When Can I Register To Vote In Texas

THE TEXAS Secretarial assistant OF Land Volition Be Closed Mon, MAY 30TH IN OBSERVANCE OF MEMORIAL Twenty-four hour period. Vacation CLOSURE DETAILS.

Voter Registration

Under Department 13.001 of the Texas Ballot Code^ane, to exist eligible to register to voteⁱⁱ in Texas, a person must:

Be xviii years or older on election twenty-four hour period,
Be a United States denizen,
Be a resident of the canton where the application is submitted,
Not be finally bedevilled of a felony or, if so, take completed the terms of the jail sentence, probation or parole, and
Have not been declared past a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.

To register to vote, Section 13.002 requires that a person submit an application either in person or by mail to the canton voter registrar in the county in which the voter resides. The application must be in writing and signed by the applicant³.

Once a voter registrar receives an application, the voter registrar will review information technology to decide whether it is properly completed and whether the person is eligible for registration nether the law⁴. The registrar has seven days to make up one's mind whether to reject or take an application⁵. If the application is rejected, the registrar has to notify the applicant in writing within two days of the reason for rejection⁶. If the application is accepted, the voter registrar prepares a voter registration certificate for the voter that contains the bidder'due south canton ballot precinct number and registration number⁷. The registration becomes effective on the 30th day after the date the application is submitted to the registrar or the date the applicant turns 18 years old, whichever is later⁸. Under Section 13.144, the voter registrar is so required to mail or deliver the voter's registration certificate to the voter at the mailing accost on the bidder'due south registration application no later than 30 days after the registrar receives the application^nine.

The Secretary of State, as set out in Section 18.061, is required to implement and maintain a statewide, computerized voter registration listing that serves equally the unmarried organisation for storing and managing the official list of registered voters in the state. The list must incorporate the name and registration information of each voter registered in the state, assign a unique identifier to each registered voter, and exist available to any election official in the state through immediate electronic admission¹⁰.

Under State law, each voter registrar is required to provide the Secretary of State with an updated listing of registered voters in their county¹¹. This is how the statewide list was created, and how it is maintained. And once registered, a voter remains a registered voter on this list until a qualifying event occurs that causes removal from the list.

To maintain the integrity of the land's voter registration records, Land law requires both the Secretary of State and the local voter registrar to regularly review the voter registration lists and compare them with data received from other government agencies to ensure that the state is maintaining an accurate list¹². Voter registrars work to verify the accuracy of the lists on a regular footing.

Under State police force, when the Secretary of State or the local voter registrar receives the post-obit items, they are required to cancel a voter's registration:^xiii

Detect that the voter resides in a canton exterior the county they are registered in¹⁴.
Notice that a voter is deceased¹⁵.
An abstruse of final judgment regarding the voter'south mental incapacity to vote.
An abstract of final judgment regarding a voter's felony conviction.
Notice that a voter is not a citizen of the Usa^xvi.

To ensure that properly registered voters are not removed from registration lists, the State of Texas has come up upward with a process to verify whether or not a registered voter is eligible to vote. In addition, Land police force also provides a process for local voter registrars to investigate and verify a voter's eligibility when the voter registrar is given information that would call that voter'south eligibility into question¹⁷.

Strong Matches v. Weak Matches

In determining which action is appropriate to take, the Secretarial assistant of Land's office established criteria used when confirming whether or non it is appropriate to cancel a registration, or when a canton must further investigate an issue. Based on the information received, the reviewing dominance will make up one's mind whether or non a "strong" match or a "weak" friction match occurs with a current voter registration tape. When a strong friction match occurs, the voter'due south registration is automatically canceled. A weak match volition effect in the voter registrar investigating the voter's eligibility by sending out a "Notice of Test" or, in the instance of a match based on deceased records, a "Verification of Voter Status."¹⁸ "Strong lucifer" and "weak lucifer" criteria are described below:

See Cancelation of Deceased Voter Registration

Meet Cancelation due to Felony Conviction

1. Cancelation due to residing exterior of county of original application

When a voter moves outside of the county in which he or she originally registered to vote, the voter registrar automatically cancels the voter's registration in accordance with Section 16.031(a)(1). There are iii circumstances that call for cancelation nether these circumstances

Later on a voter moves to a new county and fills out a registration application to change the voter's registration, the voter registrar will give written notice to the voter'due south previous county of the voter's change in address. In the notification, the registrar volition include the voter's proper name, former residence address, and, if known, former registration number¹⁹.
The voter notifies the voter registrar that in that location has been a change in information relating to the voter's residency in that county²⁰. This notification can be made by sending in a registration document or registration application with the correct data²¹.
A voter's response to a confirmation notice indicating the voter is no longer living within the canton he or she is registered in²².

