COVID-19 info for Texas
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Texas, Texas Department of State Health Services
Texas voter registration
- In Person: Received 30 days before Election Day. If that day is a weekend or national holiday, then must be received by the next business day.
- By Mail: Postmarked by 30 days before Election Day. If that day is a weekend or national holiday, then must be postmarked by the next business day.
- Online: N/A
N/A
To register in Texas you must:
- Be a citizen of the United States;
- Be a resident of the county in which the application for registration is made;
- Be at least 17 years and 10 months old (you must be 18 to vote);
- Not previously convicted of a felony, or if convicted, you must be fully discharged from your punishment, including any incarceration, parole, supervision, period of probation, or be pardoned;
- Have not been declared mentally incompetent by final judgment of a court of law.
- Use our Register to Vote Tool to fill out the National Voter Registration Form.
- Sign and date your form. This is very important!
- Mail or hand-deliver your completed form to the address we provide.
- Make sure you register before the voter registration deadline.
- If you have been convicted of a felony and have questions about whether you can register to vote, visit Restore Your Vote to determine your eligibility.
Texas absentee ballots
- In Person: Received 11 days before Election Day.
- By Mail: Received 11 days before Election Day
- Online: N/A
- Postmarked by 7pm on Election Day and received by 5pm the day after Election Day (except for ballots cast from an address outside the US, which must be postmarked by 7pm on Election Day and received no later than 5 days after Election Day).
You may vote by absentee ballot in Texas if:
- You are 65 years or older.
- You have a disability.
- You will be out of the county on Election Day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance.
- You are confined in jail, but otherwise eligible, or certified for participation in the address confidentiality program.
- Use our Absentee Ballot Tool to prepare your application.
- Sign and date the form. This is very important!
- Return your completed application to your Local Election Office as soon as possible. We'll provide the mailing address for you.
- All Local Election Offices will accept mailed or hand-delivered forms. If you fax or e-mail your application by the deadline, your application will be considered complete and timely as long as the original is mailed to the clerk and received by the early voting clerk by the fourth business day after it was submitted by fax or e-mail.
- Double-check the deadlines and be sure to cast your voted ballot on time to be sure it is counted.
- Please contact your Local Election Office if you have any further questions about the exact process.
- Once you receive the ballot, carefully read and follow the instructions.
- Sign and date where indicated.
- Mail your voted ballot back to the address indicated on the return envelope.
- Double-check the deadlines and be sure to cast your voted ballot on time to be sure it is counted.
Texas Early Voting
Begins 17 days before Election Day (unless the 17th day is a national holiday or weekend; then, voting begins on the next business day)
Ends 4 days before Election Day
Texas voter ID
If you are voting in person in Texas, you must present photo ID at the time you vote. Your photo ID must be current or expired for no more than 4 years. (If you are 70 years old or more, your ID can be expired for any length of time, as long as it is otherwise valid.)
Acceptable forms of ID include:
- Texas driver license
- Texas election ID certificate
- Texas personal ID card
- Texas license to carry a handgun
- US military ID card with your photograph
- US citizenship certificate containing your photograph
- US passport
If you've voted in Texas before, registered in person, or provided ID at the time of registration, you don't need to provide ID to vote by mail.
If you're voting in Texas for the first time, registered to vote by mail, and didn't provide ID when you registered, be sure to enclose a copy of your photo ID, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or government document that shows your name and address when you return your ballot.
Effective, December 2, 2021, when applying for an early vote or absentee ballot, you will have to provide the number from your driver's license, election ID certificate, or state ID card if you have one. The driver's license or state ID card can be expired for this purpose if it is otherwise valid. If you haven't been issued any of those cards, then you must provide the last four digits of your social security number. If you haven't been issued any of those documents, you will be allowed to sign a statement attesting to that fact. In addition, when returning your absentee ballot, this same identification information must be included where indicated on the carrier envelope.
Offsite links
- State Election Website
- Local Election Office: This is the government office responsible for running elections in your region. These are the best people to contact if you have any questions at all about voting in your state.
- Find your polling place
- Absentee ballot tracker tool
- Learn more about absentee voting
- Learn more about early voting
- Learn more about voter ID
- State Election Code