Soldiers who are stationed far from home can vote using which of the following?

Voting by mail in Texas is limited to voters who are:

• 65 years of age or older on Election Day;
• Sick or disabled;
• Expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day;
• Absent from the county of registration during the Early Voting period and on Election Day;
• Civilly committed under Chapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code; or
• Confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.

You can get a formal application for a ballot by mail (ABBM) from:

If you are voting early because of an expected absence, you may apply in person for a ballot by mail before the early “voting in person” period begins (usually the 17th day before the election). If you are voting by mail because you are disabled or are 65 years of age or older, you may use a single application to request ballots by mail for all county elections in the calendar year. To do so, simply mark “Annual Application” on your application for a ballot by mail when selecting the election for which you are applying.

If you are voting in a political party’s primary election, you MUST check which party’s primary you are voting in to receive the correct primary ballot.

To vote by mail, you must provide ONE of the following numbers on your ABBM:

• Texas Driver’s License, Texas Personal Identification Number or Election Identification Certificate Number issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (NOT your voter registration VUID number); OR
• If you have not been issued one of the numbers above, the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number

If you have not been issued a Texas Driver’s License, Texas Personal Identification Number or Texas Election Identification Certificate Number or a Social Security Number, you must indicate so by checking the appropriate box on the ABBM.

If you are voting by mail because you are disabled or are 65 years of age or older, you may use a single application to request ballots by mail for all county elections in the calendar year. You will see this option under Section 4 of the ABBM, “Send me a Ballot for the Following Elections:” in which you can select each election for which you wish to receive a ballot by mail. While you can submit this “annual” application anytime during the calendar year, it must be received at least 11 days before the first election in which you seek to request a ballot by mail.

You can write your own application for a ballot by mail, as long as it is in writing and includes:

• The applicant’s name;
• The applicant’s address;
• The number of the applicant’s driver’s license or personal identification card issued by DPS, or if applicant has not been issued one of those numbers, the last four digits of the applicant’s social security number, or a statement that the application has not been issued either of those numbers; 
• The address at which the applicant is registered;
• The address to which ballot is to be mailed, if different and if authorized by law (see below);
• A valid ground for voting by mail;
• If you are voting by mail on the ground of disability, the following statement: “I affirm that I have a sickness or physical condition that prevents me from appearing at the polling place on Election Day without a likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring my health.”
• An indication of the election for which the applicant is applying to vote by mail; AND
• The signature of the applicant or witness, if applicable.

Your ballot by mail application must be sent to the Early Voting Clerk in the county where you are registered to vote. Applications must be received (not postmarked) by last day of the application period. All applications to vote by mail must be received by the early voting clerk before the close of regular business or 12 noon, whichever is later.

For the Nov 8, 2022 Election, the last day your ABBM can be received by your Early Voting Clerk is Friday, Oct 28, 2022.

Applications to vote by mail must be submitted in person or by mail, common or contract carrier, email or fax. If you fax or e-mail your application to the Early Voting Clerk, you must also mail the application so that the Clerk receives it no later than the fourth business day after the day the Clerk received your faxed or emailed application. If you fax or e-mail your application by the deadline noted below, your application will be considered complete and timely as long as the original is received by the early voting clerk by the fourth business day after it was submitted by fax or e-mail.

You may send in your application for a ballot by mail to the Early Voting Clerk by:

• In-person delivery;
• Regular mail;
• Common or contract carrier; or
• Fax (if a fax machine is available to the Early Voting Clerk)
• Email (send a signed, scanned application as an attachment to an email to the early voting clerk)

Once you receive your mail-in ballot, carefully review each choice in each race or proposition to be voted on, and mark your choices in accordance with the instructions on the ballot envelope.

After your mark your ballot, place your voted ballot in the envelope marked "BALLOT ENVELOPE" and seal the ballot envelope.

Next, place the ballot envelope in the carrier envelope (PDF). BEFORE SEALING THE CARRIER ENVELOPE, YOU MUST INCLUDE IN THE SPACE PROVIDED (PDF):

1. The number of your driver license, election identification certificate, or personal identification card issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS);
2. The last four digits of your social security number, if you have not been issued any of the abovementioned numbers by DPS; OR
3. A statement that you have not been issued a number described by (1) or (2) above.

Next, seal the carrier envelope, sign the carrier envelope, and return your carrier envelope to the Early Voting Clerk either by mail, by common or contract carrier, or in person on Election Day at your county’s early voting clerk’s office.

A list of Early Voting Clerk addresses in each county can be found here.

The Early Voting Clerk must receive your marked ballot by 7 p.m. on Election Day, by 5:00 p.m. the first business day after Election Day if the postmarked ballot was mailed within the United States from non-military voters and from any military voters who submitted an Application for Ballot by Mail (“ABBM”), or by the 5th day after Election Day if your ballot is submitted from outside the United States.

Once you’ve sent your ballot by mail to your county’s Early Voting Clerk, you can check the status of your mail-in ballot through our Ballot by Mail Tracker, available on the Texas Secretary of State’s ‘My Voter Portal.’

