Texas

The polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST or 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. MDT on Election Day, depending on the time zone in which the polling place is located.
The dates and hours that Early Voting polling places are open will vary based on where the voter lives. The locations and times of Early Voting polling places may be found by looking up the voter’s registration record at the voter portal (there will usually be links on the right next to the voter’s registration record) or going to the county election website. Links to counties with publicized county election websites are available here.

A voter’s polling location can be found with the voter’s registration record (there will usually be links on the right next to the voter’s registration record) or on the county election website. Links to counties with publicized county election websites are available here.
Note: All voters in Texas can vote at any location in their county during early vote, and a voter in a “countywide voting” county can vote at any location in that county on Election Day. A list of the counties who are using countywide voting is available here.

Registration Deadlines

• For registration deadlines, see How to Register below.

How to Check Your Registration: Voters can determine whether they are registered to vote at the following link: Am I Registered?.

You are eligible to vote in Texas if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• You are a resident of the county where you submit the application
• Are at least 18 years old by Election Day

You are NOT eligible to vote in Texas if:

• You have been declared by a judge to be mentally incapacitated without the right to vote
• You are currently serving a sentence including incarceration, parole, probation, or extended supervision for a felony conviction

Restorative Requirements

• If you have completed a felony sentence, including any term of incarceration, parole, supervision, period of probation, or you have been pardoned, then you are immediately eligible to register to vote

You may preregister to vote in Texas

• as of 2 months prior to your 18th birthday

How to register 

Voters can apply to register to vote by mail, by fax, or in person. Voters cannot register online in Texas. The registration deadline for the 2024 General Election is Monday, October 7, 2024.

Mail or Fax: If applying to register by mail or fax, voters fill out an application online, print it, and mail or fax it to the voter registrar’s office. If registering by fax, a copy must ALSO be submitted by mail and received no later than four business days after the faxed version is received. 

• The voter registration application is available here.
• The addresses for all voter registrar’s offices are available here.

In-Person: If applying to register in-person, voters can register at the local registrar’s office, or with a Volunteer Deputy Registrar (there is no central database of Volunteer Deputy Registrars, who are appointed by county registrars to assist in registering voters; they are often individuals associated with a campaign or local organization). To get in touch with a Volunteer Deputy Registrar, voters can contact their county voter registrar here.

If the voter moved within the same county where they are currently registered, the voter must file the new address information in writing with the county voter registrar OR submit the “in county” change online. The last day to make a change of address that will be effective for the November 5, 2024 General Election is October 7, 2024.

However, a voter may return to their old precinct to vote, if they still live in the political subdivision holding the election. and, at that location, complete a “statement of residence” confirming their new address. This will update their registration information for the future. The voter will then be allowed to vote a regular ballot if they are otherwise eligible.

Note: For Early Voting, and for Election Day if the voter lives in a county that uses “countywide polling,” they can vote at any precinct in that county and don’t have to return to a particular one. Check for “countywide polling” here.

Texas does not have any specific rules for a temporary move. If a voter’s principal residence hasn’t changed but they are unable to vote in-person in that precinct, the voter may be eligible to vote an absentee/mail-in ballot. 
Detailed information for voters temporarily displaced by natural disasters is available here.

If You Want to Vote Absentee, requests may be made:

• In-Person
• By Mail
• By Fax
• By Email

Absentee Ballots may be returned:

• In-Person
• By Mail

Voting by Mail

Obtaining a Mail-in Ballot Application

A voter can obtain a mail-in ballot application on the Secretary of State website, by filling out an online form here, at the Secretary of State’s office (Texas Secretary of State – mailing address, P.O. Box 12060, Austin, TX 78711-2060, physical address – Elections Division, 1019 Brazos St., Austin, TX 78701), at a county election office, or, in some counties, on the website of the county election office.

Submitting a Mail-in Ballot Application

Voters may submit their application for a mail-in ballot by any of the following means:

• Regular mail; 
• Common or contract carrier (FedEx/UPS, etc.); 
• Faxing a scanned application (with original signature, no e-signature);
  • New: Voters sending by fax MUST also mail the application to their local election office, who must receive it within four business days of the fax being received.
• Emailing a signed application (with original signature);
  • New: Voters sending by email MUST also mail the application to their local election office, who must receive it within four business days of the e-mail.
• Personal delivery, by the voter themselves
• Voting Early
• The locations and times of Early Voting polling places for the voter’s specific county may be found by looking up the voter’s registration record (there will usually be links on the right next to the voter’s registration record) or going to the county election website. Links to counties with publicized county election websites are available here.

