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Texas | Voting Guide

Registration Deadlines and Election Dates
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Registration Deadlines and Election Dates

Voter Registration Deadline: 30 days before Election Day


2023

  • General Election Voter Registration Deadline: April 6

  • General Election: May 6

Official Election Websites
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Official Election Websites

More election information at:

votetexas.gov


Registration form (to be printed and returned to election officials) available at:

vrapp.sos.state.tx.us/index.asp

Register at School or Home
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Register at School or Home

Students have a decision about where to register to vote.


You have a right to register to vote at the address you consider the place where you live, whether that is your family's home or the place where you attend school. You should update your registration anytime this home address changes.


You may only be registered and vote in one location.

What Type of ID Do I Need to Register?
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What Type of ID Do I Need to Register?

Texas’s voter registration form asks for your Texas driver’s license or ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. Be sure to provide one of these numbers if you have it.

What Type of ID Do I Need to Vote?
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What Type of ID Do I Need to Vote?

All voters will be asked for ID when voting in person.  Approved photo IDs include:

  • Texas driver’s license or personal ID card issued by the Department of Public Safety (DPS)

  • Handgun license issued by DPS

  • Election ID Certificate issued by DPS

  • U.S. military ID containing the person’s photograph

  • U.S. citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph

  • U.S. passport


Except for the U.S. citizenship certificate, these photo IDs cannot be expired for more than four years unless the voter is over age 70, in which case they can be expired if the information on the ID is otherwise valid.


Voters without one of these forms of photo ID may sign a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and present a supporting form of ID and cast a regular ballot. Supporting forms of ID are a:

  • Copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate;

  • Copy of or original current utility bill;

  • Copy of or original bank statement;

  • Copy of or original government check;

  • Copy of or original paycheck; or

  • Copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document).


More information about Texas’s voter ID law is available at: votetexas.gov/voting/need-id.html.

Where Do I Vote?
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Where Do I Vote?

Make a plan. Look up your voting site and hours at:

teamrv-mvp.sos.texas.gov/MVP/mvp.do

How Can I Vote?
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How Can I Vote?

By Mail


Absentee ballot application:

webservices.sos.state.tx.us/forms/5-15f.pdf

Texas voters may only vote by mail if they:

  • Will be away from their county on Election Day and during the in-person early voting period;

  • Are sick or have a disability;

  • Are at least 65 years old on Election Day;

  • Expect to give birth within 3 weeks before or after Election Day;

  • Are civilly committed; or

  • Are confined in jail not serving a sentence for a felony conviction.


You may submit an absentee ballot application to the early voting clerk in person or by mail, email or fax. If the request is faxed or emailed, then the original, hard copy of the application MUST be mailed and received by the early voting clerk no later than the 4th business day after the clerk received the fax or email.


The absentee ballot application requires the voter to provide a DPS-issued driver’s license number, personal identification number, or Election Identification Certificate Number, or the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number. Voters without one of these numbers must check the provided box to indicate that they lack such identification. In an abundance of caution, voters with both a DPS-issued identification number and a Social Security number should provide both numbers on the application form.


All applications must be received by the county clerk no later than the 11th day before election day by the close of regular business or noon, whichever is later. If the 11th day is a weekend or holiday, the deadline is the first preceding business day.

Voters may only submit completed absentee ballots in person to the early voting clerk’s office while polls are open on Election Day, and no later than 7 p.m. Voters returning their ballot in person must show acceptable voter ID.


Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by 7 p.m. on Election Day, using the time zone in which the early voting clerk’s office is located, and received no later than 5 p.m. the day after Election Day. If not postmarked, they must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Voters must provide a DPS-issued driver’s license number, personal identification number, or Election Identification Certificate Number, or the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number in the space provided on the carrier envelope. Voters without one of these numbers must check the provided box to indicate that they lack such identification. In an abundance of caution, voters with both a DPS-issued identification number and Social Security number should provide both numbers on the carrier envelope.


For more information about Texas’s vote-by-mail rules, visit: votetexas.gov/voting-by-mail


Early In-person


Voters in Texas may vote early in person generally starting the 17th day before Election Day (if that is a weekend, early voting starts on the next business day). The early voting period ends the 4th day before Election Day. Different start dates apply for certain elections. Contact your county’s election official for early voting locations and hours.


Under Texas law, curbside voting is available during the early voting period for voters who are physically unable to enter the polling place without assistance or likelihood of injury to their health. The Secretary of State’s office recommends that voters who plan to vote curbside call their county election officials in advance.



Election Day


Voting sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. If you are in line by close of polls, then you have the right to vote.


Under Texas law, curbside voting is available upon request on Election Day for voters who are physically unable to enter the polling place without assistance or likelihood of injury to their health. The Secretary of State’s office recommends that voters who plan to vote curbside call their county election officials in advance.

Common Questions/Concerns
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Common Questions/Concerns

Registering to Vote Does Not Affect Your:


Federal Financial Aid

Where you register to vote will not affect federal financial aid such as Pell Grants, Perkins or Stafford loans, or your dependency status for FAFSA.


Status as a Dependent on Your Parents’ Taxes

Being registered to vote at a different address from your parents does not prevent them from claiming you as a dependent on their taxes.


Tuition Status

Being deemed out-of-state for tuition purposes does not prevent you from choosing to register to vote in your campus community.


Will registering to vote in Texas affect my driver’s license or car registration?

As a full-time student in Texas, you may be required to obtain a Texas driver’s license and update your car’s registration, regardless of whether you register to vote there. For more information, you may wish to contact the Department of Public Safety.

Fair Elections Center and Campus Vote Project intend the information contained herein to be used only as a general guide. This document should not be used as a substitute for consultation with a licensed Texas legal professional.

 

Last updated March 2023

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