To track your mail-in ballot, you must enter the following information:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Date of Birth
• The last 4 digits of your Social Security Number
• Your Driver’s License or Department of Public Safety Personal ID number
• Your residential address (must appear exactly as listed on your voter registration record. To look up the address listed on your voter registration record, use the ‘Am I Registered?’ tool)
• City
• ZIP code

How to Correct a Defect on your Application for Ballot by Mail

If you received a notice (PDF) that your ABBM was rejected because you did not provide an identification number or the number included on your ABBM did not match one of the numbers associated with your voter registration record, you may correct the defect online through the Texas Secretary of State's Ballot by Mail Tracker. When you log in to the Ballot by Mail Tracker, you will be prompted to enter your personal identification number(s). Once your personal identification number is validated by the Mail Ballot Tracker, the Application for a Ballot by Mail you previously submitted will be processed.

To utilize the Ballot by Mail Tracker, you must enter:

• Your Texas Driver’s License Number or Texas Personal Identification Number, AND
• The last four digits of your social security number; AND
• Your residence address as listed in your voter registration record

If you received a notice that your ABBM was rejected for another reason, you may be able to cure the defect by submitting a new ABBM (PDF) to your county's Early Voting Clerk with the corrected information.

To confirm your information as listed on your voter registration record be sure to visit the 'Am I Registered?' tool on the Texas Secretary of State's My Voter Portal.

If you have specific questions about your registration or the status of your Application for Ballot by Mail, you should contact your county elections office.

**NOTE: You can also use the process above to add or correct identification information on your mail ballot carrier envelope (PDF).

Early Voting Clerks in each county are responsible for receiving your Application for a Ballot by Mail (ABBM) as well as your voted mail-in ballot.

Find the addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers for your county’s early voting clerk on the Texas Secretary of State’s web site.

NOTICE: If you are submitting your application for ballot by mail (ABBM) by fax or email, the original, hard copy of the application MUST be mailed and received by the early voting clerk no later than the 4th business day after it was originally submitted.

First and foremost, we would like to thank you, the military voters, for your service to our country. To all U.S. citizens overseas, thank you for your interest in your country’s elections while far away. (Federal voting law defines “overseas” as anywhere outside the United States. This includes Canada and Mexico.) Military and overseas voters are welcome to use the regular registration and early voting by mail process (also known as absentee voting) available to all voters away from their home county on Election Day. However, there are also special provisions for you.

The process is as easy as ABC:

A (Application) Fill out and file your FPCA (Federal Postcard Application) as soon as possible but no later than the 11th day before Election Day.

B (Ballot)

C (Casting and Counting)

TRACK THE PROGRESS OF YOUR FPCA AND BALLOT

A. Application

Who can use the Federal Postcard Application (FPCA)?

• Active duty military, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)
• U.S. Citizens (nonmilitary) temporarily overseas* away from the home Texas county
• U.S. Citizens (nonmilitary) permanently overseas* away from the (previous) home Texas county
• Members of the merchant marine, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)
• Members of the Texas National Guard, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)
• Members of a National Guard of another state, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)
• Members of the military reserves on active duty, spouses, and dependents (voting from outside the home Texas county)

*Federal law defines “overseas” as anywhere outside the United States. If you are not one of these voters, you need the regular early voting by mail procedures.

What and where is the FPCA form?

Here are two resources for obtaining an automated FPCA form:

What does the FPCA form do?

• Registers you onto the permanent voter rolls 30 days after receipt by the county (unless voter marks indefinitely away / do not intend to return)
• Functions as an application for ballot by mail and gives you temporary registration status for certain offices
• If voter marks indefinitely away (older form) / do not intend to return (newer form), voter receives federal ballot only

When is the FPCA deadline?

• General rule: deadline is the 11th day before Election Day (earlier is recommended)
• Here are the deadlines calculated for upcoming elections.
• First day to file FPCA is January 1.
• Note: An FPCA for a January or February election may be filed earlier, but not earlier than the 60th day before the date of the January or February election.

Where do you send the FPCA?

• General rule: the Early Voting Clerk’s office
• County contact information

How may you send the (completed signed) FPCA to the clerk?

• Hard copy by mail
• Common or contract carrier
• In-person delivery
• Fax (if the Early Voting Clerk’s office has a fax machine)
• E-mail (scanned image of signed form)

NOTE: If an FPCA is faxed, then the applicant must submit the original application by mail to the early voting clerk so that the early voting clerk receives the original no later than the 4th business day after receiving the faxed FPCA.

B. Ballot

How do you receive the ballot from the clerk?

Authorized method the voter requested on the FPCA:

• Hard copy by mail (default method if nothing else requested)
• E-mail (unmarked ballot)
• Common or contract carrier (if paid for by voter)
• Unmarked ballots may not be faxed under Texas law, regardless of voter’s status.

Did the county or other election official send my ballot?

Track my ballot

C. Casting and Counting

How do you return the ballot to the Early Voting Clerk?

• Hard copy by mail, or common or contract courier (like any other ballot by mail)
• IF from military voter (or spouse or dependent) in hostile fire pay / imminent danger pay / combat zone, may be faxed using authorized channels.

When is the deadline for returning the ballot?

• Regular deadline: receipt by 7:00 p.m. Election Day
• Deadline for voters voting from overseas location: receipt by 5th day after Election Day
• Deadline for the ballot to be received is the 6th day after Election Day for:

• Members of the armed forces of the United States, or the spouse or a dependent of a member of the armed forces;
• Members of the merchant marines of the United States, or the spouse or a dependent of a member of the merchant marine;
• Members of the Texas National Guard, or the spouse or dependent of a member of the Texas National Guard;
• Members of the National Guard of another state, or the spouse or dependent of a member of the National Guard of another state;
• Members of the military reserves on active duty, or the spouse or dependent of a member of the military reserves on active duty.

Did the county or other election official receive my marked ballot?

Track my ballot