Voting In Texas

To be eligible to vote in Texas you must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• A resident of the county in which you intend to vote
• At least 18 years old (you may register at 17 years and 10 months)
• Not convicted of a felony (unless your sentence is completed, including any probation or parole)
• Not declared mentally incompetent by a court of law

You do not need to show ID to register, but you must provide your Texas driver’s license number, or personal ID card number issued by the deparment of public safety on your registration application. If you have neither, you must give the last four digits of your Social Security number or a statement that you have not been issued one. If you register by mail and do not provide the above information and are a first time voter, you must show an acceptable form of identification in addition to your voter registration certificate when you vote.

You are required to show your voter registration certificate in order to cast your vote. If you have lost or misplaced your certificate, you must show another form of identification. Acceptable forms of identification include:

• A driver’s license or personal identification card issued by the Texas department of public safety
• A similar document issued to you by an agency of another state, regardless of whether the license or card has expired
• A form of identification containing a photograph
• A birth certificate
• U.S. citizenship papers
• U.S. passport
• Official mail addressed to you from a government agency
• A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address
• Any other form of identification presented by the secretary of state’s office.

There is no length of residency requirement before registering to vote in Texas. To vote in an upcoming election, the properly completed voter registration form must be postmarked 30 days before the upcoming election to be valid. In person registration must also be completed 30 days before an election.

You may request a postage-paid application by filling out the application form. A voter registration application will be mailed to you soon after. You must mail the voter registration application to the voter registrar in your county of residence. You may also pick up a voter registration application at many post offices, libraries, Texas department of public safety offices, or Texas department of human services offices throughout the state.

If you moved within the same county where you are currently registered, you must file the new address information in writing with your voter registrar or you may submit the in county change online. If you miss this deadline, you may return to your old precinct to vote, but you will be required to complete a "statement of residence" confirming your new address in your new precinct.

If you moved to a new county, you must re-register in your new county of residence to be eligible to vote in the election. If you miss this deadline, you may be eligible to vote a "limited" ballot. A limited ballot is available only during the early voting period. The limited ballot application will also act as a voter registration application. Contact your county voter registration official for more information.

If you are a student who spends several weeks or months a year in different locations, but you want to vote in Texas, you will need to decide which place in Texas is the geographic location you consider to be your permanent home. This location should be where you intend to return after any temporary absence. When you are describing your residence on the voter application, you are making a factual statement to the best of your knowledge and belief. You are presumed under Texas law to be in the best position to make a factual determination concerning where your residence is for registration purposes. However, you cannot register in more than one location; if you register in one county but put another Texas county as your home on the application, your application will be forwarded to the Texas county of your residence.

To verify your voter registration status, please contact your county voter registration official.

To qualify for an absentee ballot, you must be:

• Absent from your county of residence on Election Day and during the early voting period
• Sick or have a disability that prevents you from voting in person without assistance
• 65 or older
• Confined to jail serving a misdemeanor sentence; or confined to jail without bail pending trial for a felony or appeal of a felony conviction

You must request an application for ballot by mail (ABBM) from an early voting clerk in the county where you are registered, or from the secretary of state's office. Once received, read the instructions carefully, complete the ABBM form and return to the early voting clerk in your county by mail, common carrier or fax. The application must be received by the early voting clerk between the 60th day and the seventh day before an election (or the last business day before the seventh day if it falls on a weekend or a holiday.)

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

In person early voting is available to any registered voter in Texas beginning on the 17th day (12th day before a May election) before an election and ending on the fourth day before Election Day. No excuse is needed to vote early in person. Early voting in person is conducted in the building that houses the office of the County Clerk or City Secretary, or in a place designated by the County Commissioners or City Council. To find your location, contact your early voting election official.

• Early voting is conducted on weekdays during business hours for eight hours, or for three hours if the territory covered by the election has less than 1,000 people.
• Counties with a population over 100,000 people must conduct early voting for 12 hours on weekdays of the last week of early voting.
• If your county has less than 100,000 people, it must have extended hours if requested by 15 registered voters.
• Counties with a population over 100,000 people must conduct early voting for 12 hours on the last Saturday of early voting, and for five hours on the last Sunday.
• If your county has less than 100,000 people, the authority conducting the election may order early voting on one or more Saturdays or Sundays, and determine the hours. They must offer this if it is requested by 15 registered voters.

The next statewide election will be held Tuesday, November 3, 2009 (Monday, October 5, 2009: Registration Deadline). Please check with your local board of elections office for information on local elections.

In order to be a poll worker in Texas:

• You must be registered to vote in Texas
• You will be entitled to compensation
• You must be at least 18 years of age
• Political affiliation generally required
• You must be a resident of the precinct for 30 days prior to the election
• You must complete required training

To sign up, contact your local.board of elections.

