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Be Prepared To Vote In November 11/06/2018

In order to vote in this November’s midterm election, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • United States citizen
  • Resident of the county where you submit the application
  • At least 17 years and 10 months of age at the time of registration
  • At least 18 years of age on Election Day
  • Not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole)
  • Have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote

You can register to vote by completing an online application, printing and mailing it to the Voter Registrar of your county. The Voter Registrar’s address will appear at the top of the online application after submitting your information from the fill-in-the blanks screen. The Voter Registrar will process your application and, if approved, your registration will be effective 30 days after submission.

Alternatively, you may register in person at the county Voter Registrar’s office.

Remember that strict Voter ID is now required in Texas and not all forms of identification will be accepted, for example, student IDs and federally-issued ID cards.  To avoid problems, be prepared to show one of the following forms of acceptable photo IDs:

  • Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
  • Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
  • 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

With the exception of the U.S. citizenship certificate, the approved photo ID must be current or have expired no more than four years before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place.

Alternative to Showing Photo ID

You can still vote without an approved photo ID. To do so, at the polling place ask to sign a declaration explaining why you are unable to obtain an approved photo ID AND provide one of the following documents:

  • Certified birth certificate (must be an original)
  • Valid voter registration certificate
  • Copy or original of one of the following: current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck, or other government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, although government documents which include a photo must be original and cannot be copies.

If you have questions about casting your ballot in this election, you can call 1-800-252-VOTE (8683) or go to the Secretary of State’s WEBSITE.