Early voting: What’s on the ballot, what to bring and where to vote

• Fill out the Texas Secretary of State’s online voter registration application. Supply the required information, print the application, sign it and mail it to your county election office
• Request a printed application
• Contact or visit your local voter registrar to complete the voter registration processAre you registered to vote?

  To vote in Texas, you must first be registered.

  You can check online to see if you are currently registered to vote.

  The deadline to register to vote in the May 1 election has passed, but you should register so you can vote in future elections.

  To register to vote in Texas for the first time, complete a voter registration application and return it to your county election office. Here’s how:

  What to bring to the polling site to vote in Texas

You need to have a form of ID to cast your ballot at a polling location. Here is a list the state will accept:

• 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 Handgun License issued by DPS
• U.S. Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
• U.S. Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
• U.S. Passport (book or card)

If you don’t have any of the above listed forms of ID and can’t get one, you can bring one of the following in order to execute a “Reasonable Impediment Declaration:”

• Copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate
• Copy of or original current utility bill
• Copy of or original bank statement
• Copy of or original government check
• Copy of or original paycheck
• Copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
• How to request a mail-in ballot in Texas

  To vote by mail in Texas, you must meet one of the following requirements:

  • Be 65 years old or older
  • Be sick or have a disability
  • Be confined in jail but still eligible to vote
  • Be out of the county where they are registered on Election Day and during the entire early voting period

  According to Texas election code, a disability as an “illness or physical condition” that prevents a voter from appearing in person without personal assistance or the “likelihood of injuring the voter’s health.”

  To apply for a mail-in ballot, you must send a application for ballot by mail to your county elections office. You can drop off applications in person before the start of early voting. They can also be sent in by fax or email, but the county must receive a hard copy within four business days.

  You can print out your own application, contact your local elections office to receive one or request one from the secretary of state’s office. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Tuesday, April 20.