Want to Vote by Mail in Texas? Your Application Must Arrive by Oct. 23
Early voting opens Monday. For Texans who qualify to vote by mail, the application has to be in the county clerk's hands by Friday, Oct. 23. Here is who qualifies and what to bring if you vote in person.
Early voting for the Nov. 3 general election starts Monday, Oct. 19, and runs through Friday, Oct. 30, according to the Texas Secretary of State. For those who qualify to vote by mail, the more urgent date is Friday, Oct. 23.
That is the last day an application for a ballot by mail can be received by your county's early voting clerk, according to VoteTexas.gov, the state's official voting site. A postmark is not enough. The application must arrive before the close of regular business or noon, whichever is later.
Who can vote by mail
Texas does not offer mail voting to everyone. According to the Secretary of State's information compiled by FOX 4, you qualify if you:
are 65 or older; are sick or disabled; will be out of your county on Election Day and during the entire early voting period; are expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day; or are confined in jail but otherwise eligible.
How to apply
Download the application from VoteTexas.gov or ask your county's early voting clerk for one. You can deliver it in person, mail it, send it by a common or contract carrier, fax it or email a signed scan.
If you fax or email it, you must also mail the original so the clerk receives it no later than the fourth business day after the emailed or faxed copy arrived.
The application must include your Texas driver's license number, Texas personal ID number or Election Identification Certificate number. If you have none of those, use the last four digits of your Social Security number. If you have none at all, check the box saying so. Your voter registration number does not count. Double-check that section before you send it.
Voters who are 65 or older or disabled may mark "Annual Application," VoteTexas.gov says, to receive mail ballots for all county elections in the calendar year.
Returning the ballot
Once you have a mail ballot, a ballot postmarked by 7 p.m. on Election Day will count if the county receives it by 5 p.m. on Nov. 4, FOX 4 reports. The Postal Service recommends mailing it at least a week early.
Voting in person instead
Everyone else votes in person, and in most counties, FOX 4 reports, you can vote early at any voting location in your county. Bring an acceptable photo ID: a Texas driver's license, Texas Election Identification Certificate, Texas personal ID card or Texas handgun license from DPS, or a U.S. military ID with photo, U.S. citizenship certificate with photo, or U.S. passport.
If you are 18 to 69, the ID can be expired for no more than four years. If you are 70 or older, it can be expired for any length of time. Voters who do not have an acceptable photo ID and cannot reasonably get one may use a supporting document, such as a utility bill or voter registration certificate.
Questions go to the Secretary of State's election hotline at 1-800-252-VOTE (8683).
Do it right, and do it early
Mail voting rules are strict on purpose. Clear deadlines and ID rules protect every honest vote, and they ask only that we pay attention. If you or an aging parent plan to vote by mail, get the application in this week. Then read our guide to what is on every Texas ballot and our look at how close the statewide races are.
Hero photo: Jay Phagan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized.
