Read the F*ing directions
for

Register to vote by October 5th.

Apply for a ballot by mail by October 23rd.

Have a specific reason for needing to vote by mail — in Texas, only a few situations make you eligible. Check them out here to see if any apply to you. (Astronauts, don’t panic — you can vote from space.)

Click here for information about accessible voting for folks with disabilities.

Click here for information about your eligibility if you have a criminal conviction.

Active duty military, military family member, or living overseas? You have additional voting options! Visit FVAP.GOV for details specific to your situation.

Make sure you’re registered by October 5th.

Request your ballot by mail by October 23rd. Like, they have to receive it by that day so make sure you pop it in the mail a few days beforehand to give the USPS plenty of time to deliver it. Texas is big, we hear! That’s a lot of land to cover.

Exceptions for emergencies: under Texas law, if you become ill or injured or have a death in the family after the normal mail ballot deadline, you can request a ‘late ballot.’ Contact your county’s Election Office directly for more details.

Hand deliver your absentee ballot to your County Election Office by 7pm on Election Day.

If you mail in your ballot, we recommend you do so by October 27th because Texas requires ballots to be postmarked by Election Day and received by 5pm the day after. (Theoretically a piece of mail can get delivered from one part of the state to another in a week...maybe? Hopefully? VOTE EARLY!!)

This is important: USPS recently changed its policies and won’t always postmark mail the same day it’s picked up from a mailbox — or even the day after. To guarantee a same-day postmark, you’ll need to go to a post office and ask for a manual postmark. All the more reason to mail things early!

Put your ballot in the envelope marked “BALLOT ENVELOPE” and seal it.

Place your sealed ballot envelope in the carrier envelope. DON’T SEAL THE CARRIER ENVELOPE YET!

In the space provided on the carrier envelope, fill in your driver’s license/state ID number, election identification certificate number, or the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. If you don’t have any of these, check the box stating that. The number you use MUST be associated with your voter registration record - use the same one you used to register to vote. If you’re not sure which to use, you can call your County Election Office and ask. Here’s a picture of what the carrier envelope looks like, and here are some more details. Your contact info is optional, but we recommend including it in case there are any issues with your ballot.

Sign your carrier envelope where indicated and seal it up! Your signature should be the same one you used to register to vote.

Put a stamp on it! Don’t worry about how much postage is needed, the USPS will deliver it even if you don’t have enough postage.

YO! If your “excuse” for needing an absentee ballot was that you would be out of the county during the voting period, you need to actually mail it from outside the county. Your ballot will be rejected if your postmark indicates that you are actually in the county. Texas doesn’t GAF if your plans change!