There was a steady stream of Democratic voters from before polls opened through the morning on the March 3 Primary Election Day at the Elzie Odom Athletic Center in Arlington.
Rachel Royster
Texas Supreme Court weighs in on voting hours extension for Dallas Democrats
9 p.m. The Texas Supreme Court stayed a ruling out of Dallas County extending poll hours to 9 p.m. for Democratic voters. The order says “votes cast by voters who were not in line to vote at 7pm should be separated” from votes cast later in the night.
Voting extended to 9 p.m. for Dallas Democrats
6:14 p.m. Polls will stay open until 9 p.m. for Dallas County Democratic primary voters, according to the local party. A court order allows for the extension and comes after the county parties moved away from countywide voting, which let voters go to any polling place. This election, Dallas County voters must vote in their designated precinct, which has caused confusion among voters, WFAA reports.
“Following a challenging day of well documented voting access issues, DCDP was compelled to ensure all Democratic voters have access to the polls,” the Dallas County Democratic Party said in a post on X. “Election judges and poll workers should ensure that all eligible Democratic voters present at polling places by 9 p.m. are allowed to cast a ballot. Voters who are in line by 9 p.m. will be permitted to vote.”
Polls for the Republican primary in Dallas County still close at 7 p.m.
Dallas County Democratic Party obtained an order to extend polling hours for the March 3 primary election. Polls will now remain open until 9 p.m. at all Dallas County voting locations. Following a challenging day of well documented voting access issues, DCDP was compelled to… pic.twitter.com/GPlqutxtrD
— Dallas Democrats (@dallasdemocrats) March 4, 2026 Wait times in Tarrant County remain through the last hour of voting
6:00pm Both Democrats and Republicans are waiting in lines in the final hour of voting begins.
Most of the Democratic polling locations show on the county wait time map as having over 30-minute wait times. About a third of the Republican polling places have over 30-minute waits.
Republican sounds alarm about Democratic turnout in Benbrook
3:37 p.m. About 260 people have voted at the Benbrook Community Center, where there was a line out the door at 2:30 p.m. For Democrats, the line was shorter than the one for Republicans. But the opposite was true Tuesday morning.
Cars were lined up along San Angelo Avenue. As voters walked to the voting location, they were approached by Republican campaign teams for district judge candidate Katherine Allen, state representative candidate John McQueeney and county commissioner candidate Lucila Seri.
Seri said she’s seen more Democrats turn out to the polls on Election Day than Republicans. She said Republicans should be worried, especially if the Democrats are attracting new voters.
Kirk Kyler, a Republican voter from Fort Worth, said he wants to see the government “take charge of themselves.”
Kyler said the entire ballot was important to him but once he got down to the local elections, he voted for the name he knew.
Most voting centers have no wait after lunchtime
1:12 p.m. Across the county, wait times are up to 45 minutes in some primaries.
Some of the longest lines are at ACTIV, Benbrook Community Center, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Bob Duncan Center, City of Arlington South Service Center, Dionne Phillips Bagsby Southwest Subcourthouse, Keller Town Hall, MISD Student Nutrition Department, Summerglen Branch Library, T. A. Howard Middle School and White Settlement Public Library.
The Elections Administration voting center map displays the wait times for each party. Users can choose the party by the dropdown in the upper lefthand corner.
Haslet polling location favored by Republicans
12:00 p.m. At the Legacy Learning Center in Haslet, Republicans are having to wait up to an hour to get to a voting machine, but Democrats have little to no wait at all.
Susan Ogletree, a Republican voter from Haslet, said there was no wait for Democrats when she was in line to cast her vote for all the Trump-endorsed candidates. Ogletree doesn’t normally vote in non-presidential races, but her concern with the “evil in the world” brought her out on Election Day.
Another Haslet Republican, Brad Christenson, did not want to disclose who he voted for, but said his priority is to elect leaders who will keep America headed down the path it’s on.
Manoj Pandey also voted on the Republican ballot, but was fueled by hate for Gov. Greg Abbott. He voted for Doc Chambers instead. Pandey is also against war and said he thinks the American airstrikes in Iran will hurt Republicans in 2026 and 2028.
