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 are expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day.
- 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 or in involuntary civil commitment.
- 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
To vote by mail, you must provide ONE of the following numbers on your application:
(1) Texas Driver’s License, Texas Personal Identification Number or Election Identification Certificate Number issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (NOT your voter registration VUID number);
(2) If you have not been issued one of the numbers above, the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number.
If you have not been issued a Texas Driver’s License, Texas Personal Identification Number or Texas Election Identification Certificate Number or a Social Security Number, you must indicate so by checking the appropriate box on the ABBM.
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