HomeVoting by Mail

Voting by Mail

See if you qualify to Vote by Mail.

\"Expanding access to vote by mail has been a major step toward accessibility because it allows people with disabilities to avoid the challenges of getting to the polls, waiting in line, and facing physical barriers at a polling place."
~ Jim Dickson

The deadline to apply to vote by mail is October 23 for the November 2 General Election.
The application must be received, not just postmarked by that date.

Voting by Mail

Who Can Vote By Mail?

You can vote by mail if you are:
- 65 years or older
- Sick or disabled
- Out of the county during early voting and Election Day
- Expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day.
- In jail but otherwise eligible to vote

Yes, college students qualify. But there are deadlines to meet to apply to vote by mail.

How do I apply to vote by mail?

• Get an application:

Print this application in English or Spanish

• Call your County Election Office to request an application.

Fill out the application:

Provide all the required and requested voter information.

• DEADLINE TO APPLY TO VOTE BY MAIL, OCTOBER 23. Only the voter can hand-deliver it to the Elections Office, no one else. Allow 7 days to 2 weeks to get your application in by the deadline.

• Return your completed application as soon as you can. Sign up to have your ballot tracked by the Hays County Elections Office.
BALLOT TRACKER

• When you get your mail in ballot, fill it out and return it.

• Return it by any of the following methods:

By US Mail. Allow 7 days to 2 weeks to ensure it arrives by the deadline, Election Day.
Hand-deliver it: The voter can hand-deliver it on Election Day only. Not during Early Voting.
By common or contract carrier. Contract carriers include FedEx and UPS. Common carriers include bus, railway, trucking firms.

BUT, the voter can void the mail-in ballot by taking it to an early voting location and asking election workers to void it so you can vote in person. The mail-in ballot must not be marked and must be in the carrier envelope.

Tips for filling out the application

Avoid any confusion by election officials and sign both your application and ballot in the same way.
Have ballot mailed to the address where you actually are.
Include your contact information in case there is a problem with your application.
Mark the annual box for voters 65 years of age or older or voters with a disability.
Mark the election you will be voting in. If it is the Primary Election then check the Democratic Primary or the Republican Primary. Check the “any resulting runoff” to automatically receive a ballot.
Students living away at school check “address outside the county” box.
Write the dates you are out of the county where you are registered. For example, dates away at school.

The postmarked mail-in BALLOT must be at your Hays County Elections Office by 5 p.m. the next business day after Election Day. Elections Administrator, 712 S. Stagecoach Trail, Suite 1012, San Marcos, TX 78666. Hand-deliver non-postmarked mail-in ballot to the new Elections Office physical location, 120 Stagecoach Trail, San Marcos, TX 78666 by 7 p.m. on Election Day only..

For more information: Texas Secretary of State

Other FAQs and Tips

Vote by Mail ballots are mailed out 30 - 45 days before an election, or 7 days after the county election office receives an application.
If you become ill or disabled after the deadline for applying to Vote by Mail, contact your county election office to request a "late ballot". You would need a physician-signed certification of your illness or disability, and an assistant to make two round-trips to the election office.
If you need help, call the Texas Secretary of State at 800-252-VOTE (8683) or email elections @sos.texas.gov.

“Before you seal the carrier envelope, lift the flap and fill in the blanks under the “Required Information” section.” Then seal the envelope. That keeps your drivers license number secure.

Some voters missed that step during the primary. The information helps identify that the voter is the same person that requested the ballot.

“The section under the flap is where the voter will enter either their Texas-issued ID or the last four of their Social Security Number that matches the ID on their voter registration record. Our office recommends that voters include both pieces of information.”

Including both types of information on the application AND the ballot carrier envelope with help alleviate the chances of ballot rejection.

“Once the voter has completed this portion of the carrier envelope, they can seal the flap, sign over the flap in the red box and mail the ballot back to the Hays County Election Office. Both the ID number and the signature are required for the ballot to be accepted.”

The new legislation offers voters the opportunity to correct any defects on their ballot in enough time to be counted.

Assistant Section and Witness Section

If you assist someone to complete their ballot, you must fill out the Assistant Section on the bottom left side of the carrier envelope. If you sign for someone unable to sign for themselves, the Witness Section on the bottom right side must be filled out. Be careful to complete those sections as directed.

New Student Voters

Students considering whether to vote by mail at their permanent home address or at their new college residence should factor in:

Traveling back home for federal, state, and local elections may not work easily into a school schedule.
The current high rejection rate for applications to vote by mail was about 13 percent overall for the March 1, 2022 Primary Election, approximately 24,000 ballots
As less experienced voters, student applications or mail-in ballots may make a mistake that would lead to it being rejected.
Your best chance of being sure that you can cast a ballot and be sure it counts is to register at your college residence and vote there.

Call Election Protection if you have any voting questions or concerns.

866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) English
888-Ve-Y-Vota (839-8682) Spanish
888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, and Tagalog
844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287) Arabic
301-818-VOTE (301-818-8683) American Sign Language (video call)
888-796-VOTE Disability Rights Texas

Direct link to this page: https://lwvhaysco.org/votebymail

#nonpartisan #votinginfo #Hayscountytx #howto #votebymail

Follow Us

Support Us

Contact Us

Voting by Mail

Voting by Mail

How do I apply to vote by mail?

Other FAQs and Tips

Assistant Section and Witness Section

New Student Voters

Students considering whether to vote by mail at their permanent home address or at their new college residence should factor in:

Call Election Protection if you have any voting questions or concerns.