HUNTSVILLE — Early voting in the March 2 primary election started Tuesday at the Walker County Annex with voter turnout better than expected.

County Deputy Elections Administrator Dee Brimer said 227 voters cast ballots in the Democratic and Republican primary.

Early voting continues today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the county annex, 1301 Sam Houston Ave.,  and continues through Feb. 26.

The last day to apply for a ballot by mail is Feb. 23.

Brimer said voter turnout was better than expected.

“The way it was looking I didn’t expect this many votes the first day,” she said.

Brimer said her office received less than 100 requests for a ballot by mail through Monday, but they received an increase in requests Tuesday.

There are 29,532 registered voters in the county for the primary.

The primary features seven contested races on the Republican Party ballot in the county, while the Democratic Party ballot has one contested race.

There are three-way contested races for county clerk, Precinct 2 commissioner and Precinct 3 justice of the peace on the GOP ballot and two-way contested races for Precinct 4 commissioner and Precinct 3 justice of the peace on the Democratic ballot.

Contested races involving Walker County include:

Republican Party

• U.S. Representative, District 8 — Incumbent Kevin Brady, Melecio Franco, Scott Baker, Tyler Russell

• State Senator, District 5 — Incumbent Steve Ogden and Ben Bius.

• District Judge, 278th Judicial District — Incumbent Kenneth H. Keeling and Leslie G. Hardy

• County Clerk — David Standlee, Ruth White Bond, Kari French

• County Commissioner, Precinct 2 — Paris Mims, Billy Don Avritt, Ronnie White

• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2 — Eric Fugate, Richard B. Duncan

• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3 — Susan McGilberry Embry, Johnny Holland, Mark Holt

Democratic Party

• Commissioner Precinct 4 — Bobby D. Brooks, Frank Novark

• Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 — Glenn Peck, Denisa Loveday

Candidates as they will appear on the Republican and Democratic ballots.

GOP ballot propositions

Texas Republican voters will have a chance to give their opinions on such issues as voter identification and federal stimulus spending through five nonbinding resolutions that will appear on the GOP primary ballot.

The resolutions, which include perennial Republican priorities that have failed in the Legislature, were chosen by the State Republican Executive Committee and are designed to send a message to elected leaders in Austin and Washington, D.C.

• No. 1 Photo ID — The Texas Legislature should make it a priority to protect the integrity of our election process by enacting legislation that requires voters to provide valid photo identification in order to cast a ballot in any and all elections conducted in the State of Texas.

Responses:

— YES or NO

• No. 2 Controlling Government Growth — Every government body in Texas should be required to limit any annual increase in its budget and spending to the combined increase of population and inflation unless it first gets voter approval to exceed the allowed annual growth or in the case of an official emergency.

    — YES or NO

• No. 3 Cutting Federal Income Tax — In addition to aggressively eliminating irresponsible federal spending, Congress should empower American citizens to stimulate the economy by Congress cutting federal income taxes for all federal taxpayers, rather than spending hundreds of billions of dollars on so-called “federal economic stimulus.”

— YES or NO

• No. 4 Public Acknowledgment of God — The use of the word “God,” prayers, and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as permitted on government buildings and property.

—  YES or NO

• No. 5 Sonograms — The Texas Legislature should enact legislation requiring a sonogram to be performed and shown to each mother about to undergo a medically unnecessary, elective abortion.

— YES or NO