People line up to vote at Bullard Southern Baptist Church in 2020, Nov. 3, 2020.

Smith County residents can begin casting their ballots Tuesday during two weeks of early voting for the March 5 Joint Primary Elections.

Primaries are elections political parties use to select candidates for a general election. No one is elected to a position during a primary; however, some candidates may be uncontested.

If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the primary, the top two vote-getters will compete in a runoff on May 28. According to reporting from the Texas Tribune, Texas is an open-primary state, meaning voters can decide every two years whether to pick Republican or Democratic nominees (or hold out and go to third-party conventions).

It’s important to remember that whichever primary a voter decides to vote in, you can vote only in that same party’s runoff. You can, however, vote for either party’s candidates in the general election.

From February 20 through March 1, Smith County residents can cast their ballots at any of the six early voting locations, which include:

First Christian Church – Christian Life Center: 4202 S. Broadway Ave, Tyler

Heritage Building: 1900 Bellwood Road, Tyler

The Hub: 304 E. Ferguson Street, Tyler

Lindale’s Kinzie Community Center: 912 Mt. Sylvan St., Lindale

Noonday Community Center: 16662 CR 196, Tyler

Whitehouse Methodist Church: 405 W. Main Street, Whitehouse

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Because of Smith County’s construction of its parking garage next door to the Elections Office and The Hub, parking will be tight. Elections Administrator Michelle Allcon is encouraging voters to cast their ballots at one of the other locations.

Not sure where the closest polling location is to where you live or work? Smith County has launched a new, easy-to-use interactive map on its website.

Visit www.smith-county.com/government/departments/elections/current-election-information and click on the “Interactive Map of Smith County” link.

Beginning on Feb. 20, there will also be a red banner at the top of the homepage, at www.smith-county.com, to make it easier for visitors to access the current election information.

Early voting dates and times include:

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday – Friday, Feb. 20-23

7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24

Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25

7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Friday, Feb. 26 – March 1.

If you would like to apply for a mail-in ballot, the deadline for the Elections Office to receive the application is February 23.

Election Day is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5. Smith County residents will be able to choose any of the 38 polling locations to cast their ballots on Election Day. Those locations can also be found on the new interactive map: www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/0b2cf7240be6450887d398054662c1c7