Voter Registration

To register to vote in Texas you should provide:

• Your Texas Driver’s License or State non-driver ID Number

If you do not have these IDs, you may provide:

• Last Four Digits of your Social Security Number

If you do not have a Texas Driver’s License, Texas ID or Social Security number and need help getting ID, go to www.voteriders.org

Voting In-Person

In Texas, you need to show a valid ID to vote. You can use any ID from this list:

• Texas Election Identification Certificate
• Valid Texas Voter ID Card with Photo
• Citizenship Certificate with photo
• Valid Military ID
• Valid Texas Driver’s License
• License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Firearm
• Valid US Passport
• Texas Personal ID

With the exception of citizenship certificate, ID must be current or have expired no more than four years prior to Election Day. If you do not have one of the Texas valid IDs and need help getting ID, go to www.voteriders.org.

If you do not have an ID from the above list, in Texas additional, acceptable forms of ID include:

• Voter Registration Card
• Current Utility Bill or Pay Check or Bank Statement
• Government Check
• Birth Certificate

To use these supporting forms of ID, you will be required to execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration.

No Identification

Voter Registration

Identification is not absolutely required to register to vote. However, people who have one of the following must provide it:

1. a Texas driver’s license number or,
2. Texas Personal I.D. number, or
3. lacking those forms of ID, the last four digits of a social security number.
4. People who do not have any of these three types of information must check a box stating that they do not have a license number, a personal identification number, or social security number. 
5. In-Person Voting
6. A voter who has one of the following forms of photo identification must present it at the polling place in order to vote:
7. Texas Driver’s License issued by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS);
8. Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS;
9. Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS;
10. Texas Handgun License issued by DPS;
11. US Military Identification Card with photo;
12. US Citizenship Certificate with photo; or
13. US Passport (book or card).

A voter who cannot reasonably obtain the required forms of identification for in-person voting may provide a signed document (under oath) stating their reasonable impediment to obtaining photo ID, and present a copy or original of one of the following showing both the voter’s name and address:

• A government document that shows name and an address, including voter registration certificate;

• A copy of a current utility bill; 
• A bank statement; 
• A government check; 
• A paycheck; or
• A certified copy of a domestic birth certificate or other legally admissible document confirming birth and establishing the person’s identity.

While election officials may ask a voter if they have an acceptable photo ID, election officials cannot question or challenge the voter concerning their lack of that photo ID. 

Election officials cannot question the reasonableness of the voter’s difficulty in obtaining photo ID.

The voter must specify one of the following “reasonable impediment[s]” to obtaining photo ID in their signed document:

• lack of transportation; 
• lack of birth certificate or other documents needed to obtain photo ID;
• work schedule; 
• lost or stolen identification;
• disability or illness;
• family responsibilities; 
• a photo ID has been applied for but not received.

Voting by Mail

The same ID requirements apply for an application for a mail-in ballot and to complete the mail-in ballot.

Voting by mail requires one of the following IDs or a statement that the voter does not have one:

• A Texas driver’s license number
• Texas Personal ID number
• TX Election identification Certificate number (not the VUID) 
• If the voter does not have the above, the last four digits of a social security number.

People who do not have any of these types of identification must check a box stating that they do not have one. 

The ID used to vote by mail must match the one the voter used to register to vote. If the voter is uncertain which ID they used to register, we suggest including information for one TX ID plus their social security number.

Expired ID

Except for the U.S. citizenship certificate (which does not expire), the identification must be current or have expired within the past four years. Voters aged 70 or older may use an expired photo ID listed above regardless of how long it has been expired, if the identification is otherwise valid.

Provisional Ballots

A voter may cast a provisional ballot if they do not have the proper form of ID. Before receiving the provisional ballot, the voter must complete an affidavit stating that they are eligible to vote in that precinct. If a voter casts a provisional ballot because they do not have the required identification, an election officer must give the voter written information explaining the procedure the voter must follow to have their vote counted. 

The voter will have an opportunity to correct a problem with their ID. The voter must visit their county elections office in-person no later than 6 calendar days after Election Day (Monday, November 11, 2024), or their provisional ballot will not be counted.

After the election, the Early Voting ballot board will determine whether the provisional ballot will be counted.

Moving within the Same County

If the voter moved within the same county where they are currently registered, the voter must file the new address information in writing with the county voter registrar OR submit the “in county” change online. The last day to make a change of address that will be effective for the following election is 30 days before the election date. 