2. Cancelation of Deceased Voter Registration

There are four ways deceased records are obtained in social club to compare these records to the lists of registered voters.

Each month, equally required by Department 16.001, the clerk charged with maintaining deceased records prepares an abstract of each of death document that has been issued that month for deceased individuals that are eighteen years of age or older and a resident of the country of Texas. The local registrar of expiry and so files these abstracts with (ane) the voter registrar of each of the deceased individual's county of residence and (2) the Secretary of State.
The clerks for all of the courts that take probate jurisdiction must set an abstract of decease for each awarding for probate of a will, administration of a decedent's manor, decision of heirship proceedings, and affidavits nether Chapter 137 of the Probate Code and file these abstracts with (1) the voter registrar of each of the deceased individual's canton of residence and (2) the Secretary of State.
In addition, under Department 16.001, the Bureau of Vital Statistics is required to provide to the Secretarial assistant of State all information it has relating to deceased residents of the Land of Texas. The Ballot Code as well requires the Secretarial assistant of State to obtain data on deceased residents from the Social Security Administration. Under Section 18.068, the Secretary of State is required to compare the data they receive from the Agency of Vital Statistics and the Social Security Assistants, to the statewide voter registration list. After comparing the data from these unlike sources, the Secretarial assistant of State may exist able to determine that an private on the statewide registration list is deceased.
A voter registrar may accept personal noesis that a voter is deceased or may receive notice in the grade of a sworn statement from a person related within the 2nd degree of consanguinity or affinity that an individual is deceased²³.

The voter registrar will too compare the information received from these sources to run into whether or not there are any matching voting registration records. Upon making a decision that there is a friction match, one of ii deportment can occur: (1) The voter'south registration will be canceled, if a strong match occurs, in accordance with Land constabulary²⁴ or, (2) the voter registrar will mail out a verification alphabetic character to the voter to further investigative the issue²⁵ as in the case of a weak match.

Strong Match

A stiff match occurs when two voter records have: (1) the aforementioned last proper noun, (2) same engagement of birth, and (3) all ix numbers in the person's social security number match. When this occurs, the voter's registration is canceled in accordance with Section 16.031(b)(iv).

Weak Lucifer

A weak match occurs when two voter records have either: (1) the same nine numbers in the person's social security number and the aforementioned date of nascency, or (2) the last four numbers in the social security number match and the same date of nascence. In a weak match, there does not have to be a match on a voter's name. When this occurs, the voter registrar is required past State law to mail service out, by forwardable mail, a verification letter to the voter²⁶.

The verification letter of the alphabet informs the voter of the potential lucifer and asks the voter to respond to the verification asking within thirty days to forbid cancelation of his registration²⁷. The verification letter must besides be mailed to the mailing address on the voter'south registration application and to whatsoever new address of the voter that the registrar knows of²⁸. If the voter does not reply inside 30 days, the voter registrar is and then required under Section xvi.033(d) to abolish the voter'south registration.

3. Cancelation due to Mental Incapacity

The courts that accept jurisdiction to adjudicate a person'southward mental capacity, prepare an abstract of final judgment for individuals²⁹:

xviii years or older, residents of the land of Texas and are adamant to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated;
18 years or older, residents of the state of Texas, whose mental capacity is completely restored; or
Modifying the guardianship of a person xviii years of historic period or older to include the correct to vote.

The court clerk files each abstract with the voter registrar of each individual'south county of residence by the 10th day of the month after the abstract was prepared^xxx. Upon receiving information determining an individual is incapacitated, the voter registrar sends out a "Detect of Examination" in accordance with Department 16.033. The voter has 30 days from the date the Notice is mailed out to respond to the Notice, or the registrar will cancel the voter's registration³¹. Upon receiving notification that the person'southward mental capacity is restored or the guardianship has been modified to include the right to vote, then the voter registrar would be able to process whatsoever awarding submitted by the individual.

