Texans have one more week to register to vote in the Nov. 3 presidential election. Applications must be received or postmarked at least 30 days before an election. This year, that deadline is Oct. 5, one week from today.
For the first time ever, Texans now have the option of registering to vote online when they renew their driver’s licenses. The state was forced to set up a fully online registration system by U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia.
The final tally of registered voters will be available after Oct. 5. As of a week ago, however, there were a record 16.6 million Texans registered to vote in November. That’s 1.5 million new voters since the last presidential election and more than 800,000 additions since the November 2018 election.
You are eligible to register to vote if:
- you are a United States citizen;
- you are a resident of the county where you submit the application;
- you are at least 17 years and 10 months old, and you will be 18 years of age on Election Day;
- you are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole); or
- you have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
Ways to register:
- Register online when renewing your driver’s license or submitting a change of address with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
- Complete an online application, print it out and then mail it to your county election office.
- Request that an application be mailed to you. Once the application arrives, fill it out and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided.
- Visit your local voter registrar to complete the voter registration process in person.
Am I already registered?
- You can confirm your voter registration status here.
- If you moved from one place to another in the same county, you can change your information online at the secretary of state’s voter registration name/address change website.
Early voting begins on Oct. 13 and ends on Oct. 30. Gov. Greg Abbott added about one more week to early voting due to the pandemic.
