OFFICE OF STUDENT ORIENTATION, LEADERSHIP, AND ENGAGEMENT

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). Once received, read the instructions carefully, complete the ABBM form and return it to the Early Voting Clerk. For the July 14, 2020 Election date, the last day for the early voting clerk to receive applications for a ballot to be voted by mail is July 2, 2020, in order for you to receive a ballot by mail. All applications to vote by mail must be received by the early voting clerk before the close of regular business or 12 noon, whichever is later. The deadline to receive ballots mailed within the United States from non-military and military voters who submitted an Application for Ballot by Mail (“ABBM”) is 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday July 15, 2020, if the carrier envelope has a postmark showing it was in the mail by July 14, 2020. Please note that different deadlines apply to the last day to receive ballots sent by the following: 1) non-military and military voters who are overseas and submitted an ABBM, 2) non-military voters who mailed ballots from overseas and who submitted a Federal Postcard Application (“FPCA”), and (3) military voters who mailed ballots domestically or from overseas and who submitted a FPCA. Ballots in categories (1) and (2) must be received by the early voting clerk by July 15, 2020. Ballots in category (3) must be received by the early voting clerk by July 23, 2020. Ballots in categories (1) and (2) must bear a postmark indicating the ballot was mailed by July 14, 2020. Ballots in category (3) do not need to have any postmark.

• Learn more about the ABBM process and to request an ABBM from our office (or print one directly from the web)

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).