The polling place will be open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Employers must grant employees paid leave to vote on Election Day, unless polls are open two hours before or after regular working shift.

You can find your polling place by utilizing VOTE411's poll locator tool. Some states and local jurisdictions provide their own poll locators. You can confirm your voting location by selecting from the following local resources: Texas.

You are eligible to vote a provisional ballot if:

• You claim to be an eligible voter, but your name does not appear on the list of registered voters, and your registration cannot be determined by the voter registrar
• You are a designated first-time voter on the list of registered voters, but are unable to produce the required identification
• You have applied for a ballot by mail, but have not returned it or cancelled it with the main early voting clerk
• You vote during extended polling hours ordered by a state or federal court
• You are registered, but are attempting to vote in a precinct other than the one in which you are registered
• You do not present a voter registration certificate or any other acceptable form of identification
• You are registered in the precinct, but your address is not located in the political subdivision conducting the election
• You voted in another party's primary in the primary election

If you claim to be registered, but your name is not on the list of registered voters, the presiding judge shall call the voter registrar to determine if you are registered. If registration can be confirmed, and you can show identification, you may vote a regular ballot, or be directed to the correct precinct if you are in the wrong precinct. You may vote a provisional ballot, but you must be informed that it will not be counted if:

• You registered in a different precinct
• It is indicated on the voter registration list that you voted by mail
• You have no identification

Texas does offer a limited ballot, but it is not considered a provisional ballot. Limited ballots are available if you have moved from one Texas county to another and are registered to vote in the former county of residence, but your voter registration in the new county will not be effective by election day due to the 30 day required period between registration and the election. This limited ballot is available only during early voting by personal appearance or by mail. The limited ballot contains only offices or propositions to be voted on statewide, or offices or propositions of territorial units of which you were a resident both before and after your move.

The voting systems used in Texas are optical scan, DRE and paper ballots.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.

There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.

Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show “pages.” On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a “touch screen,” where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.

You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

Paper Ballots: Paper ballots are one of the oldest ways of voting in America. They are still used in a few places on Election Day. When you come to the polling place, you will get a paper ballot from the poll worker. You take it to the voting booth, and use a pen or pencil to mark a box next to your candidate and issue choices. You then drop the marked ballot into a sealed ballot box.

The following vendors are currently certified by the State of Texas:

• Diebold Electronic Systems, Inc. (Accu-Vote TS)
• Election Systems and Software, Inc. (AutoMARK 1.0, iVotronic v.8.0.1.0.)
• Hart Intercivic, Inc. (eSlate v.5.0, v.3.3)

You can find additional information on the voting systems that are used in your county here.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures is available here.

If you have a sickness or physical condition that prevents you from voting without personal assistance or voting could negatively impact your health, you are eligible to vote using the early voting by mail materials on election day, at the main early voting polling place, or at your precinct polling place.

If you are physically unable to enter the polling place, an election official may deliver the ballot to you at the entrance or curb of the polling place. If you are physically unable to mark your ballot, or cannot read the ballot, you are eligible for assistance. You may choose anyone as an assistant except your employer or an officer of your union, or an agent of either. The assistant must take an oath of assistance administered by an election official. The assistant may read the ballot to you and mark your ballot. If you do not choose your own assistant, two election officials (of different political parties in the General Election) may assist you. Poll watchers and inspectors can observe the assistance by election officials.

An interpreter may be used if you and the election official cannot speak the same language. The interpreter must be a registered voter of the county, must take the oath of assistance and may interpret for any number of voters. Under HAVA, all Texas counties must provide one direct electronic voting machine (DRE) at each polling place for use by voters with visual disabilities, so they may cast their ballot without assistance. These machines are equipped with headphones and a keypad.

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.

Texas has an automatic voter registration renewal system. After you are registered, you will remain registered as long as you do not move or change your mailing address. New voter registration certificates are mailed to all registered voters every two years. If you have moved, it will not be forwarded by the post office, but will be returned to the county voter registrar, and the voter’s registration will be suspended. Therefore, if you move you must notify your county voter registrar of your new address, or if you move to another Texas county, you must reregister in your new county of residence.

Applications are generally available at post offices, libraries and fire stations. In order to become registered when getting a driver’s license, you must complete a voter registration application. Receiving a driver’s license does not entitle you to vote.

Answers to questions on election law and procedures may be obtained by calling the elections division toll-free at 1.800.252.VOTE (8683) or direct at 512.463.5650.

With your permission, your spouse, parent or child may fill out and sign an application for you if that person is a registered voter or has applied for voter registration. This person is known as your "agent."

As a registered qualified voter, you are entitled to 3 ballot attempts. If you make a mistake on your ballot, you can take your ballot back to the election judge and ask for a new, clean ballot. Your ballot will be registered as spoiled and you will receive a new ballot.