Election day for this year’s Presidential Election is on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Texas is one of the states that offers absentee ballots by mail to voters who are unable to vote in person.
Check out the info below as you prepare to vote in this year’s Election! #VOTE2020
WHO CAN VOTE
You have to register to vote before election day in Texas. You can find the deadline to register to vote in the “Dates and deadlines” section.
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 be finally convicted of a felony, or if a convicted felon, you must have fully discharged 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
- *find more information on voting rights restoration here
VOTE IN PERSON
Vote on election day
- Voters registered in Texas can look up where to vote on Texas’s site.
Vote early
- Texas voters can also vote before Election Day. The early voting period runs from Tuesday, October 13, 2020 to Friday, October 30, 2020, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live.
What to bring
- You will be asked to show photo ID to vote in Texas. Acceptable forms include: Texas driver’s license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS); Texas election ID certificate; Texas personal ID card; Texas handgun license; US military ID with photo; US citizenship certificate with photograph (doesn’t need to be current); or a US passport. Forms must be current or expired less than four years. For voters aged 70 or older, the acceptable form of photo identification may be expired for any length of time if the identification is otherwise valid.
- Voters without ID: If you don’t have ID and cannot obtain one due to a reasonable impediment, you’ll need to sign a sworn statement that there is a reason why you don’t have any of the accepted IDs, and present one of the following: certified birth certificate; valid voter registration certificate; or a current utility bill, government check, bank statement or paycheck, or government document with your name and an address. If you meet these requirements and are eligible to vote, you may vote in the election.
- If you don’t have ID and do not have a reasonable impediment to obtaining one or did not bring ID to the polling place, you may cast a provisional ballot. In order to have the provisional ballot counted, you will be required to visit the voter registrar’s office within six (6) calendar days of the date of the election to either present one of the forms of photo ID or submit a temporary affidavit, or, if applicable, qualify for the disability exemption, in the presence of the county voter registrar while attesting to the fact that you do not have any of the required photo IDs.
VOTE BY MAIL
- Review the absentee ballot application and confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements for voting absentee.
- Fill out the application completely.
- Submit the request to your local election office. You should request your ballot as far in advance of the election as possible. The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Friday, October 23, 2020.
- When your ballot arrives, read it carefully and follow the instructions to complete it and return it.
SEE WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT
Learn more about what will be on your ballot by visiting the Ballotpedia.
GET STEP-BY-STEP HELP
TurboVote can help you start the absentee/mail-in ballot request process, send you election reminders, and more. If you’d like more help planning how to vote, we can walk you through the process!
ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION
Texas does not offer registration on Election Day.
CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS
You can look up your voter registration record and verify that your information is correct using Texas’s voter registration lookup tool.
DATES AND DEADLINES
- Election day is Tuesday, November 3, 2020.
- The deadline for registering by mail to vote is (postmarked by) Monday, October 5, 2020.
- The deadline to register in person to vote is Monday, October 5, 2020.
- The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Friday, October 23, 2020.
- The early voting period runs from Tuesday, October 13, 2020 to Friday, October 30, 2020, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live.
