2026 election

Voting in Texas

Primary

Held

Tuesday, March 3

Early voting

February 17th – February 27th

General

Tuesday, November 3

Early voting

October 19 – October 30

Register by: October 5
Request a mail ballot by: October 23
Mail it back postmarked by: November 3, 7pm and received by November 4, 5pm

See every race and candidate on your Texas ballot, and where each one stands, before you vote.

Plan your ballot →

How to cast your ballot

By mail

You need one of these reasons:

65 years of age or older.
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.
Confined in jail, but are otherwise eligible.

Request a ballot Track your ballot The rules Where to drop it off

In person

Polls open on election day: 7:00am – 7:00pm
Or vote early: In the windows shown above

What counts as ID

You will be asked to show photo ID to vote in Texas.

Acceptable forms include:

Texas driver's license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
Texas election ID certificate
Texas personal ID card
Texas handgun license
US military ID with photograph
US citizenship certificate with photograph (doesn't need to be current)
US passport (book or card)

Forms must be current or expired less than four years. For voters aged 70 or older, the acceptable form of photo identification may be expired for any length of time if the identification is otherwise valid.

Voters without ID:

If you don't have ID and cannot obtain one due to a reasonable impediment, you'll need to sign a sworn statement that there is a reason why you don't have any of the accepted IDs, and present one of the following:

certified birth certificate that confirms your birth and establishes your identity, including a foreign birth document if it is admissible in a court of law
valid voter registration certificate
current utility bill, government check, bank statement or paycheck, or government document with your name and an address

If you meet these requirements and are eligible to vote, you may vote in the election.

If you don't have ID and do not have a reasonable impediment to obtaining one or did not bring ID to the polling place, you may cast a provisional ballot. In order to have the provisional ballot counted, you will be required to visit the voter registrar's office within six (6) calendar days of the date of the election to either present one of the forms of photo ID or submit a temporary affidavit, or, if applicable, qualify for the disability exemption, in the presence of the county voter registrar while attesting to the fact that you do not have any of the required photo IDs.

Find your polling place Early voting

Before you can vote

Registering

Ways to register:

By mail

Texas lets you pre-register from age 17, so you are on the roll the moment you turn 18.

Who can register, and what you need

To register in Texas you must:

be a United States citizen
be a resident of the county where you submit your application
be at least 17 years and 10 months old (you must be 18 to vote)
have not been convicted of a felony or, if you have been convicted of a felony, you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole
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

Check if you are registered Register

Which primary can you vote in?

You are NOT required to register with a party to participate in Texas partisan primary elections.

Also voted on March 3: Arkansas, North Carolina.

Dates, deadlines and rules come from DemocracyWorks, last refreshed August 27, 2026; poll hours from our own election guide. Rules change — check with your election office before you rely on a date.