Our nonpartisan Elections Hub has everything you need to be ready to vote in Texas! Take your future into your own hands and protect your freedoms at the ballot box.
Important Dates for the May Elections
Last Day to Register to Vote: April 4
Last Day to Apply to Vote by Mail: April 23 (Received, not postmarked)
Early Voting: April 22 – 30
Election Day: May 4
FAQs: How to Vote in Texas
You can confirm your registration status or get instructions to register on the Texas Secretary of State’s website. If you can’t find your registration, call your county voter registrar’s office to confirm your status.
Find your polling place using the “My Voter Portal” from the state of Texas.
On Election Day, if your county participates in the Countywide Polling Place Program (CWPP) – commonly referred to as ‘Vote Centers’ – you can vote at any location in your county of residence.
If your county does not participate in the CWPP, you can only vote at the voting precinct assigned to you. Find your polling place here.
You can use one of the following 7 forms of photo identification (can be expired up to four years):
- Texas Driver License issued by DPS
- Texas Election Identification Certificate
- Texas personal identification card issued by DPS
- Texas license to carry a handgun issued by DPS
- United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph
- United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States passport
That’s okay. As long as your name matches, your ID will be accepted. Texas does not require the address to match.
You can still make address or name changes online until the voter registration deadline. After this deadline passes, you have to vote in the county where you are registered to vote. However, voting by mail might be an option for you. See the FAQ below on voting-by-mail eligibility and how to obtain a vote-by-mail application.
The voter registration applications and the vote-by-mail applications are completely different and separate forms. If you would like to vote by mail, you can check if you qualify and request a Vote By Mail Application. However, in order to vote by mail, you must be registered to vote. If you send a filled-out mail-in ballot, you cannot also try to vote in person.
You can vote by mail if:
- You will be outside of the county during Early Voting AND Election Day
- You who are sick or have a disability
- You are confined in jail without a felony conviction
- You are 65 or older on Election Day
- You are expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day
If you are eligible, you can request an application to vote by mail here.
But keep this in mind: Applications to vote by mail must be in the hands of elections officials at least 11 days before the election. If you want to vote by mail, you must move quickly and submit your application as soon as possible.
Yes! The Voter ID card is not required if you have one of the following forms of photo identification (can be expired up to four years):
- Texas Driver License issued by DPS
- Texas Election Identification Certificate
- Texas personal identification card issued by DPS
- Texas license to carry a handgun issued by DPS
- United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph
- United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States passport
For voters aged 18-69, ID must be current or have expired no more than 4 years before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place. If you are 70 years of age or older, you may use a form of acceptable photo identification that has expired if the identification is otherwise valid.
The state law passed by the 2021 Texas Legislature changed voting for Texans in the following ways:
- Mail-in-ballot voters must now provide ID on both the application and the return carrier envelope for their completed ballot.
- Election officials are no longer allowed to send vote-by-mail applications forms to voters who have not gone through the process of requesting one.
- Anyone who helps someone else in filling out a ballot at the polls – due to help needed because of language barriers, physical mobility, etc. – must now sign a form disclosing their relationship to the voter. The person assisting must also recite an oath stating that they did not pressure or coerce the voter into choosing them as their assistant.
- There is now a ban drive-through and 24-hour early voting. Both of those methods were used by elections administrators in 2020 to allow for safe voting access during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping more than 127,000 people exercise their right to vote safely.
Contact the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Texas Civil Rights Project election protection hotline at (866) OUR-VOTE.
Primary elections decide which candidates will represent each of the major political parties in the general elections — Republicans run against Republicans, and Democrats run against Democrats. Voters may only participate in the primary election for one party, not both.
A runoff election is what happens when no candidate gets 50% of the votes in an election. The top two candidates will proceed to a runoff election.
The top two candidates will proceed to a runoff election, where Texans will cast their ballot to decide who will represent them.
Runoff elections will look different depending on where you live, from the candidates on the ballot to the dates of voting.
Any voter registered in the candidate’s area of representation can vote in a runoff. Even if you didn’t vote in the general election, you can still vote in the runoff!
Election Protection Hotline
Have questions about voting? Call or text 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) to speak with a trained Election Protection volunteer. This hotline provides voters with comprehensive information and assistance at all stages of voting — from registration, to absentee and early voting, to casting a vote at the polls, to overcoming obstacles to their participation.
Why You Should Vote
It’s important to be engaged, informed, and always vote — not just in presidential elections, but in your state and local elections, too! Local and state governments are responsible for everything from education and library services, to infrastructure and public transportation, to rent costs and affordable housing.
Local politics have the most direct effect on your daily life and your community, and your vote really does matter!