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Voting Resources for Students

To register to vote or update your voter registration, please visit TAMIU.TURBOVOTE.ORG.

Why student votes matter

According to the Census Bureau's statistics from 2018, only 32% of young voters between the ages of 18-24 voted in the 2018 midterm elections. Compare that to the 68.1% of voters over the age of 65, 57% of voters between the ages of 45-54, 51% of voters between the ages of 35-44, and 42.1% of voters ages 25-34 voted in those same elections1. Meanwhile, the average age of our Congress Representatives and Senators is 57.8 years of age2.

In other words, young people's perspectives and voices (your perspectives and voices) are disproportionately missing from important conversations and policy-making decisions.

Texas A&M International University participates in the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) study by Tufts University. This study is used to inform participating institutions on their level of voter engagement on our camps. We are proud to say that students at TAMIU turn out to vote at a rate 3% higher than the national average3. Since 2014, TAMIU has increased its democratic engagement by 26.6%.


FAQ's

You can confirm your registration status on this website by going to Am I Registered? where you will select one of three methods for conducting your search. You can base your search on: 1. your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID), which appears on your voter registration certificate; 2. your Texas driver's license number, if you provided it when you applied for voter registration; or 3. your first and last name. Or, you can call the voter registrar’s office in the county where you reside.

General Election Deadline: October 10, 2023

You will be able to find early voting locations by using our Voting Assistance site tamiu.turbovote.org, which will be populated with voting sites a few days before early voting begins. Or, you may want to contact the Early Voting Clerk for State and County Elections in your county. Also, many newspapers publish early voting and election day polling locations, so you might be able to find the information there.

Only specific reasons entitle a registered voter to vote early by mail (no longer called absentee voting). You may request a ballot by mail if you:

  1. will be away from your county on Election Day and during the hours that early voting is conducted;
  2. are sick or disabled;
  3. are 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
  4. are confined in jail.

First, request an Application for Ballot by Mail (ABBM) from the Early Voting Clerk in the political subdivision conducting your election, or from our office. You may also print an ABBM directly from our website (PDF), (Spanish version (PDF). Our Elections Assistance website (tamiu.turbovote.org) will also walk you through the process and will send you a pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelope to mail back your ABBM. Once received, read the instructions carefully, complete the ABBM form and return it to the Early Voting Clerk. The last date to request an Application for Ballot by Mail (ABBM) is October 27. The last date to submit your ballot by mail is November 7th (must be received by 7:00pm at the Elections Administration facility (if not postmarked).

No. Section 11.001 of the Texas Election Code prescribes the specific qualifications necessary in order to vote in a Texas election. There is no requirement to have previously voted in the main election in order to participate in the subsequent run-off election.

When a voter arrives at a polling location, the voter will be asked to present one of the seven (7) acceptable forms of photo ID (listed below). If a voter does not possess an acceptable form of photo identification and cannot reasonably obtain one, the voter may present a supporting form of ID and execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration, noting the voter’s reasonable impediment to obtaining an acceptable form of photo identification, stating that the information contained in the declaration is true, that the voter is the same individual personally appearing at the polling place to sign the declaration, and that the voter faces a reasonable impediment to procuring an acceptable form of photo identification. If a voter has continued access to their acceptable form of photo ID, but, for example, forgets to bring their acceptable form of approved photo ID to the polling place and/or left it, for example, at home or in their car, the voter still possesses the acceptable photo ID and must use it to vote.

Here is a list of the acceptable forms of photo ID:

  • 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
  • United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
  • United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
  • United States Passport (book or card)

With the exception of the U.S. Citizenship Certificate, which does not expire, for voters aged 18-69, the acceptable form of photo identification may be expired no more than four years before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place. For voters aged 70 or older, the acceptable form of photo identification may be expired for any length of time if the identification is otherwise valid.

Here is a list of the supporting forms of ID that can be presented if the voter does not possess an acceptable form of photo identification, and cannot reasonably obtain one:

  • 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; or
  • 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).

Sources

  1. 1. US Census Bureau. “Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2018.” The United States Census Bureau, 22 Apr. 2019.
  2. 2. Manning, Jennifer. “Membership of the 115th Congress: A Profile." [external PDF] United States Senate, Congressional Research Service, 20 Dec. 2018.
  3. 3. "Student Voting Rates for University of Nevada-Reno." National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement Campus Report. Tufts University Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. September 2019. Please reach out for a copy of this report.