Early voting in Texas underway State officials urge voters to be prepared as they begin to cast ballots in the March 6 primaries

The 2018 primaries will be March 6. Early voting will be Feb. 20 through March 2. The 2018 primaries will be March 6. Early voting will be Feb. 20 through March 2. Photo: JASON FOCHTMAN Photo: JASON FOCHTMAN Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Early voting in Texas underway 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN -- Texans from across the state Tuesday began to flock to their nearest polling sites to cast their ballots for the first day of early voting leading up to the March 6 primary elections.

There are several competitive primaries up and down the ballot — like for governor, where 12 Democrats and Republicans are running — for both parties in the 2018 midterm primaries.

"Early preparedness is key for all Texans wishing to cast a vote. If you want your voice to be heard, you have to be prepared," Secretary of State Rolando Pablos said in a statement. "It is imperative that all Texans wishing to cast a vote start early and undertake the necessary preparations to be able to vote."

The SOS office is reminding voters they must bring one of seven accepted forms of ID in order to cast a vote:

• Texas Driver 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)

You can find more info on where to go and what to bring with you when casting a primary vote with our ballot explainer here.

Each day for the two-week early voting period, Harris County election officials said they should have unofficial vote and turnout totals soon after polls close at 7 p.m.

After the U.S. Justice Department announced a recent grand jury indictment of a group of Russians who interfered in the 2016 elections, Americans are more worried than ever about whether our election system is secure. Last summer, federal election officials said Texas was one of 21 states targeted by hackers in the 2016 election, in which they were looking into the SOS office's website, which doesn't track voter information. Texas officials responded that the hackers didn't get very far in penetrating any systems.

Despite this, Texans are still split about whether they believe Russians did influence the 2016 presidential election outcome, with 40 percent saying they do believe there was meddling and 46 percent saying they do not, according to a recent poll.

Alongside 11 other states, Texas also has a "D" rating in election security from the left-leaning Center for American Progress for using voting machines that do not leave a paper record and for not mandating statewide post-election audits, according to a report released this month.