Before Election Day rolls around on November 3, find out how to register to vote and have your voice heard. Remember, you must register 30 days before election day. If you plan on sending in a mail-in ballot, find out to request yours early to get your vote counted! 

Register

To register to vote in the state of Texas you must-

• be a citizen of the United States
• be a resident of the county in which the application for registration is made
• be at least 17 years and 10 months old (you must be 18 to vote)
• not be finally convicted of a felony, or if a convicted felon, you must have fully discharged your punishment, including any incarceration, parole, supervision, period of probation or be pardoned
• have not been declared mentally incompetent by final judgment of a court of law

The first step to officially register is to complete a Voter Registration Application. These forms are quick and easy to fill out, and can be obtained several ways-

• Visit any Harris County Tax Office location and submit your completed, signed form from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, Monday through Friday. Their location can be found here.
• Download and print an application in English on the SOS site or download here, Spanish on the SOS site or download here, Vietnamese or Chinese.
• Request an application online from the Texas Secretary of State.
• Request, via e-mail at [email protected], and their office will mail a paper application to you. Remember to provide a mailing address and phone number in your email. 
• Call 713-274-VOTE (8683) to be assisted in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, or Chinese.
• Pick-up an application at your local library, high school, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) site, Texas Health and Human Services Commission and other government offices.

If your address is in Harris County, mail your completed form to this location-

Tax Assessor-Collector

Ann Harris Bennett

P.O. Box 3527 Houston 77253-3527

(713) 274-8200 Phone

(713) 368-2309 FAX

If your address is in Fort Bend County, mail your completed form to this location-

Elections Administrator

John W. Oldham

4520 Reading Road, Ste. A-400 Rosenberg, TX 77471

(281) 341-8670 Phone

(281) 341-4418 FAX

To check if you’re registered before election day, you can call your county’s voters registrar office or visit this site, Am I Registered to Vote?, to confirm your status.

Cast your vote

In person-

Vote early

To avoid long lines and crowded polls,Texas voters can also vote before Election Day. The early voting period runs from Tuesday, October 13, 2020 to Friday, October 30, 2020. You can find Harris County location and times here, Find Nearest Polling Locations – Election Division, and Fort Bend County locations and times here, Primary Early Voting Google Map.

What to bring

You will be asked to show a photo ID to vote in Texas. Acceptable forms include: Texas driver’s license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS); Texas election ID certificate; Texas personal ID card; Texas handgun license; US military ID with photo; US citizenship certificate with photograph (doesn’t need to be current); or a US passport. Forms must be current or expired less than four years.

Where do I go?

If you live in Harris County, check out this site for more information on Election day polling locations- Election Day Polling Locations List

If you live in Fort Bend, click on this link for more information on Election day polling locations- (Fort Bend has not yet released election day polling locations, this story will be updated upon release)

*Remember, most in-person voting locations are only open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. If you are in line before 7:00 PM you will still be able to vote.

By mail- 

To vote by mail in the state of Texas you must-

• be 65 years or older;
• be disabled;
• be out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance; or
• be confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.

While voting by mail might be the safest option for many in Texas, the state is one of only six that have not allowed mail-in-voting to anyone concerned about getting COVID-19 at a polling location. 

Civil rights groups and concerned individuals have filed multiple lawsuits to expand the criteria for voting by mail. If the traditional criteria does change, this story will be updated with more detailed instructions. For now however, if you or someone you know meets any of the following criteria, visit this link to learn more about mail-in voting. Here’s how to vote by mail in Texas

We at the County Line highly encourage every student eligible to get involved and have their voice heard. Voting is an important part of democracy and a real chance to make change in your community! 

If you have additional questions or concerns you can visit the sites below, or leave us a comment and we’ll do our best to answer. Happy voting!

https://www.votetexas.gov/index.html

https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/pamphlets/largepamp.shtml