Must register to vote at least 30 days before the election in which you wish to vote.
QUALIFICATIONS
To register to vote in the State of Texas, an individual must meet the following qualifications: • Be a U.S. citizen • Be a resident of Texas • Be 18 years old (must register at 17 years and 10 months) • Not a convicted felon (unless a person's sentence is completed, including any probation or parole) • Not declared mentally incapacitated by a court of law
OBTAINING A VOTER REGISTRATION FORM
In Person:
Register with the Department of Public Safety when applying for or making changes to a driver's license
Register in person at the county Voter Registrar's Office (contact information)
By Mail:
You may obtain an application from the county Voter Registrar's Office, the Secretary of State's Office, libraries, many post offices, high schools.
Request a mail-in voter registration form online here.
To vote early by mail, a voter must meet one of the following criteria:
• Have a sickness or disability which keeps him/her from getting to the polls • Be 65 years old or older on election day • Expect to be absent from his/her county during early voting and on election day • Be confined in jail, but eligible to vote
How Can I Acquire an Early Voting Ballot?
In Person:
Early voting in person starts on the 17th day before and ends on the 4th day before each election. Call your election official for information on voting sites (contact information).
By Mail:
You may obtain a formal application from the Secretary of State's office or the early voting clerk in your county(contact information).
Request an application for an absentee ballot online here.
Obtain an application for an absentee ballot online here.
A registered voter may also make informal request for an early voting ballot. The following information must be included in an informal request:
• your signature (or a witness' signature if you cannot sign); • your name and the address at which you are registered to vote; • the address to which the ballot is to be mailed; • the election date and for which election you are requesting a ballot (for a primary election, you must state the political party's primary in which you wish to vote); and, • a reason why you are eligible to vote early by mail (to be eligible to vote early due to expected absence from the county, your application must state an address out-of-county to have your ballot mailed).
Applications for a ballot by mail must be submitted to the early voting clerk on or after the 60th day before Election Day and before the close of business on the 7th day before Election Day. If the 7th day is a weekend, the last day to submit an application is the preceding Friday.
How do I Return the Early Voting Ballot and What is the Deadline?
In order to be counted, an early ballot must be received by the clerk by 7:00 p.m. on election day.
If you are mailing your ballot from outside the United States, the early voting clerk must receive your ballot by the fifth day after Election Day. (You must mail it no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.)
Source of information:
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Post Office Box 12060 Austin, TX 78711-2060 Phone: 800-252-VOTE (8683) or 512-463-5650 Fax: 512-475-2811
