AUSTIN, Texas — The Nov. 5 general election is just a few weeks away, and early voting kicks off in Texas on Monday, Oct. 21.
In addition to voting for a presidential candidate, Texas voters will also cast their ballots in a U.S. Senate race, U.S. House races, Texas Legislature races and more. Meanwhile, Austin voters will weigh in on who should be mayor and, depending on where they live, who will represent them in the city council. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Early voting runs from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1, and if you're planning to cast your ballot before Election Day, there are a couple of things you need to know.
Where can you vote during early voting?
Before you head to the polls, you'll need to make sure you're registered to vote. The last day to register to vote in this election was Oct. 7, but here's how to check your registration status.
When it comes to early voting, registered and eligible Texas voters may vote at any early voting location located in the county in which they live. Early voting locations are populated through VoteTexas.gov two days before the first day of early voting. All voters have to do is plug in their information in order to find polling locations. You can also find full lists of early voting polling places for Travis, Williamson and Hays counties here.
During early voting, polling place hours vary at each location.
What do you need to bring to vote?
To vote in Texas, you need to have a form of identification when you go to cast your ballot at a polling location.
Here is a list of acceptable forms of photo identification:
- Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
- Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
- U.S. Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
- U.S. Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
- U.S. Passport (book or card)
If you don't have one of the forms of ID listed above and can't reasonably obtain one, you can bring one of the following in order to execute a "Reasonable Impediment Declaration":
- Copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate
- Copy of or original current utility bill
- Copy of or original bank statement
- Copy of or original government check
- Copy of or original paycheck
- Copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
Reminder: Cellphones are not allowed inside polling locations. Voters can, however, print a copy of their sample ballot and bring it with them to the polls.
What's on the ballot?
In addition to voting for our next president, Central Texas voters will also have the opportunity to vote in a U.S. Senate race, U.S. House races, Texas House and Senate races, sheriff races, races for county positions, tax rate elections and more.
Austin voters will also be casting their votes for mayor, and half of the Austin City Council seats are also on the ballot.
For a breakdown of all the federal, state and local races you could see on your ballot this election, click here.
And be sure to bookmark kvue.com/elections to get live results once the polling sites around Central Texas close on Election Day, Nov. 5. You can also download the KVUE app to get election results straight to your phone.
For all the latest election coverage, head to kvue.com/VoteTexas.