Texans must register to vote or update their information by Oct. 11 to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 8 general election.
Voters must be U.S. citizens, live in a Texas county and be at least 18 years old by Election Day. Texans are not eligible to vote if they are serving a sentence, probation or parole for a felony. Sam Taylor, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office, said those incarcerated for nonfelony offenses are allowed to vote in Texas.
Someone who has been deemed fully or partially mentally incapacitated in court does not have the right to vote in Texas, according to the secretary of state’s office.
New voters can fill out an application online or request a printed application. All applications should be mailed to your county’s voter registrar and must be postmarked by Oct. 11.
Voter registration is also available when obtaining, renewing, replacing or updating a Texas driver’s license or ID card, according to the secretary of state’s office.
To check your voter registration status, click here.
Other important dates
Oct. 24-Nov. 4: Early voting available for all registered voters
As long as someone is registered to vote on Election Day, they may choose to vote anytime during the early voting period. Early voting is available anywhere in a voter’s county of residence.
Taylor said the secretary of state’s office expects at least 50% of voters will participate in early voting this year.
Oct. 28: Applications due to vote by mail
In order to vote by mail, a voter must submit an application to their local early voting clerk. All applications for mail-in ballots must be received—not postmarked—by Oct. 28, Taylor said.
Texans are eligible to vote by mail if they are at least 65 years old, are sick or disabled, expect to give birth within three weeks of Election Day, will not be in their county of residence on Election Day or during early voting, or are in jail for a nonfelony charge.
Civilly committed sexually violent predators, as defined by the Texas Health and Safety Code, can also apply to vote by mail.
Planning ahead
On Election Day and during early voting, voters must bring one of seven approved forms of identification to the polls. These include a Texas driver’s license, a Texas election ID certificate, a Texas personal ID card, a Texas handgun license, a U.S. citizenship certificate, a U.S. military ID card or a U.S. passport.
Texans who do not have and “cannot reasonably obtain” an approved ID may fill out a form at the polls, which briefly explains why they do not have typical identification. The voter will then present an alternate form of identification, such as a birth certificate, a utility bill or a voter registration certificate.
For more information about Texas’ voter ID law, visit www.votetexas.gov.
How Texans voted in previous elections
Community Impact compiled and analyzed data for each primary and general election from 2012 through 2020. The below charts visualize voter turnout for each county in our markets.
Austin
Editor’s note: The Comal County Clerk only stores election data for three years, so Community Impact Newspaper was unable to create an accurate visualization of the county’s voter turnout.
Houston
Dallas/Fort Worth
San Antonio