Steady lines of Democrats and Republicans in Grapevine
10:26 a.m. The line at the Elzie Odom Athletic Center in Arlington was consistently long throughout the morning. At the Grapevine Public Library, there was a steady stream of Democratic and Republican voters, according to a poll worker. People campaigning for Fred Tate and Armin Mizani, Republican candidates for House District 98, and Democratic Senate candidate Jasmine Crockett were greeting voters on their way in, including Mizani himself.
Mizani said he has seen a big turnout on both sides, but Democrats seem to have an edge. A woman standing by Mizani, Lisa Sweeney, flew from her home in South Carolina to campaign for Crockett. Sweeney said she has noticed more engagement and participation in Texas than she is used to in her home state.
What she likes about Crockett, though, is her support for everyone, no matter their background. She said Crockett is “intergenerational.”
Dawn and Larry Carruth said they were voting to keep conservatism a top priority in Texas for their nine grandkids. They said though Democrats outpaced Republicans in early voting, they’re hopeful this shows Republican are holding the tradition of voting on Election Day.
Voting opens with long lines at some locations
9 a.m. Voters were lining up before the polls opened at 7 a.m. At the Elzie Odom Athletic Center in Arlington, the wait was 45 minutes at 6:45 a.m. By 9 a.m., there were 45 minutes waits at the Tarrant County Sub-courthouse in Mansfield, Sunrise-McMillian Elementary School in Fort Worth, ACTIV on Green Oaks Boulevard in Arlington and at Diamond Hill/Jarvis Branch Library.
William Marks, a Democratic candidate for Congressional District 25, has been out since 6:45 a.m., passing out Democratic voter guides at the Elzie Odom Athletic Center. Marks said voters seemed very energized. One thing that’s different this campaign is that Democrats have more people on the ballot instead of letting Republicans run uncontested, he said.
Tim Martin, a Republican voter, said he came out to keep Greg Abbott as governor. His main concerns are taxes and Sharia law. As a veteran, he said he’s seen how Sharia law tears apart a country.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, sharia — meaning the correct path in Arabic — refers to the divine counsel that some Muslims follow to be close to God and live moral lives. Most of the Muslim majority countries have laws referencing sharia. Some countries have laws administer what critics believe are cruel punishments or place undue restrictions on women and minorities. But people also misunderstand sharia and how it is applied, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Top races on ballot
The top races for many voters are the competitive U.S. Senate seat and state-wide offices like governor and lieutenant governor. The high-profile races at the top of the ballot are turning out thousands of Tarrant County voters from each party.
Polls open at 7 a.m.
Tuesday is the last chance voters have to cast their ballots in the Democratic and Republican primaries.
Voters are also deciding who to nominate to the November ballot for the state legislature, county judge, two commissioners seats and district judges. Both ballots also end in a series of polls from their party.
In early voting, Democrats outpaced Republicans by over 30,000 ballots in Tarrant County. Republicans saw 91,000 voters come out to the polls, and Democrats saw 122,000.
Voters can go to nearly 200 polling locations open on Tuesday to cast their ballots. Because the election is run by the parties, there are separate machines depending on which ballot the person is voting on. Check the Tarrant County wait time map for the closest polling location and to check wait times for each party.
All locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
What to bring to the polls
Here’s what to bring and not bring to the polls when you vote on Nov. 5 in Tarrant County.
When you get to the polls, have a form of identification handy. Accepted forms of voter ID are:
Texas driver’s licenseTexas election identification certificateTexas personal identification cardTexas handgun licenseU.S. military identification card containing the person’s photographU.S. citizenship certificate containing the person’s photographU.S. passport (book or card)Voters without one of the above forms of identification can submit a reasonable impediment declaration along with an alternative form of identification, such as a utility bill, original paycheck, bank statement, government check or voter registration certificate.There are several things not to bring to the polls when you go to vote, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Voters cannot wear apparel related to a candidate, ballot measure or political party (even if they’re not on the ballot) within 100 feet of a polling place.
Cell phones, cameras, tablets, laptops and audio recorders cannot be used within 100 feet of a voting station. Only licensed peace officers can carry handguns at polling places.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 9:05 AM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.