Election Day

Hey, Mr. Police Man, please don't take my stuff
It cost me too much money and it probably ain't enough
To make it through election day
And didn't I hear you say
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright

- Blaze Foley, "Election Day" (popularized by Lyle Lovett)

All eyes today are on Texas' primary elections, so here's a roundup of related recent Grits coverage. For once, at least for Democrats, the message "vote early and often" isn't entirely a joke. Primary voters will decide about 55% of delegates at the ballot box, but another third will be decided by caucuses at local precinct conventions tonight when the polls close (the rest are "superdelegates"). Meanwhile, the presidential race is by no means the only important election held today.

Presidential

• Texas presidential primary relevant for the first time in years: Huckabee, Obama best on criminal justice issues
• Immigration, trade and presidential politics

Court of Criminal Appeals

• CCA incumbent faces strong GOP primary challenge
• Does the Texas GOP need judges who think being Latino makes you a "continuing danger"?

Travis County DA

• Rick Reed top choice in Travis DA's race
• Watch Travis County DA candidate forum online
• Challenge DA candidates to say what they would do to reduce racial disparities in drug imprisonment

Others

• Texas criminal justice races to watch
• Jerry Madden facing bizarre attacks in primary campaign
• DA who failed to file TYC sex abuse case runs for re-election
• Who's on TV?
  

Other important Texas elections today include the Harris County DA primary, where one of four GOP candidates will win the right to face former Houston police chief Clarence Bradford in November. Sheriff's races in Bexar and Dallas both should be competitive, with issues in both elections centering around the jail. El Paso will likely choose the replacement for the late Sheriff Leo Samaniego today in the D primary.

Meanwhile, many thousands of Texas Democrats will be attending their party's precinct conventions for the first time ever. I can't tell you how many people I've spoken to who told me this would be their first time at a precinct convention. If you're one of them, consider taking advantage of the opportunity to also bring these resolutions to propose in your precinct:

• Resolution on Prison and Jail Overcrowding
• Resolution Supporting Reforms at TYC

Print out five copies of each and take them with you - the convention will be held in the same place your precinct votes (NOT early voting sites), and will begin 15 minutes after the polls close at seven o'clock. Go here for more detail on the process. And be sure to come back and let me know if the resolution passed in your precinct, either via email or in the comments.

Finally, the blog Texas Prison Bidness has prepared a resolution opposing the incarceration of blameless children in immigration detention centers like the T. Don Hutto facility in Williamson County, which incidentally is the subject of a new blog that's also promoting the resolution.. In Travis and Williamson I'm told the party will actually be distributing this resolution, but in other counties you should definitely take 5 copies and attempt to get this resolution passed, too. (The resolutions are also suitable for GOP convention-goers if you change the party name - I'm more focused on Ds because their caucuses will be extraordinarily well attended.)

It's a big day, huh? Use this post as an open thread to let me know your thoughts about today's plebiscite, what races or issues you're watching, or for other election-related topics.

RELATED: Via Burnt Orange Report, see "Where to Vote and How to Follow Tonight's Election Results."