• However, a voter may return to their old precinct to vote, if they still live in the political subdivision holding the election and, at that location, the voter must complete a “statement of residence” confirming their new address. This will update their registration information for the future. The voter will then be allowed to vote a regular ballot if they are otherwise eligible.
• Note: For Early Voting, and for Election Day if the voter lives in a county that uses “countywide polling,” they can vote at any precinct in that county and don’t have to return to a particular one. Check for “countywide polling” here. 

Moving Between Counties

If a voter moved to a “new county,” they must have re-registered in the new county of residence by Monday, October 7, 2024, to be eligible to vote in the following General Election (unless eligible to vote a “limited ballot,” see below). 

LIMITED BALLOT OPTION for EARLY VOTING: A voter who has moved to a new county but has not re-registered in the new county 30 days prior to the election, MAY be eligible to vote a limited ballot in the new county. A limited ballot contains any candidates and measures that appear on the ballots for both the voter’s former county and new county. 

• Limited ballots are only available during the early voting period and only at the main early voting polling place; 
• Limited ballots are NOT available on election day. 
• The voter must be a current registered voter in their former county in order to qualify OR they must have been registered in their old county at the time they submitted a voter registration application in their new county, if they have done so. 
• For full information on this procedure (including the by-mail option, if qualified to vote by mail), go to Special Procedures for Early Voting or contact the office of the Early Voting Clerk in the new county.

Temporary Move

Texas does not have any specific rules for a temporary move. If a voter’s primary residence hasn’t changed but they are unable to vote in-person in that precinct, the voter may be eligible to vote an absentee/mail-in ballot. 

Detailed information for voters temporarily displaced by natural disasters is available here.

Voting Military

Service members and their dependents may register and request a ballot using the federal voter registration/ballot request form (“FPCA”). You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID
• Option to Indicate that you do not have the Requested ID
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number

Voting Overseas

U.S. citizens living overseas may register and request a ballot using the overseas voter registration/ballot request form. You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID
• Option to Indicate that you do not have the Requested ID
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number

Military and other overseas citizens may use the standard procedure for absentee voting by mail, but there are also special provisions for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and merchant marine, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with family members of all these groups, and other citizens who reside outside the United States (together these groups are called UOCAVA voters).

Registering and Requesting an Absentee Ballot

UOCAVA voters can use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to register to vote and to request a mail-in ballot.  Step-by-step assistance and forms are available here and here.

Receiving an Absentee Ballot

In Texas, voters generally must request (apply for) a mail-in ballot for each election in order to receive one.

Exception: Voters aged 65 or older and disabled voters may make a single request (application) for mail-in ballots for all elections in a calendar year.

A voter can obtain a mail-in ballot application on the Secretary of State website, by filling out an online form here, at the Secretary of State’s  office (Texas Secretary of State – mailing address, P.O. Box 12060, Austin, TX 78711-2060, physical address – Elections Division, 1019 Brazos St., Austin, TX 78701), at a county election office, or, in some counties, on the website of the county election office. Links to counties with publicized county election websites are available here.

Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot

The Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) is a back-up ballot that can be used by UOCAVA voters.  You can use this FWAB whether you are located inside or outside the United States (including APO and FPO addresses), provided you are away from your voting residence for service-related activities.  You must apply for a regular ballot early enough for your local election officials to receive the request at least 11 days before the election.  If you do not receive your regular ballot in time, you may use the FWAB.  The FWAB must be received by the local voting officials in Texas no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.  For specific instructions, visit the FVAP’s Texas-specific FVAP page.

NOTE: Issues related to convictions and voting in jail are complex and sensitive. The below information is not intended to provide any advice on eligibility to vote. Voters should consult with their county or the Texas Secretary of State Office regarding their specific situation.

Felony

If a voter has been finally convicted of a felony (and there is no appeal pending), they cannot vote in Texas unless they have fully discharged their sentence (including any term of incarceration, parole, probation, or supervision) or have been pardoned. Voting rights are automatically restored in Texas when a voter has fully discharged their sentence, but they will have to re-register to vote. The voter should consult with their county and/or the Texas Secretary of State office with eligibility and registration-related questions.

Non-Felony

A voter can vote even if they have been convicted of a misdemeanor or other non-felony offenses, but should consult with their county and/or the Texas Secretary of State office with eligibility-related questions.

Incarcerated

If a voter is otherwise eligible to vote, they do not lose that eligibility just by being in jail. 

These individuals may include those:

• Serving a misdemeanor sentence for a term that ends on or after election day;
• Pending trial after denial of bail;
• Without bail pending an appeal of a felony conviction; or
• Pending trial or appeal on a bailable offense for which release on bail before Election Day is unlikely.