To be eligible to vote early by mail in Texas, you must:
- Be 65 years or older
- Be sick or disabled
- Be out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance
- Be confined in jail, but otherwise eligible
Instructions for submitting an Application for Ballot by Mail in Texas (“ABBM”):
- Print (PDF) the ABBM form
- OR submit an order online and an ABBM will be mailed to you
- Complete Sections 1 through 8
- Sign and Date Section 10
- If you were unable to sign the application and someone witnessed your signature, that person must complete Section 11
- If someone helped you complete the application or mailed the application for you, that person must complete Section 11
- Affix postage
- If you printed the application you must place it in your own envelope and add postage
- If you ordered the application online and it was mailed to you - fold the application in half, moisten top tab, seal and add postage
- Address and mail the completed ABBM to the Early Voting Clerk in your county. You may also fax the application if a fax machine is available in the early voting clerk’s office. You also have the option of submitting a scanned copy of the completed and signed application to the Early Voting Clerk via email. If an ABBM is faxed or emailed, then the original, hard copy of the application MUST be mailed and received by the early voting clerk no later than the 4th business day.
- The Early Voting Clerk is the County Clerk or Elections Administrator for your county
- Contact information, including mailing addresses, fax numbers if available, and email addresses for the Early Voting Clerks are available on this website.
NOTICE: Do not mail, fax, or email completed applications for Ballot by Mail to the Secretary of State Office. All applications received by this office will be rejected.
Important Dates for Absentee Voting
Request deadlines:
In Person: Received 22 days before Election DayBy Mail: Received 11 days before Election DayOnline: Received 11 days before Election Day
Ballot deadlines:
Voted ballots are due: Postmarked by Election Day and received by the day after Election Day.
Reasons your mail in ballot could be rejected (taken from the Notice of Rejected Ballot that you would receive):
- Certificate on carrier envelope was not properly executed
- You failed to sign your signature or make your mark
- The witness failed to indicate on the envelope that you could not make a mark
- The assistant or witness failed to print their name
- The assistant or witness failed to sign their name
- The residence address of the assistant or witness was not given
- It was determined that the signature on the application for ballot by mail and carrier envelope was not signed by the same person
- Application for ballot by mail did not state a legal ground for voting by mail
- Voter registration records indicated you did not have an effective registration for this election
- Address to which ballot was mailed was not outside the county. Voting early by mail due to expected absence from the county requires balloting materials be mailed to an address outside the county.
- The residence address on the statement of residence is not located in the political subdivision conducting the election
- The mailing address on the application for ballot by mail did not match your voter registration address nor did the mailing address match any addresses provided on your statement of residence. Since you did not indicate on your application for a ballot by mail that you were having your ballot mailed to a hospital, retirement center, long term care facility, nursing home, jail, or a relative, your ballot was rejected.
- The statement of residence was not included in the carrier envelope
- No identification was included with your mail ballot
- Other:_____
Military and overseas voters are welcome to use the regular registration and early voting by mail process available to all voters away from their home county on Election Day. However, there are also special provisions for military and overseas voters.