Step-By-Step Voting Guide
Compiled by Julie Stoddart
Who Can Vote. In order to be eligible to vote in Texas, a few restrictions apply. First, you must be a United States citizen and reside in Texas and the county in which you are voting. You must be at least 18 years old on Election Day. You must not have been convicted of a felony, unless the sentence, parole, or probation has already been completed. As a third rule, you must be declared mentally competent.
How to Register. In order to vote in any election, you must register to vote with your county. In the state of Texas, official applications to vote are postage-paid. Voter applications are obtainable at your county Voter Registrar’s office, high schools, libraries, and post offices.
You must be at least 17 years and 10 months of age on the date you apply for your voter registration. If for any reason you cannot register yourself, your spouse, parent or child may fill out and sign an application for you if that person is a registered voter or has applied for voter registration.
The application must be received in the Voter Registrar's office or postmarked 30 days before an election in order for you to be eligible to vote. You will receive a voter registration certificate in the mail after the Voter Registrar has processed your voter registration application. Upon receipt of the voter registration certificate, sign it, and bring it with you when you go to cast your vote.
All voters who registered to vote in Texas must provide a Texas driver's license number or personal identification number issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. If you do not have such a number, then you must state that fact and provide the last four digits of your social security number. If you do not have a social security number, must state this when you register.
If you have not been issued a driver’s license, personal identification number, or social security card, you are still eligible to vote, but you must provide proof of identity. Other forms of identity include: birth certificate, U.S. citizen papers, U.S. passport, official mail addressed to you from a government entity, a utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck, or any other form of identity that the Secretary of State has issued.
If for some reason you lose your certificate, you must write to your county Voter Registrar to receive a new one. Every two years, you will automatically receive a new certificate if you still live at the address in which you are registered.
***Information compiled from the Texas Secretary of State Web site***