4. Cancelation due to Felony Confidence

A person who is finally convicted of a felony is non eligible to register to vote. However, nether Section 11.002, once a felon has successfully completed his or her punishment, including any term of incarceration, parole, supervision, period of probation, or has been pardoned, and then that person is immediately eligible to annals to vote. A person may continue to vote pending an entreatment of his conviction, provided he meets the other eligibility requirements. Section 13.001(c) notes that "a person is non considered to have been finally convicted of an criminal offense for which the criminal proceedings are deferred without an adjudication of guilt." For more data on the furnishings of a felony confidence on the registration process, please refer to our Outcome of Felony Confidence on Voter Registration memo.

Pursuant to Department 16.003, on a weekly ground, the Department of Public Condom (DPS) is required to prepare and deliver to the Secretary of State, an abstract of final judgment for individuals, anile 18 and older that were convicted of a felony. The Secretarial assistant of State will compare this list to the statewide voter registration list to determine whether or not there are any matches. All matches under this category are considered "weak" matches and are referred to the appropriate county for the local voter registrar to farther investigate.

Weak Match

The criteria used in these matches are every bit follows:

Final/Former Proper name, Offset Name, Texas Drivers License Number
Last/Erstwhile Name, First Proper noun, Social Security Number (9 digits)
Last/Quondam Proper name, First Name, Social Security Number (4 digits)
Texas Drivers License Number, Date of Birth

When the local voter registrar receives a list of these "weak" matches, they are required to mail out a "Notice of Examination" in accord with Department 16.033. The voter has 30 days from the date the Notice is mailed out to respond to the Notice, or the registrar volition cancel the voter's registration.

If the voter was incorrectly matched as having a felony conviction, responding to the Notice in a timely fashion and providing the appropriate information is sufficient for preventing cancelation of a person's voter registration. However, delight be brash this does non clear any errors in the Department of Public Safety's records. If a person has been incorrectly identified as a felon, delight refer to Criminal History Mistake Resolution for more information on how to clear errors on DPS records.

5. Cancelation due to Citizenship

Under Section 62.113 of the Government Code, the courtroom clerks, who maintain the jury wheel for each canton, are required to send both the voter registrar of their county and the Secretarial assistant of Country a list of each person that was excused or butterfingers from jury service because that person is not a citizen of the Us. They must do then past the tertiary business concern day of the month.

Once the registrar receives the list of individuals disqualified from jury duty due to citizenship status, State constabulary requires the registrar to deliver to each registered voter on the listing, a written notice requiring the voter to submit proof of The states Citizenship in the class of 1 of the following: (i) certified copy of the voter's birth document, (2) Usa passport, or (three) citizenship papers³².

The notice must be mailed to the mailing address on the voter'south registration application and to any new address of the voter that the registrar knows of³³. The voter has 30 days from the date the detect is mailed out to respond to the observe, or the registrar will cancel the voter's registration³⁴. If the voter responds with the appropriate documentation, the voter registrar must besides go along a copy of the proof of citizenship the voter supplied on file with the voter'south original registration application³⁵. If the voter does not respond, or the voter does not provide the appropriate documentation to establish citizenship, the voter'south registration is canceled as required by Land law³⁶.

Cancelation due to Residency Issues

Pursuant to Section 15.051(b), if an initial voter registration certificate delivered to the applicant by mail service is returned to the registrar as undeliverable, the voter registrar will post the voter a "Observe to Ostend Voter Registration Address." This confirmation request will include an official response form for the voter to respond with³⁷. Information technology must be pre-addressed for delivery to the registrar and have the postage pre-paid³⁸. Different voter registration certificates which are non forwardable, Section 15.051(c) requires the confirmation detect be forwarded to the voter's final known address. The voter has 30 days from the engagement the notice is mailed out to answer³⁹.

The voter'due south response must be in writing, signed and must incorporate all of the data that a person includes on a regular awarding^xl to annals to vote⁴¹. The voter should use the form provided. If, however, the original form is no longer available, and so as long as the voter responds in writing and the response contains the required data, then the voter registrar will take it⁴². One time the response is received, the voter registrar reviews the response in the same manner as any other regular registration application and acts on it accordingly⁴³. After the voter registrar makes a determination on the voter'southward registration status, the voter registrar is required to keep the voter's response on file with the voter's original application⁴⁴.

If the voter fails to respond to this notice, the voter registrar is required under Department thirteen.146 to enter the voter'south name on the suspense listing.

