The election is near, if you didn’t realize after all the extra mail, the accusatory TV and radio ads, and nonstop text messages and phone calls. Early voting begins on Monday, October 21 and lasts through November 1. Election Day is November 5.
It’s also a presidential election, which means you probably have a preferred candidate by this point. But there are many down-ballot races you may be less familiar with. If you don’t have much business in local and state courts, for instance, deciding which judges to vote for may be difficult. Are you familiar with the 18 Dallas charter amendments at the bottom of your ballot? Those are important, too.
We’ve created this voter guide to help. It outlines key dates, how to find a polling place, and how to vote. It also provides nonpartisan resources for learning about candidates and issues so you can cast an educated vote. Have a question not addressed in the guide? Let us know, and we’ll add that information.
Know before you vote
Double-check your voter registration by visiting the Texas Secretary of State’s website. Should you find that your registration is “in suspense,” you can still vote. Voters are typically placed in suspense if the county could not verify their address. If they don’t respond to a notice to reply, their registration is placed under suspense. To get off this list, a voter can return the confirmation notice, or fill out a statement of residence when they vote.
Also, check with your child’s school: Dallas ISD will be closed on Election Day, as will Highland Park ISD, Desoto ISD, Richardson ISD, Plano ISD, and Garland ISD.
In Dallas County, polls open for early voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on October 21 to 25. They’re open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on October 26 as well as October 28 and 29. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. October 30 through November 1. On Sunday, October 27, you can vote from noon to 6 p.m. On November 5, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you’re in line by closing time, you’ll be able to vote so long as you don’t leave.
You can vote at any polling location in Dallas County. You can find the closest location here, and this map will show you current wait times at each location. Not registered to vote in Dallas County? Check with your county for poll locations and times: here are links for Collin, Denton, and Tarrant.
Voting in general
When you arrive at the polling location, anticipate a line. Cellphones, computers, cameras, or anything that can record video or take photographs cannot be used within 100 feet of the voting booth. (Bring notes on paper.) If you have a campaign shirt, make sure you have something to pull on over it before you go in to vote.
By state law, guns are prohibited at polling places.
Generally, you need to live in the county in which you’re voting. To vote in person, you will need to have a Texas driver’s license or ID card, state handgun license, U.S. citizenship certification with a photo, passport, or military ID with a photo.
If, for some reason, you can’t find those forms of ID, you can still vote by provisional ballot. You will need to fill out a form called a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and provide another ID that can verify who you are, which includes a current utility bill, certified birth certificate, bank statement, or a government document that contains your name and address. (The full list of supporting IDs can be found here.)
Within six days after Election Day, a voter casting a provisional ballot will need to visit the county voter registrar’s office and provide an acceptable form of photo ID.
If you are told that your name is not on the list of registered voters, but you are certain that you registered prior to the October 7 deadline, you can ask for a provisional ballot. That ballot will be reviewed by the Ballot Board after the election, and a notice will be mailed to the voter within 30 days of the election that explains whether the vote was counted.
If you’ve moved to another county and didn’t update your voter registration, you can cast a limited ballot during the early voting period only, and only at the main early voting location. That is typically the county elections office. That ballot will consist of offices and measures that are common across the state or between the two counties (the one you left and the one in which you presently reside).
Presidential ballots only include the presidential ticket. These are for people who were registered to vote in Texas when they moved to a different state, moved from Texas to another state within a month of Election Day, and would be eligible to vote in Texas if they still lived here but are not eligible to vote yet in their new state. Those can be cast in person during the early voting period through Election Day, but must be cast from your county election office.
What if I get sick or injured?
If you are sick or become disabled and can’t go to a polling place on Election Day, you can still vote. Designate a representative to submit an application in person for an emergency ballot, and you’ll need a certified doctor’s note stating you can’t vote in person. The application must be provided to the county’s early voting clerk by 5 p.m. on November 5, and must be returned by the same person before 7 p.m. that day.
If you can leave your house, curbside voting is also an option. Drive to a polling location, locate the signage that explains how to summon an elections worker, and one will come to your car with everything you need to vote.
Voting by mail
You can also check with the Secretary of State’s website to see if you qualify to vote by mail. If you do, you’ll need to request a mail-in ballot from your county elections office by October 25. (You can download the application here.)
Texas has specific eligibility requirements for those voting by mail: You will be 65 or older on Election Day; you won’t be in the county for both early voting and Election Day; you are pregnant and could give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day; you’re in jail but not convicted of a felony; you’re a college student attending school outside the state; or you are ill or disabled and cannot vote in person without needing assistance or without impairing your health.
If you do need help filling out your application for an absentee ballot, the person who assists you must note their assistance on the application, on Box 6. That person will also need to sign and print their name and provide their home address. The Secretary of State’s office provides more details on the rules here.
Your application must be received—not postmarked—by the county elections department by October 25. This means you should give your request for a ballot plenty of time to arrive (if you’re mailing it to your county elections office). The last day for the county to receive your mail-in ballot is 7 p.m. November 5, or 5 p.m. November 6 if it was postmarked by November 5. You can also deliver your mail-in ballot in person to the county elections office on Election Day if you have a valid ID.
Overseas and military voters have until November 12, but they’ll need to request their ballots and learn about the return process here.
Be sure to follow the rules correctly. Texas requires voters to put an ID number on the application for the ballot and in the envelope used to return a completed ballot. It must be a driver’s license number, state ID number, the last four digits of your Social Security number, or Texas election ID certificate number. If none of those items are available, voters can also check a box to indicate.
The state allows voters to correct their ballots, with a caveat: the ballot should be at risk of being rejected for a technical error like missing information or a forgotten signature. The county elections office will alert voters if there is a problem, but you can also track your ballot here. The deadline to make corrections on mail-in ballot applications is October 25, and November 12 for the actual ballot.
The Ballot: Finding information on candidates
While the presidential election commands the most attention in the broader media, there are many impactful races closer to home on your November ballot. That includes a U.S. Senate race, and several state races: Railroad commissioner, state senators, state representatives, Texas Board of Education, Texas Supreme Court, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and Texas Courts of Appeals. Your ballot will also have local judges in county courts, justices of the peace, district attorneys, sheriffs, constables, and more.
Nonpartisan information on candidates can be found at The League of Women Voters, Move Texas, and Vote Smart. The Texas Tribune and the Dallas Morning News also offer the ability to read up on the candidates you will find on your ballot. Not sure what candidates align with your beliefs? ActiVote offers a quiz that will show which candidates you share the most in common.
The Ballot: Finding information about the city’s charter amendments
Local propositions are always on the bottom of the general election ballot, so don’t get fatigued. Dallas voters will consider 18 charter amendments. Once every 10 years, the city of Dallas is required to consider changes to its charter, which is the document that governs how the city operates. These rules impact everything from the property tax rate to who can be appointed to boards and commissions that determine zoning, provide oversight, plan our parks, and even lead the city’s preservation efforts.
There are two ways to get a charter amendment on the ballot. One is to submit for a review process that will be considered by an appointed resident commission before the City Council decides whether to move it to the ballot. The second is to collect enough signatures from registered voters in the city to have the amendment placed on the ballot. Your November ballot will have four of these petition-led amendments.
You can read about all 18 charter amendments here. We look at the last three in particular—S, T, and U—here and here.
Eighteen amendments can be a lot to remember, so we have created this handy “cheat sheet.” You can make notes as you review the amendments, note how you’d like to vote, and take this with you to the polls.
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