Members of the Texas delegation tip their hats in unison at the Republican National Convention in 2012. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)

How will the Texas delegates be allocated? Your primary vote really does count. Here’s how.

Texas is by far the biggest prize yet in the presidential nominating sweepstakes.

The state's primaries — set for March 1, with early voting now under way — offer more delegates than all the states to come before combined.

But translating millions of votes into hundreds of delegates at party nominating conventions this summer is complicated. Here's a primer on the process:

Assigning delegates

Winning the Democratic and Republican nominations is a matter of collecting the most delegates. Nationally, there are 2,472 Republican delegates and 4,763 Democratic delegates, and the winning candidates have to secure half of their party’s delegates — plus one.

Republicans: 155 total Each of the 36 congressional districts gets 3 delegates to total 108 delegates. There are 47 at-large delegates allocated based on statewide totals. 108 + 47 = 155 delegates Democrats: 251 total There are 222 Democratic delegates available on March 1. Texas' 31 Senate districts have a certain number of delegates that total 145 delegates. There are another 77 delegates that are allocated based on statewide vote totals. There are 29 additional superdelegates that are allocated at the national convention. 145 + 77 + 29 = 251 delegates Sources for graphics: Republican and Democratic Parties of Texas.

Some states are winner-take all. In those states, the candidate receiving the most votes win all the delegates from that state. Other states, such as Texas, dole out delegates proportionally, which makes things a bit more confusing.

Texas has 155 Republican delegates and 222 Democratic delegates up for grabs on election night. Another 29 Democratic delegates are unassigned “superdelegates” who are free to declare allegiance to a candidate at the national convention in July.

There are more Republican delegates from the Dallas area alone than Republican delegates in all of New Hampshire.

The formula used in Texas to divide up the delegates is complex, but University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus said it makes the process more democratic — especially in a state where delegates are assigned proportionally.

“One thing for voters to think about is that even if your candidate is not winning statewide, they might win in the area where you live — so there is still a strong reason to vote,” Rottinghaus said.

Republican candidates can collect delegates in two ways. If they do well in a congressional district, they stand to gain up to three delegates per district. Statewide vote totals determine which candidate or candidates get an additional 47 delegates. If a GOP candidate wins more than half of the votes in Texas, he will get all 47 of those delegates. Anything less and the candidates have to share.

Republican congressional district delegates Each of Texas’ 36 congressional districts has 3 delegates.

Republican at-large delegates There are 47 at-large delegates allocated based on statewide totals.

Democratic candidates win delegates in three ways. Each state Senate district has a different amount of delegates up for grabs, and candidates receiving at least 15 percent of the votes in any of those districts divide up the available delegates proportionally. The number in each district varies based on turnout in prior elections. Of Texas’ 251 Democratic delegates, 145 are doled out through state Senate districts.

Another 77 of the Democratic delegates are allocated based on statewide results. Any candidate that gets at least 15 percent of the statewide vote is awarded delegates proportionally.

Superdelegates

Superdelegates are notable members of the Democratic Party and Texas Democrats in Congress, and can give their votes to any candidate at the Democratic National Convention in July. They often pledge support for candidates earlier in the process.

After superdelegates were factored in, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders finished with virtually the same number of delegates in New Hampshire even though Sanders beat Clinton by 22 percentage points.

“The reason the party designed the system that way is because they wanted to have some built-in filter” on who gets the nomination, Rottinghaus said. “But the percentage of superdelegates out of the total is pretty low, so although they do have outside influence and they’re not elected, it is simply a fail-safe tool for the party to make sure that they don’t nominate someone who can’t handle the job.”

Rottinghaus said superdelegates have not made a big impact in recent presidential elections.

Superdelegates can always change their mind. In 2008, some superdelegates initially endorsed Clinton but jumped ship and headed to Barack Obama’s side before the convention.

“They are bound only by their own conscience and their own reputation,” Rottinghaus said.

Scroll or swipe to see the superdelegates

Montserrat Garibay Travis County

State Rep. Rafael Anchia D-Dallas

Lorraine Miller Tarrant County

Glen Maxey Travis County

Katie Naranjo Travis County

State Rep. Yvonne Davis D-Dallas

Betty Richie Dallas County

State Rep. Royce West D-Dallas

Carol Guthrie Travis County

State Rep. Jose Rodriguez D-El Paso

John Patrick Sr. Galveston County

Lenora Sorola-Pohlman Harris County

State Rep. Senfronia Thompson D-Houston

Henry Munoz Bexar County

Dennis Speight Travis County

State Rep. Garnet Coleman D-Houston

Gilberto Hinojosa Cameron County

Fredericka Phillips Harris County

Rep. Al Green D-Houston

Rep. Rubén Hinojosa D-Edinburg

Rep. Beto O'Rourke D-El Paso

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee D-Houston

Rep. Joaquin Castro D-San Antonio

Rep. Henry Cuellar D-Laredo

Rep. Gene Green D-Houston

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson D-Dallas

Rep. Marc Veasey D-Fort Worth

Rep. Filemon Vela Jr. D-Brownsville

Rep. Lloyd Doggett D-Austin

Until recently, Texas was the only state in the nation where Democrats hosted both a primary and caucuses during a presidential election.

Nicknamed the “Texas two-step,” voters cast ballots in a primary to allocate 75 percent of available delegates based on state Senate districts, and could also go to caucus to assign the remaining 25 percent of statewide delegates. The party ditched the process for the 2016 election.

Some party officials said they’re sad to see the Texas two-step go.

“You sort of had the best of both worlds,” said Glen Maxey, legislative affairs director of the Texas Democratic Party. “With people going to these caucuses to help their candidate, we could collect a lot of people’s names, and a lot of people became a part of the party structure.”