TX Votes

Voter Registration Deadline - October 7th, 2024

You must be registered to vote by the deadline in order for your voter registration to be updated before the November 5th General Election.

Verify your voter registration

You can verify your voter registration is updated and you are registered in the county where you intend to vote using this online tool.

TX Votes recommends you verify your information and ensure your address is up-to-date prior to October 7th.

Register to vote for the first time

• Method #1: Register to vote with TX Votes

  Find our Volunteer Deputy Registrars on campus:

  • First Week of Classes

    • Tuesday, August 27th at Longhorn LIVE from 7-10 pm in Greg Plaza

    • Wednesday, September 4th at Party on the Plaza from 11-4pm in Greg Plaza

  • Voter Registration Week

    • Monday, September 16th from 12:30-2:30pm in PCL

    • Tuesday, September 17th from 3-7pm outside FAC

    • Wednesday, September 18th from 10-3pm in Greg Plaza (UT Marketplace)

    • Thursday, September 19th from 12:30-2:30pm in PCL

  • Voter Registration Deadline - Monday, October 7th

    • 11-1pm in PCL

    • 1-3pm in Jester

    • 6-12am on Speedway

• Method #2: Send in a “mail-in” voter registration application to the county where you are registering to vote.

  • You can pre-fill an application online, print it, and mail it in. With this method you are responsible for the envelope and postage.

  • You can pick up a mail-in form on campus. These forms are postage-paid and don’t require an envelope:

    • Annette Strauss Institute Office on the 7th floor of the Moody CMA Building in Room 7.146

    • Perry-Castañeda Library

      Find your nearest USPS mailbox here.

• Method #3: Register to vote with a Travis County Volunteer Deputy Registrar at any Travis County Tax Office.

Update your voter registration

• Method #1: If you are already registered to vote can update your address online if you have a TX Drivers License/ID.

• Method #2: Use any of the methods to register to vote (above). Each of those methods will offer you the opportunity to update your address.

Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Options

If you visit a DMV office or the DMV website to renew/update your license, you will be offered the chance to register to vote. 

DMV will only update your voter registration to the county of your new license address. If you want to vote in a different county, keep in mind where you want to be registered to vote.

Eligibility

You are eligible to vote in Texas 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 on the date your voter registration application is submitted, and you are 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); and

• 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.

Not voting in Texas?

If you are not planning to vote in Texas, find information for other states here.

If you are studying abroad, you can find information here on the process to vote while outside of the United States.

You are eligible to vote in Travis County if you reside here while you attend UT Austin.

If UT Austin is not in the same county as your hometown, here are things you might consider when deciding where to vote:

• Which location is more convenient for you? 

• Who is on the ballot in each place?

• Are there local policies or particular issues that are important to you in either place?

Keep in mind: You can live in more than one place, but you are only allowed to vote in one.

Where you register to vote will not affect your federal financial aid, including FAFSA, Pell Grants, Perkins, or Stafford loans.                                                                         

It may affect whether you qualify for in-state tuition. You can easily check on the rules in the state where you pay tuition if you plan to vote in another state.

Process

Complete the training to register voters in Travis County here.

Allow 1 hour to complete the training and 3-5 business days to receive proof of VDR appointment.

There are also options to complete the training in a Zoom call here.

Residents of Travis, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Lee or Williamson Counties can participate in asynchronous training.

Eligibility

You are eligible to become a Volunteer Deputy Registrar if:

• You are a United States citizen;

• You are a resident of Texas;

• You are at least 18 years old;

• You are not determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally, mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated, without the right to vote.

• You have not been convicted of failing to deliver a voter application to a voter registrar.

• You have not been convicted of a felony or, if so convicted, you must be fully discharged of the sentence, or you were released from the resulting disability to vote.

• You have not been convicted of identity theft under Sec. 32.51 of the Texas Penal Code.

Early voting is October 21st until November 1st.

Early voting has the same eligibility as voting on Election Day!

Don’t wait, vote during Early Voting when wait times are rarely over 5 minutes.

Polling Site Dates and Time in Travis County (Austin):

• Monday, October 21st – Saturday, October 26th (7am – 7pm)

• Sunday, October 27th (12pm – 6pm)

• Monday, October 28th – Wednesday, October 30th (7am – 7pm)

• Thursday, October 31st – Friday, November 1st (7am – 10pm)

Election day is November 5th.

On Election Day polling sites are open from 7am until 7pm.

You must present one of these valid forms of voter ID in order to vote in person (with some exceptions):

• Texas Driver License

• US Passport

• Texas Election ID Certificate

• Texas personal ID Card

• Texas Handgun license

• US Military ID Card with Photo

• US Citizenship certificate with Photo

What if you do not have a valid voter ID and cannot obtain one before voting ends?

You can ask for and fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration (RID) at the polls and present an alternative form of ID, such as a:

• voter registration certificate (this is the card you receive in the mail from Travis County with your voter registration information)
• utility bill
• bank statement
• government check

Find a complete list of the alternative forms of ID and more details about the process here.

Bring these with you to the polls

• Voter ID
• Written Ballot Choices
  • To prevent frustration, write down all of your ballot choices before you enter the polling site. You cannot access your phone while inside the polling site.
• Non-partisan Clothing
  • You cannot have partisan messaging visible on your clothes when you go to vote.

Process

Step #1: Submit an application for a ballot by mail. 

This must be received by the county before October 25th, 2024. 

Sending your application in earlier will ensure you get your ballot with plenty of time to send it back by Election Day.

Find the mailing address to use for your application here.

Find your nearest USPS mailbox here.

Application Tips: 

• If you will not be in the county where you are registered, check the box for “other address” and put your current address on the application.

• You must match the ID number on both your application and your mail-in ballot carrier envelope. You can include both on each application to ensure they will match.

Step #2: Mailing the ballot.

Ballots must be either “received by” or “postmarked by” 7pm on November 5th, 2024.

To ensure this is complete, ballots sent on Election Day should be taken to a post office to ensure they are postmarked the same day.

Find the mailing address to use for your ballot here.

Find your nearest USPS Post Office here.

Eligibility

You are eligible to vote by mail if you meet one of these requirements:

• You will be out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance

• You will be 65 years of age or older on Election Day

• You are sick or disabled

• You are expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day

• You are civilly committed under Chapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code

• You will be confined in jail, but otherwise eligible

Don’t hesitate to text or call the Election Protection Hotline to chat with a trained Election Protection volunteer here.

For the November General Election you will be voting on Federal, State, Judicial, and Local representatives.

Find what will be on your ballot based on your address using the League of Women Voters tool.

Check if it has been 30 days since you submitted your application, if not, the county may not have processed the application yet. Try again to verify your information after 30 days.

You can also call your county voter registrar and ask if they have your record. The online form may not have updated because of delays in the system sharing information.

You can submit another voter registration form if you are concerned about this issue or if you discover your voter registration is not in the county’s system.

You can submit a provisional ballot.

A provisional ballot will be counted once your voter registration is confirmed. 

You may have to visit the county voter registrar’s office by the sixth calendar day after Election Day in order to provide proof and fix the issue so that your ballot is counted.

In some cases, you can prevent having to submit a provisional ballot by bringing your voter registration certificate to the polls.

If you cannot visit the county where you are registered to vote during the election period, you may be eligible to submit a limited ballot.

A Limited Ballot can only be used by voters who are already registered in a Texas county, but now reside in a different county and would not be able to register to vote before the next Election Day.

In Travis County, you can only pick up a Limited Ballot at 5501 Airport Blvd, Austin, Texas 78751. 

Call beforehand to confirm your eligibility. More information for Travis County is available here.