Monday is the deadline to register to vote in Texas for the March 3 primary election. Voters get to decide who will appear on the November ballot for a range of elected offices, including governor, attorney general, U.S. House and Senate, and seats in the Texas Legislature.
You can check to see if you're registered to vote through this Texas Secretary of State voter portal. If you're not, here's what you need to know.
What do I need to do to vote?
You must be registered by Monday in the county you live in to vote in the March 3 election.
To be eligible to register, you must:
- be a U.S. citizen
- be a resident of the county you are applying to vote in
- be at least 18 years old by Election Day
- not have been declared mentally incapacitated by a court
- not be a convicted felon (though you may be eligible if you were pardoned or completed your sentence, probation and parole)
In Texas, you cannot register to vote online — unless you are renewing, replacing or updating your Texas driver's license or state ID on the Department of Public Safety website.
To submit your registration application by mail, you can fill out the form online, and then print, sign and mail it to your county elections office. But you should be aware of recent changes at the U.S. Postal Service that might affect the postmark date on your mail. Because of shifts to its transportation operations, the Postal Service said it may become more common for some mail not to be postmarked on the same day the carrier takes possession of it.
Your application must be postmarked by Monday for the March 3 election.
"If [voters] put it in the mail on Monday, which is the deadline, chances are pretty high that it won't get the postmark by Monday that we need," said Celia Israel, the Travis County tax assessor-collector, who oversees voter registration for the county.
To make sure you get the right postmark, you can go to the post office to send your mail and ask for a "manual postmark" at the counter.
Some organizations are holding voter registration drives in the coming days. The League of Women Voters Austin Area has three planned at different Alamo Drafthouse locations on Friday and Saturday. The League of Women Voters in Williamson County also has events Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
If you're up against the deadline and worried about getting the application submitted in time, visit your local voter registrar in person.
"The bottom line is don't leave it up to chance," Israel said.
Find some local election offices here:
Do I need to renew my voter registration?
If you've changed your name or moved within Texas, you can update your voter registration information online, but you should still submit these changes by the Monday deadline. If you've moved to a different county and don't update your address by the deadline, you may be required to cast a limited ballot in your new county during early voting.
What kind of ID will I need to register or vote?
To register to vote, you can use your Texas driver's license or Texas personal ID number issued by DPS. If you don’t have either of those, you can use the last four digits of your Social Security number.
When you head to the polls, you will need to present one of these valid forms of photo ID:
- Texas driver's license
- Texas election identification certificate
- Texas personal ID card
- Texas handgun license
- U.S. military photo ID
- U.S. citizenship certificate with photo
- U.S. passport
The ID can be expired for up to four years. If you're 70 or older, you can bring a photo ID that has been expired for any length of time.
If you couldn’t get one of the above forms of ID, you can use a supporting form of identification like a bank statement or utility bill. But you must sign a document saying you had a reasonable impediment to getting a valid photo ID — like lack of transportation, work schedule, illness or family responsibilities.
Important dates
- Feb. 2 — Deadline to register to vote or update your address
- Feb. 17 — Early voting begins
- Feb. 20 — Deadline to apply for a ballot by mail
- Feb. 27 — Early voting ends
- March 3 — Election Day
