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in a primary election, Texas holds a primary runoff election between the top two candidates. The winner of the runoff becomes the party’s nominee for the general election.