The Suspense Listing

The suspense listing, as detailed in Section 15.081, is a list maintained past the voter registrar of each county that contains the names of (1) voters that failed to respond to the confirmation find⁴⁵, (ii) voters whose renewal certificate was returned to the registrar every bit undeliverable⁴⁶, and (3) those individuals that were excused or disqualified from jury service because they were not a resident of that canton⁴⁷, country on the juror summons notice that the private no longer resides in the canton, or whose jury summons were returned to the commune clerk as undeliverable.

An individual on the suspense list is still a registered voter and has the same rights as a not-suspense list voter. If a suspense list voter lives in the same residence, shows upwardly at the same precinct location, shows proof of identification and fills out a statement of residence⁴⁸, then the individual will be able to vote, and the voter'south name will be removed from the suspense list. If the voter has moved to a different residence located in the aforementioned county, the voter volition also fill out a Statement of Residence and be permitted to vote, provided the voter is living in the political subdivision or territory covered past that election⁴⁹. The Argument of Residence will be used to update the voter'due south registration and remove the voter's proper name from the suspense list. If the suspense list voter has moved exterior of the canton, the voter will be given the option to vote provisionally in accordance with Section 63.011.

If a voter's proper noun is withal on the Suspense list on November 30th following the 2d full general election for country and county officers that occurs later the date the voter's proper name is entered on the suspense list, then the voter registrar is required by Country law to cancel the voter's registration⁵⁰.

When Cancelation Occurs

Cancelation is effective immediately ⁵¹.

Under 16.035, when a voter's registration is canceled, it is effective immediately. When the registrar cancels a voter's registration, the voter registrar must enter the appointment of cancelation and the reason for cancelation on the registration awarding and duplicate registration certificate as well every bit make whatever other necessary corrections in the registration records⁵².

Section 16.036 requires a voter registrar to send written discover within xxx days of cancelation to the voter informing him that his registration has been canceled. The notice must exist mailed to the address on the registration awarding and whatsoever other known address of the voter. State law requires that the notice comprise the engagement of cancelation, the reason for cancelation and an explanation of the voter's right to claiming the caption and entreatment the registrar's determination⁵³.

A voter can cancel his ain registration by submitting to the registrar a signed, written, request for cancelation⁵⁴. One time a request is received, the registrar must abolish the voter's registration effective immediately⁵⁵.

Claiming of Cancelation

A person whose voter registration is canceled should contact the local canton voter registrar. If the voter registrar determines that the cancelation was made in fault, the voter registrar has the ability to immediately reinstate the voter's registration condition. If the voter registrar finds that the cancelation was fabricated in accord with the law, then the voter has the right challenge the cancelation at a hearing before the voter registrar⁵⁶. To challenge a cancelation, a voter must file a written, signed request for a hearing with the registrar⁵⁷. Upon filing a asking for a hearing, the registrar will automatically reinstate the challenging voter's registration pending the outcome of the claiming⁵⁸.

Section 16.064 outlines the procedures for requesting a hearing. Once a request for a hearing is filed, the registrar must have a hearing within 10 days of the initial request, unless the person that requested the hearing asks for a later on appointment. The registrar must provide notice to the voter of the appointment, fourth dimension, and identify for the hearing within two days of the asking being filed⁵⁹. The person requesting the hearing may either appear in person to offer his prove or he may file an affirmation with the registrar before the hearing begins⁶⁰.

After hearing and reviewing the testify or arguments offered past the challenger, the voter registrar must promptly outcome a written decision in the case and deliver the decision to the voter⁶¹. If the registrar determines that the registration should not have been canceled, the registration that was reinstated when the voter initiated the challenge will remain⁶². If the registrar determines that the registration should be canceled, then the registrar must cancel the registration on the 31st solar day after the registrar's conclusion is issued⁶³. A copy of the determination must exist kept on file with the challenging voter's duplicate registration certificate⁶⁴.

Reinstatement

If a voter registrar receives information later on the date of cancelation that the voter's registration should non have been canceled, the registrar must reinstate information technology immediately⁶⁵.

If the registrar receives a argument of residence that was executed by a voter at an ballot before the date the voter's registration was required to be canceled, the registrar must reinstate the registration⁶⁶. If information technology is discovered that the voter was canceled during the biennial suspense purge and the voter has voted in an election after being placed on the suspense rolls, then the voter registrar should reinstate the voter. In such cases, information technology is probable that no Statement of Residence was requested of the voter, which was why the voter's information was not previously updated.

Immediately upon reinstatement, the registrar must deliver written notice of reinstatement to the voter. The written detect must include the engagement of and reason for the reinstatement⁶⁷.