On May 27, the Republican and Democratic parties will hold runoff elections for candidates who did not earn at least 50 percent of the votes in the March primaries. Early voting begins today, May 19, and runs through Friday, May 23. Visit VoteTexas.gov for full details on early voting. Regardless of which party you affiliate yourself with, there are important runoffs that will be on your ballot—no matter where you live.That's why ATPE encourages all educators to vote in a runoff election.

• If you voted in the Republican party primary in March, you are eligible to vote only in the Republican party runoff.
• If you voted in the Democratic party primary in March, you are eligible to vote only in the Democratic party runoff.
• If you did not vote at all back in March—and we will forgive you, just this once!—you are eligible to choose either the Republican or Democratic party runoff in which to vote this time.

Of course, there are no such restrictions for the November general election, when every registered voter can pick any candidate on the ballot, regardless of party affiliation. For some of you, the May 27 runoffs have added significance because of contested legislative and State Board of Education (SBOE) races in your area. The outcomes of these races will have a tremendous impact on Texas education policy over the next few years. Find out if you live in an area where one or more of these runoffs is occurring: Dallas area:

• SBOE District 13: Democratic candidates Andrea Hilburn and Erika Beltran.
• Senate District 2: Republican candidates Bob Deuell and Bob Hall.
• House District 66: Republican candidates Glenn Callison and Matt Shaheen.
• House District 102: Republican candidates Stefani Carter and Linda Koop.
• House District 105: Democratic candidates Susan Motley and Terry Meza.
• House District 108: Republican candidates Morgan Meyer and Chart Westcott.

Ft. Worth area:

• SBOE District 11: Republican candidates Eric Mahroum and Patricia (Pat) Hardy.
• Senate District 10: Republican candidates Konni Burton and Mark Shelton.
• House District 58: Republican candidates DeWayne Burns and Philip Eby.

Waxahachie:

• House District 10: Republican candidates John Wray and T.J. Fabby.

Houston area:

• House District 129: Republican candidates Sheryl Berg and Dennis Paul.
• House District 132: Republican candidates Ann Hodge and Mike Schofield.

Conroe/The Woodlands (and parts of Chambers, Harris and Jefferson Counties):

• House District 16: Republican candidates Ted Seago and Will Metcalf.

South central Texas (west of San Antonio):

• House District 53: Republican candidates Andrew Murr and Rob Henneke.

El Paso:

• House District 76: Democratic candidates Cesar Blanco and Norma Chavez.

Use our Teach the Vote search feature to help you get to know the candidates in these runoff elections, and don't forget to vote your profession this week or on election day, May 27!

Legislative and SBOE runoff election maps:

Click on any of the images below to view larger versions. Senate district runoffs, both located in the DFW area (SD 2 and SD 10) SBOE district runoffs, both located in the DFW area (SBOE 11 and SBOE 13) House district runoffs in the Dallas area (HD 66, HD 102, HD 105 and HD 108) House district runoffs south of the DFW area (HD 10 and HD 58) House district runoffs in Conroe and Houston (HD 16, HD 129 and HD 132) House district 53 runoff (south central Texas west of San Antonio) House district runoff in El Paso (HD 75)